Gifted Issues Discussion homepage Forums Parenting and Advocacy ambiguous OLSAT question?

My DD9 took the OLSAT yesterday. She said there was a verbal question that confused her. It asked for the word in which the ED was most like the ED in WANTED. She waffled between FILLED (because the ED makes it past tense and comes at the end) and BEDROOM (because the sound is the same). After initially choosing FILLED, she changed her answer to BEDROOM because she said there were a couple of other similar questions with more of an emphasis on sound relationships. Which relationship were they looking for here? Wouldn't it have been better to have another choice, like LIFTED?

Is it just me, or is this a bad question? I guess I see now why some GT kids don't do well on the OLSAT. DD really needs to do well, though, to get identified by the school. Overall, she said that the test wasn't that hard except for that one verbal question and one nonverbal one that she didn't answer because she ran out of time. Too bad we have to wait 4 months to find out how she did.

Yes, I think seeing the actual question would help. DD claimed that the quesiton didn't mention use or sound, but who knows? She's 9.

What a yucky state test question about the grocery items! I would have been confused by that as a kid.

Yeah, it becomes a test of whether you can figure out what the testers are asking rather than a test to show understanding or mastery of certain material.

I wonder if that's why my DD didn't score at advanced in language arts on her state testing last year...

I remember one of her in-class tests had an ambiguous question on it. It was a comprehension question about a short story they had read. It asked why one character had started talking to another character. Well, my DD interpreted this quite literally and described the beginning of the story where the two characters first met. But the answer the teacher wanted was about how the characters started speaking to each other again after a disagreement.

My DS10 was taking a practice test for his upcoming achievement tests and it had the question

What is a way humans do not use dirt? (I'm going to make up some of these as I can't remember exactly)
a. to build houses
b. for growing food
c. as food to eat
d. for potting plants

Well he made an "e" with a none of the above as we had recently discussed how children in Haiti are eating dirt cookies these days because they don't have enough food to eat. I explained he had to go for the answer he knew they were looking for regardless of what extra information he knows. I do think this is why these kids sometimes don't do well on these types of tests, they know more than what they're "supposed" to know at this age.

Maybe the dictator was dictating to the population??? ROFL!!!! (actually I can see where he was going with that answer - what does this say about me????)

Oh, my 2 always have some reason for the crazy things they do. DS10 especially has some creative answers. And the thing is, they usually make some sort of sense!!!

I would argue that one with the testing company, I think! It's not a wrong answer!

Too smart for their own good sometimes...

You are living my life! This is exactly the kinds of answers DS10 gives. And they DO make sense. That's always been the kicker for me. They just have a very different way of looking at things. I love it that he has this ability but it is frustrating on standardized tests. His 1st grade teacher told me I should embrace this quality so I've never tried to squelch it but it does make for some lower grades on these kinds of tests. We've been very lucky in the teachers that he has had. For the most part they've "gotten" him. I just dread the day one doesn't get him. I think it will make life quite miserable.

We are currently going through our state tests (PSSA's). Everynight, DS is asking us verbatim questions from his test to try and see if he picked the RIGHT choice out of the couple of reasonable (to him) options. Last night he was very upset to the point of tears to find out that he had changed an answer from what we think was probably correct to an incorrect answer because he overthought it. I have been really amazed at how many of the multiple choice answers could be correct depending on how you read the question even on the practice pages he brought home during the review.

However, I have to talk to his school also. DS has the idea that if he misses even 1 question he has to repeat the entire concept next year. I really don't know if this is true. It somehow seems extreme. The pressure they are putting on the kids for these tests is terrifying. DS's understanding is that if his class doesn't do well, his teacher will lose her job. I keep trying to tell him that these tests are a test for the school that creates the school's report card. He needs to do the best he can, but not get too worked up over them. I'm really glad today is the last day of testing.

I hate multiple choice tests!!

I always did very poorly on them, although, I did remarkably well on the ACT. It wasn't till college when many of my tests were in essay form that I realized I might, in fact, be somewhat intelligent!

I would suggest you look into test taking strategies. A friend taught me some strategies in college that were very helpful. It's been a long time since I've taken a test, but the one I remember that was most helpful to me:

Don't choose the right answer first! Cross off the most WRONG answer and work backward. Usually the correct answer becomes more clear or at the very least you are left with two answers to choose from. It took a lot of the overthinking/pontificating out of the equation for me and I was more likely to choose the "right" answer.

As for son worrying about teacher losing job. That's classic over at our house. In my girl's case usually they pick up on the panic/importance held by the person, in this case your son's teacher. But they usually don't know why. They "guess" to make sense of it. I really hope your teacher didn't tell them she would lose her job! That would be awful.
Sometimes the other kids hear things here or there from there parents, string miscellaneous snips together to form a "frankenstein" and pass it around the school as fact.
Aren't you glad you're not a kid anymore?



Neato

Oh, yes! I feel so awful for elh's son! So much pressure!

Being an adult is stressful, but nothing compared to all that!

We are going through the same thing. The teachers at DD's school have gotten the kids so worked up about this SAT/OLSAT testing, and it's just ridiculous. I know it matters to some extent, but it's not worth that. For us, it is a little high stakes because we do need DD to score well to qualify for gifted services. I know she's going to miss some questions, though, mostly due to overthinking. I just HATE standardized testing! The kids would do so much better if the teachers would lighten up a little.

