Our students have had to provide their own scantrons (some cost more than 10
cents) since we started using scantrons about 15 years ago. They also have
to buy their own blue books. Since a semester's supply of scantrons for all
their classes costs less than a beer or two, I see no problem. I never
thought of it in terms of budget constraints. We have unlimited xeroxing
privileges for anything we can think of to xerox. It never occured to me to
provide my students with scantrons. In fact if they "forget" they have to go
the bookstore and buy one or borrow one from a fellow student.
In reply to an earlier posting about scantrons. Good multiple choice
questions can require fairly high levels of thinking and reasoning. My
concern about essays and such is reliability. I do not think that anyone can
be objective in scoring an essay unless they confine themselves to scaning
for certain key words, which makes them a form of multiple choice. My mood,
my time constraints, the exam I previously read, the penmanship, my personal
attitude toward the student, the verbal facility, spelling and grammar are
all variables that are almost impossible to control for and significantly
reduce reliability, not to mention validity.
Harry Avis Ph.D.
Sierra College
Rocklin, CA 95677
Life is opinion - Marcus Aurelius
There is nothing that is good or bad, but that thinking makes it so -
Shakespeare
>From: Michael Sylvester <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>To: TIPS <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>Subject: Scantrons:buy your own
>Date: Wed, 28 Mar 2001 12:29:13 -0500 (EST)
>
> Whereas the department used to provide free scantrons to faculty and
>students,the word is out that effective next semester,faculty and students
>will have to buy their own scantron sheets from the bookstore at 10 cents
>per sheet.
>Are there other schools that face such tight budgets restraints?
>
>Michael Sylvester,PhD
>Daytona Beach,Florida
>
>
>
>
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