[Year 12 IT Apps] ITA exam B5 - "recommend"

[Mark]

Dear clock-watchers.

In question B5a, students were asked to "Recommend the appropriate data
type for each of the *Umbrella_Styles* field and the *Accept* field when
the two new styles are introduced."

In my post mortem <http://www.vceit.com/p/postmortem-2014i.htm> I wondered
why four lines were provided for each recommendation of a field type.

It has been forcefully suggested that the examiners were thinking that
"recommend" implied that students should also *justify* their
recommendation.

If this is the case, I'm going to be very annoyed. Since when does the verb
'recommend' have implicit expectations of a justification? This has never
been explained in the past.

I have searched the past 12 years of VCE IT exams and can find no occasion
where the examiners' comments said that students needed to justify when
asked to "recommend".

Apart from that:

- Question B3 in the same exam asked students to recommend, but it was
followed by an explicit instruction "*Provide a reason for each
recommendation*."

- Question B4 did the same: "*Recommend* an electronic validation technique
for the quantity (kg). *Justify your answer*."

- Question B10a also asks for recommendations for field names, but offers
only 1 line per answer - *just enough space for a name, not an explanation
- and each one was worth only half a mark!*

- Question 10c also asks "*Recommend* a data format for one field that
would improve the clarity of the information. *Justify your answer*."

It seems clear that when the examiners want a justification, they
explicitly ask for it. To suddenly use a verb differently and expect
students to do something that was not asked for is a dangerous precedent.

If single-word answers to B5a don't earn full marks, I will summon the
stewards and demand an enquiry!

-- 

Mark Kelly
mark AT vceit DOT com
http://vceit.com

*I love the sound of people's voices after they stop talking.*

I, Mark Kelly, am entirely responsible for the offensive verbiage I spew
forth.
Have I offended anyone with this post?  I would not be surprised.
If offended, please whinge to me at the email address above.
Please leave poor Kevork alone.  It is not his fault.
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: http://www.edulists.com.au/pipermail/itapps/attachments/20141112/bd29897e/attachment.html