[Informatics] 2015 ITA exam - A15

[Mark]

For the record, I am aware that the study design says on p.15 that, "The
solution design typically involves identifying what specific data is
required" but the difference between this and "What data is needed to
produce the output?" in analysis relies entirely on the word "specific",
which is not defined.

Questions that rely on one undefined word in the study design are little
more than petty quibbling, IMO.
A fairer question would have been, "In which stage of the PSM is it
determined how data will be named, structured, validated and manipulated?"

I'm done now.

On 2 February 2016 at 11:46, Mark <mark at vceit.com> wrote:

> Hi all
>
> I wonder how often teachers of physics and chemistry sit around arguing
> about what their end-of-year exam questions mean.
>
> Why is I.T. so blessed with so many opportunities to argue subtle
> philosophies of intent, and tease out lexical intricacies, such as the
> purpose of the word "specific" in A15 or the difference between "accurate"
> and "correct" in the study design?
>
> Specifically, how specific is "specific" in question A15?
>
> At what exact point does a data requirement go from being 'unspecific' to
> 'specific', and how do we know when we have reached *adequate*
> specificity?
> Does a bell go off? Do we receive a Certificate of Specificity from the
> IEEE?
>
> I would say that determining - during analysis - that "We need data about
> audience numbers" would be pretty specific.
> During design, this could be codified as "We need an integer field called
> intAudienceCount with validation rules: must be numeric and >= zero".
>
> A15 is the type of question that relies on students reading the examiner's
> mind and interpreting vague words instead of confidently applying their
> knowledge of theory.
> It frustrates me.
>
>
> On 2 February 2016 at 10:57, WILKIE. John <wilkjoh1 at lavalla.vic.edu.au>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi All,
>>
>>
>>
>> My 2 cents just coz…
>>
>>
>>
>> My understanding is that Analysis sees us identify the data that we
>> require for our project. Just a list of stuff.
>>
>>
>>
>> In the Design, we flesh this out. Data type, field size, input mask would
>> all be (I consider to be) the ‘specific data requirement’. Leading me to
>> select A.
>>
>>
>>
>> If the question asked for only ‘data requirements’ for attendances –
>> Date, time, absent – I would select Analysis.
>>
>>
>>
>> Another question with select word emphasis which causes headaches. I’m
>> very curious about what my students picked.
>>
>>
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>>
>>
>> John
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au [mailto:
>> informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au] *On Behalf Of *Chattrath,
>> Divinderjit S
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, 2 February 2016 10:08 AM
>> *To:* Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List <
>> informatics at edulists.com.au>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Informatics] 2015 ITA exam - A15
>>
>>
>>
>> Data collection happens in Analysis Stage. Designers do not go collecting
>> data.
>>
>> Regards
>>
>> Bobby
>>
>> Nossal High School
>>
>>
>>
>> *From:* informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au [
>> mailto:informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au
>> <informatics-bounces at edulists.com.au>] *On Behalf Of *Laurie Savage
>> *Sent:* Tuesday, 2 February 2016 8:40 AM
>> *To:* Year 12 VCE Informatics Teachers' Mailing List <
>> informatics at edulists.com.au>
>> *Subject:* Re: [Informatics] 2015 ITA exam - A15
>>
>>
>>
>> I would agree that B is the answer. In the design stage you are more
>> concerned with the how to collect the data you have identified in the
>> Analysis stage. Bad examiners, bad!
>>
>>
>>
>> Laurie
>>
>>
>> Laurie Savage
>> https://sites.google.com/a/pvgc.vic.edu.au/mr-savage/home
>>
>>
>>
>> On 30 January 2016 at 09:33, Mark <mark at vceit.com> wrote:
>>
>> Question 15
>>
>>
>>
>> At what stage of the problem-solving methodology would the specific data
>> requirements for recording attendances be identified?
>>
>>
>>
>> A. design
>>
>>
>>
>> B. analysis
>>
>>
>>
>> C. evaluation
>>
>>
>>
>> D. development
>>
>>
>> I said B.
>> ​The official answer, I've found out, is *A*.
>>
>>
>>
>> ​But the 2015 study design's description of the PSM clearly said:
>>
>> "Analysis involves: Determining the solution requirements. What
>> information does the solution have to provide? *What data is needed to
>> produce the information?*"
>>
>>
>>
>> I'd say that 'determining what data is needed' is the same as
>> 'identifying specific data requirements', wouldn't you?
>>
>>
>>
>> --
>>
>>
>>
>> Mark Kelly
>>
>>
>>
>> mark at vceit.com
>>
>> http://vceit.com
>>
>>
>>
>>
>>
> --
>
> Mark Kelly
>
> mark at vceit.com
> http://vceit.com
>



-- 

Mark Kelly

mark at vceit.com
http://vceit.com
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