[ExI] standard form for creating a test, was: RE: humanities plus schmooze

[Mike Dougherty]

On Sat, Dec 8, 2012 at 2:14 PM, BillK <pharos at gmail.com> wrote:
> On 12/8/12, spike wrote:
> <snip>
>> ****Question code hipsters:  is there a standard product or a software
>> framework that allows me to insert or paste in my test questions, ordered
>> from easiest to hardest, where the code notes the response and does the
>> ranking and deciding which question to ask next?****
>
> You are asking that question like an engineer.
>
> Education is humanities.  :)
> <snip>

If spike's test is about rocket science... isn't the audience also engineers?

If the customer requests solution to problem X and you have the
solution to problem Y, are you supposed to rephrase their problem to
fit the solution you already have?  remind me of the adage "when your
only tool is a hammer, you make all your problems look like nails"

I'd be tempted to just write some javascript to control the
presentation of questions.  I have an easier time writing the code
than learning someone else's implementation of a branching quiz maker
interface.  Also, I would want to gamify this experience so the test
taker can risk points to get higher-reward (higher challenge)
questions.  The profile of risk-affection vs risk-aversion is surely
as important for rocket scientists as whether or not they "know their
stuff."  Do you want someone who can answer 50 easy(-er) questions
100% correctly or someone who can answer 20 difficult questions with
80% success?  What margin of error is required to keep your rocket
from blowing up? (skywriting, not launching, whatever other failure
modes you're concerned about)

but i probably digress from your original question too much