Friday, November 23, 2012

SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer

SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer:


SAT ‘Problem of the Day’ gives wrong answer

Posted by Valerie Strauss on November 23, 2012 at 5:55 pm

The College Board’s  SAT “Problem of the Day” is supposed to be helpful –  but that’s hard when it cites the wrong answer. Over at the Rational Mathematics Education Web site, math assessment reform activist Michael Paul Goldenberg explains the problem with the problem, provided by the Educational Testing Service, which creates the SAT for the College Board.
Read the following SAT test question and then click on a button to select your answer. 
If 24 over 15 = 4 over n, what is the value of 4 times n?

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Goldenberg wrote that he calculated the problem and came up with B — but the Web site told him his answer was incorrect. “This came as quite a shock to me, even at 4:30 a.m.” he wrote.  “…As someone who prides himself on being able to do reasonably accessible mental arithmetic, I saw this problem as relatively accessible without pencil and paper. Cross-
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