Next week the kids have to take the ARMT (a state reading and math test). I don't know how much more of this I can take!

Hugs to your DS. My DD is a perfectionist, too, and she hates to get anything wrong. She missed a vocabulary word yesterday on the SAT, and she was really upset about it.

Thanks to all and Dottie who is living wild today it appears

I really don't think my son's classroom teacher would have said that her job was on the line. However, I think he may have picked up that impression from signs around the school and handouts to take home. Reading through them again and trying to think like DS they do come across alot more omonious than my initial reading. I also think I may need to explain the difference between proficient and perfect

Thanks again!

That is really sad that a child should have to feel that much pressure about a standardized test! This prepping for the test business is just ridiculous.

I also can think back to standardized testing as a child. I thought through every answer and would often think more than one answer could be correct! And then I would get stressed out and run out of time. I am glad I'm not a kid anymore! It was stressful.

Me, too! Did you know that the SAT-10 is now untimed? This is both good and bad, I suppose. DD said that testing takes forever because they have to wait on people to get done. She's not allowed to read a book while they wait.

Dottie: you should just write "a, Living la vida," since the site gives you "Loc:"!

LOL!

A short update:

I did talk to DS last night about the proficient, advanced and perfect.

We had a lapse back into our montessori nightmare. To show proficiency at his montessori school he had to complete the entire workbook error free and neat enough to meet the teacher's dictates. If he missed 1 answer anywhere in the book or it wasn't up to her standards of neatness, he had to redo the same book start to finish. Hence, DS's belief that if he made a mistake, he would have to go back to the beginning again and that proficiency meant perfect.

Also, I while I couldn't get a clear answer from him about the idea that his teacher would lose her job, I think he was probably creating a frankinstein

And as someone with a passion for landscaping, my first pick was A. Have you ever seen a floral clock, or some other design created using flowers? You must be very precise with your plantings for a good outcome.

As a multiple choice flunkee I probably would have gotten that question wrong. I don't know anything about basketball and would have been confused.
I guess I am NOT smarter than an 8th grader!

Neato

OK, I have to start signing my name. GS8 was talking before I could accept anyone using the 'G' word when addressing me!
I still get unnerved when the grands say it!

Chris

ROFL,
The only answer I could eliminate on that one was d. I would have answered c I think. I like to know how much is in my bank account to the penny

I'd have picked C too. I like to be precise about my money and who cares about the baskets in a basketball game????? ROFL!!!! (sorry all you sports fans out there!)

I'd have frozen up completely! Both B and C matter!

Those are the ones that I would go up to ask the teacher about when I was a kid, and I'd get the answer back that was along the lines of, "Don't think too hard" or something.

I'd probably have gotten to basketball by realizing that adults think kids' money doesn't count, while at a sporting event, the adults care far more than the kids about the score! And adults are writing the tests, ergo...Basketball it is!

Ha - that's a cute story Dottie. I bet he loved that!

Good for your DS for finding the mistake and good for him checking with the teacher instead of letting it go. I bet he did love it!!

DD8 lives to bust the teacher. I'm surprised they like her so much.

........what a bitter little pill!

Not my favorite kind of teacher.

I'm just reading this post and have to put in my 2 cents worth. The correct answer has to be D - otherwise the grape picker won't get the correct payment. Sheesh - what an idiotic question!

LOL!

That reminds me of a semi-dirty joke my dad told me...

To keep the forum clean (and not completely OT!), I'll PM it to anyone interested.

Arg. What a lame question. Of course the need for precision depends on what you are going to use the data for. I guess we are supposed to assume that people always want to know who won the game.

My literal-minded kid might think they were talking about the two physical baskets at each end of the court since that goes along with the pattern of the other choices...

Ugh. That's awful!

I'd go with "attract". But "bait" is a close second. I'm assuming they mean a synonym for "lure" in this context.

I'd have to go with a. "bait"

I assume they mean attract, since you don't really bait customers or trick them (well, not unless you can get away with it...). But it's just a gosh-darn bad question!

That answer might have geographic or cultural preferences.

Good point.

And I just thought, if he used food to get the customers in the door, bait would really be a better choice!

Haha, where I live it's very common to get cold beer, sandwiches, AND bait in the same store!

So using BAIT to lure customers! Oh, very tricky, indeed!

Or, bait and switch!

If you use nudie magazines to get customers in, is it lurid luring?

<tee hee hee!>

Ok, Kriston, you're just dying to tell your dirty joke, aren't you? You can pm me but I'll bet everyone wants to hear it but are afraid to admit it.

Really, it's not THAT bad. No bad words or anything. And remember, my dad told it to me, so how bad could it be, right?

I'll PM you.

Another cultural useage of words....




What does a redneck call sushi?













bait

LOL!

Technically the first three could be the answer, right?
Multiple choice blows.

My son and I recently talked about the "bait and switch" technique that some stores used to "lure" customers into the store. I am sure this would have influenced how he would have answered the question.

Dottie, what an awful question! I'd probably pick C, but A could also be right.