I went from 223 pounds to 210! *Listens to wild applause and bows deeply and humbly*
But, but, where did I lose it?
Hmmm. I found out yesterday. I went to try on bras.
I went from 223 pounds to 210! *Listens to wild applause and bows deeply and humbly*
But, but, where did I lose it?
Hmmm. I found out yesterday. I went to try on bras.
Wait. You thought testing was to judge how well you know your material? Isn’t that adorable!
You have to see who’s looking at the test and how it is used in relationship to the material. Sounds complicated? Maybe. Let’s break it down.
The teacher writes the test:
If the bulk of the students are getting an A at 95% then the test indicates that the material covered is fairly easy to understand. If the bulk of the students are getting Ds at 70%, the material is very difficult. It is a test of the Material, not the Teacher’s performance or the Students’ performance. This information is used by colleges and institutions that want to limit access. The flaw in this is that the test cannot include essay questions because grad students and computers do not grade like the teacher does…knowing the individuals who are taking the test and the way they communicate. What do I mean by limiting access? On the secondary or post-secondary level, the test is given to discern whether the student can “test out” of the class. He or She already understands the concepts and the uses of the materials and can be admitted into a more advanced class. In sports, it separates those with natural talent from those with average talent. It does not measure the amount of work, dedication, and innovation an athlete has devoted to the sport. For instance, if the football or soccer try-outs include a 40-meter dash with a minimum time requirement, it doesn’t reveal how well the player manipulates the ball over those 40 meters, how well they can out-maneuver the opposing players, or how long they can sustain the speed. There are other tryout requirements, of course, but this test is the make or break for the aspiring player.
The teacher does not write the test:
When would this happen?!
In that case, let’s revisit the outcomes:
For instance, in the 20 or so years I have been in the finance industry, I have never seen a viatical agreement…an agreement whereby a terminally ill person sells the “benefit” of their life insurance to another company in return for 50% of the benefit immediately. The company continues to pay premiums. On a $100,000 policy, the client gets $50,000 now to pay off debts, take a vacation with the family, or find alternative treatment procedures. When the client dies, the company, not his family, receives the $100,000. The company makes $50,000 for a 6–9-month investment. Yet, the insurance test had 7 questions of the about viatical settlements out of the 150 questions on the test.
This kind of test is the most common test you will run up against!
This is insidious! When third parties get into the assessment of participants, many times the material deemed “important” is determined by people who have no idea what they’re doing. They can insert a political agenda into the curriculum. They can test on things that do not matter in the real world. They can insist on a bias or quality that is in no way related to the requirements of the job.
Imagine if the boxing association was run like this.
“All boxers should be equipped to defend themselves in the ring. They should be schooled in the correct fundamentals of both offensive and defensive strikes and blocks. They must take an 8-hour ethics course every other year and have a required 3-hour sensitivity training course every quarter. Gym trainers and coaches will enforce a strict uniform requirement. There shall be no policies regarding the color of the trunks, and all trunks should be no more than 4” above the knee when the participant is kneeling. Tattoos may be in black ink and have no racial or ethnic references. The fighters’ names can only be last names, no descriptive titles. Hate speech will not be tolerated.”
It sounds lofty…Mohammed Ali would not have qualified. Rocky Marciano would not have qualified.
Many tests in the educational system are devised by people outside the educational field. In fact, a teacher, having gone through four or five grueling years of classes and certification activities such as student teaching and tutoring, may graduate with honors and still be refrained from teaching in school systems because they must pass a state-required competency test. Remember that these teachers had to get by the educational access test required by the college to even get INTO the education-major program.
SO WHAT DO YOU DO?
When you are taking a test, consider the test itself. Is it a standardized test required by the government? Is it a standardized test required by the industry? Is it taken on a computer without essay questions? Then the results do not reflect what you know about the material, they just show how well you take a test. If the test is written and graded by a teacher, they are testing 2 things: First, how well do you pay attention in class or know your material, and Second, how well is the material
Last post, I mentioned my new KETO diet. There are problems with the program in that it gives me bacon-wrapped avocados for breakfast every morning. I keep substituting and then the next day…there it is again. Argh. But I’m starting to get intuitive about my meal planning now. I’m getting used to certain taste combinations like tomatoes and spinach. I haven’t engaged in the required resistance training at this point. No excuse.
So, my last post was Feb 22, and I weighed 215.
Progress in 1 month?
March 22, I’m at 209! That is more weight lost in 1 month than I did in a year over the last 5 years of this blog site. How interesting!
May 14, I’m at 202!