Val, thanks for getting up on the soapbox and posting the information about how some other countries test. For the same reasons you wrote about, I would prefer seeing my children answer open ended questions
but only if those tests are graded competently. Otherwise it's likely to be what's described in the article you posted about the SAT that ends with this statement:
''The multiple-choice makes the writing test valid,'' he says. In short, the most untrustworthy part of the new SAT writing section is the writing sample.
And this is the competency of the graders you get for a test with a $50 fee!
I saw Iowa schools now pay $2.50 for each student to take the ITBS once a year. Their new assessments with an essay portion may cost an additional $6 to $10 per student.
http://www.desmoinesregister.com/ar...-standardized-tests-should-raise-the-barI don't have much confidence that the U.S. taxpayers will pony up the extra money for high quality graders for the open ended assessment like in Ireland. I'd rather have the standardized results from a high quality multiple choice assessment than a poorly graded open ended assessment... and I'll afterschool to make sure my kids can answer open ended questions.
