MY FAVORITE EXAMPLE

  • field testing a grade 3 Math test
  • question asks: "how many cents in a dollar?"
  • objective is, do they know that "cent" means 100
  • a third of the smart group went for 73 cents
  • so we asked a few kids why they thought dollar was 73 cents

WHY?

  • because every night on evening news they heard, "the Canadian dollar fell to 78 cents US today"

  • way MORE sophisticated then we anticipated

MY SECOND FAVORITE EXAMPLE

  • grade 12 French test, kids screwing up telling time; even the francophone students writing the test for easy credit

  • in French, quarter to 10 is 10 minus a quarter right?

  • perfectly valid objective: telling time

  • only nobody actually says "quarter to ten" OR its French equivalent anymore --> they've all got digital watches and say it's 9:45