The Fallacy of Hard Tests

Al Feldzamen writes in with a blog post on the fallacious math behind many specialist examinations. "'The test was very hard,' the medical specialist said. 'Only 35 percent passed.' 'How did they grade it?' I asked. 'Multiple choice,' he said. 'They count the number right.' As a former mathematician, I immediately knew the test results were meaningless. It was typical of the very hard test, like bar exams or medical license exams, where very often the well-qualified and knowledgeable fail the exam. But that's because the exam itself is a fraud."

Comments

Re:I had a teacher...

[tarogue]

How did you get an A with a 58%? Grading curves are crap. If you only know 58%, you should only be rewarded with a 58, not a 90. If you're the top person in the class, and only know 58%, something is definately wrong, but you should not pass.