<div dir="ltr">Dear clock-watchers.<div><br></div><div>In question B5a, students were asked to "Recommend the appropriate data type for each of the <i>Umbrella_Styles</i> field and the <i>Accept</i> field when the two new styles are introduced."<div><br></div><div>In my <a href="http://www.vceit.com/p/postmortem-2014i.htm">post mortem</a> I wondered why four lines were provided for each recommendation of a field type.</div><div><br></div><div>It has been forcefully suggested that the examiners were thinking that "recommend" implied that students should also <b>justify</b> their recommendation.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>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". </div><div><div><br></div><div>Apart from that:</div><div><br></div><div>- Question B3 in the same exam asked students to recommend, but it was followed by an explicit instruction "<b>Provide a reason for each recommendation</b>."</div><div><br></div><div>- Question B4 did the same: "<b>Recommend</b> an electronic validation technique for the quantity (kg). <b>Justify your answer</b>."</div><div><br></div><div>- Question B10a also asks for recommendations for field names, but offers only 1 line per answer - <b>just enough space for a name, not an explanation - and each one was worth only half a mark!</b></div><div><br></div><div>- Question 10c also asks "<b>Recommend</b> a data format for one field that would improve the clarity of the information. <b>Justify your answer</b>."</div></div><div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>If single-word answers to B5a don't earn full marks, I will summon the stewards and demand an enquiry! </div><div><br></div>-- <br><div class="gmail_signature"><div dir="ltr"><div><div dir="ltr"><div><br></div><div>Mark Kelly</div><div>mark AT vceit DOT com</div><div><a href="http://vceit.com" target="_blank">http://vceit.com</a></div><div><br></div><div><i>I love the sound of people's voices after they stop talking.</i></div><div><br></div><div><div>I, Mark Kelly, am entirely responsible for the offensive verbiage I spew forth.</div><div>Have I offended anyone with this post? I would not be surprised.</div><div>If offended, please whinge to me at the email address above. </div><div>Please leave poor Kevork alone. It is not his fault.</div></div></div></div></div></div>
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