my observation on choose the correct answer method

 







In most of the competitive exams on math, one has to choose the correct answer.

i think this whole idea of choosing the correct answer is counterproductive. It sets the student's mind on "work backwards" mode. 

I have taken an example from the MAT 2014 question paper to elucidate my point.

Look at question 45. A nice question, which most students will find slightly difficult. But then the smarter ones will simply add the results given and check for the one that satisfy the data given. (answer is D: 117 + 143 = 260, satisfies the condition).
The entire question thereby gets reduced to whether you can add.
This defeats the purpose of the exam which is to check the understanding of the concepts in math. whereas what has been achieved is the measure of "survival instinct". 
This is not an exam for a job.

In the Question 45, the examiner wanted to know:
a) whether the child has developed a good understanding of HCF and LCM
b) whether the child is able to mine the data given and translate the data into relevant information
c) to translate the data to information, does the child have the mental alertness and understanding to juggle and manipulate the data suitably, which is an absolute requirement for students who want to excel in higher maths.


The " choose the correct answer" misses all of this by a mile.

Rather then learning the trade the child is exposed to the tricks of the trade.

If you feel as strongly as I do about this issue do send in your comments. This will help us to 

collectively pursue with the authorities. 

shubhro