Litvin wrote:
At 09:36 AM 1/25/2010, David MacQuigg wrote:
I can't imagine teaching or testing CS without an actual language. A
much better alternative would be to have the same test in multiple
languages (perhaps with a "handicap" factor for the students choosing
Python, so they don't have an embarrassing advantage :>).
Sure, for teaching you can use a particular language (or two).
Testing is another matter. Currently AP free-response questions are
not just "program this" or "program that" -- they are stated in a
particular language, e.g., here is a class, implement this particular
method. They also have a "case study," now in Java, and ask questions
about it, e.g., to write a new method or to implement a new derived
class. The questions never ask students to write a complete program.
Then ETS brings together 80 or so teachers and college profs for a
week each June to grade AP CS free-response questions. These readers
would have to be polyglots. They use an elaborate rubric to grade a
question, with partial credit given for every little bit remotely
related to the right answer. Supporting multiple languages would cost
the College Board and ETS a lot of money, and this is a relatively
small exam (about 20,000 students).
Is there anything in the current AP test that can't be translated to
Python? I don't mean a word-for-word translation, but rather, re-state
the same fundamental problem in Python.
As for grading the free-response questions, if 20% of the tests are done
in Python, surely ETS can hire 20% of the graders in that category. In
fact, I think it would be *easier* to hire the Python graders, since a
larger percentage of Python teachers will be "enthusiasts", not just
doing it for the money. Nobody is expected to be a polyglot. In fact,
I would require they state a preference to minimize the bias for or
against any language. Each grader should grade tests only in his/her
preferred language.
Comparing the raw scores might lead to a real awakening. Bruce Eckel
(Thinking in Java) says he is five times more productive in Python than
in Java. I hesitate to use that number, because people will think I am
crazy. I am comfortable saying a factor of two, however.
-- Dave
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