A Whackadoodle Math Test that has Nothing to do with Math.
Or, when you skip steps in a process, you might end up working too hard, while still getting everything wrong.
“So how exactly did those pretests of yours work?” she asked.
I looked up from the essay I was checking. “What’s got you interested my old pretest experiment?”
“I was just wondering if it would work in my classes.”
“Well, it worked in my college classes every time,” I informed her.
“But how would it go?”
I put down my red pen and got ready to give a long explanation. “On the first day of any new class, I would greet the students and tell them that I was giving them a pretest—nothing that would affect their grade, just a way for me me to discover what they already knew. I would pass out the test upside down, and tell them it was timed. They would have three minutes to turn the page over and complete the pretest. Then, I would go to the front of the class and say, ‘You may begin.’”
“There was always a mad scramble as the pages were turned over,” I laughed remembering. “And the class would begin scribbling away. One or two heads always looked up confused. I would nod at them with a smile. They often looked around at the others working through the questions and grin back at me; then they’d finish their test within seconds, and spend the rest of the time watching the others struggle. After three minutes, I would call time, and ask one of the students to read the test directions. As the directions were read, I could hear the rest of the class start groaning. The questions on my pretests always depended on the subject that I was teaching. Sometimes it was math. Sometimes it was computers. Sometimes it was English. The questions were typically different, but the directions were always the same. I think that I might still have an old example on my thumb drive.”
Math Pretest
You have three minutes; this test will not influence your grade.
Name: _____________________________________________ Date: _______________
Directions: Do not read the questions in this test. Simply mark all of the questions false, cross out the bonus question, and sign your name at the bottom right hand corner of the page. Turn the test over and wait for time to be called.
Fractions are a division problem waiting to happen. True False
80% = .8 True False
In the equation x + 5 = 6, x=1 True False
PEMDAS stands for, Parenthesis, Exponents,
Multiplication, Division, Addition, subtraction. True False
PEMDAS is an acronym for the the order of operations. True False
The prime factors of 9 are (3,1) True False
The mean of 4, 5, and 6, is five. True False
The median of 4, 5 and 6, is five. True False
½ = 50% True False
The mode of 4, 5, and 6 is (4,5,6). True False
Bonus question: 3x + 9 = 66 (Solve for x)
“After the groaning subsided, I would ask the class, ‘So what’s my point?’” I looked at my student expectantly.
“The answer seems obvious to me,” she said. “You wanted to remind them about how important reading directions can be.”
“Yes and no,” I thought back. “I partly did it because it was a just fun way to introduce myself to them.”
“That’s mean,” she accused.
“Well, I also wanted them to see how many of the other students didn’t bother reading directions. I swear, there were always one or two who followed the directions, but the majority never did. They took a look at the test and assumed it was like every other test they had taken. No need waste any of their three minutes on the directions. I guess in the end, I just enjoyed making them think about why they had responded to the test as they did.”
“I guess that’s not quite so mean.”
“So are you planning to use my silly, mean test?”
“I’m thinking about it,” she confessed. “I just wish that I could find a way to give it to some of my teachers.”