New York 2011

[personasaurus rex]

They were at the same time for everybody. i'm not sure why, but the ID events are almost always scheduled at the same time as each other for States.

its because the events are usually scheduled by how easy theyre graded: the faster the grading for that event goes, the later timeslot it will be. thats y hard events to grade such as protein modeling and exp design are friday. however, ID events are multiple choice, so grading goes faster. this way, they can get the results out without making us wait that much
personally, i think taking 2 id events are crazy haha ;]

Go and tell Mr. Vorwald that Fossils is easy to grade - I dare you. But get somebody to videotape it first.

well its just multiple choice right? theres no like... debatable short answers or anything.

[quizbowl]

They were at the same time for everybody. i'm not sure why, but the ID events are almost always scheduled at the same time as each other for States.

its because the events are usually scheduled by how easy theyre graded: the faster the grading for that event goes, the later timeslot it will be. thats y hard events to grade such as protein modeling and exp design are friday. however, ID events are multiple choice, so grading goes faster. this way, they can get the results out without making us wait that much
personally, i think taking 2 id events are crazy haha ;]

well its just multiple choice right? theres no like... debatable short answers or anything.

unfortunately, you are right. save a few questions, like measuring an isotelus and a few other stuff, about 80-90% of the states test was in fact multiple choice.

[paleonaps]

Yeah, and multiple choice is easier to grade, but with the number of questions he puts on, it can be a real chore.

[quizbowl]

Yeah, and multiple choice is easier to grade, but with the number of questions he puts on, it can be a real chore.

then why not make the multiple choice a scantron? bring in a scantron grader and voila.

[Phenylethylamine]

Yeah, and multiple choice is easier to grade, but with the number of questions he puts on, it can be a real chore.

then why not make the multiple choice a scantron? bring in a scantron grader and voila.

I think the major issue is that the test maker (Mr. Vorwald) is usually not the one grading it, or not the only one grading it, so errors on the answer key don't get corrected on sight, because the graders don't know much about fossils. If the test was run as a scantron, those errors would be even less likely to be corrected. If you're wondering why there are so many errors, well, some of them originate from an insanely busy test writer just not having time to proofread quite as many times as he'd like; others come from the event being set up by people whose expertise lies elsewhere (e.g., specimens are incorrectly labeled).

In short: event writing and event grading are both difficult and time consuming, essentially regardless of which event we're talking about.

Also, apparently the rule book is available to be ordered from the national site now (this isn't strictly to do with NY, but I figure New Yorkers should know about it as much as anyone else).

[paleonaps]

Yep. I still need to order mine
But I will soon!

[Flavorflav]

Yeah, and multiple choice is easier to grade, but with the number of questions he puts on, it can be a real chore.

then why not make the multiple choice a scantron? bring in a scantron grader and voila.

I think the major issue is that the test maker (Mr. Vorwald) is usually not the one grading it, or not the only one grading it, so errors on the answer key don't get corrected on sight, because the graders don't know much about fossils. If the test was run as a scantron, those errors would be even less likely to be corrected. If you're wondering why there are so many errors, well, some of them originate from an insanely busy test writer just not having time to proofread quite as many times as he'd like; others come from the event being set up by people whose expertise lies elsewhere (e.g., specimens are incorrectly labeled).

In short: event writing and event grading are both difficult and time consuming, essentially regardless of which event we're talking about.

Also, apparently the rule book is available to be ordered from the national site now (this isn't strictly to do with NY, but I figure New Yorkers should know about it as much as anyone else).

Doesn't he do fill-ins, too? Write in the name and such? I haven't seen one lately, but he used to.

[RandomPerson]

i agree. they are pretty devilish, no offense to anyone here from fm. stop being such butterfly butterflyers

(I am from FM btw)
Well they put a ton of effort into it, so they do well, lay off the butterflies. I can't really do much about it (B-team member) but you guys can. STUDY!

[paleonaps]

I can't believe that quizbowl didn't know you were from FM. I thought it was obvious.

[quizbowl]

I can't believe that quizbowl didn't know you were from FM. I thought it was obvious.

i did, but since he felt that the first team treated him poorly, i felt that he would probably appreciate someone teaching them a lesson.