America, exams, multiple choice, European perceptions...

[ThatsWhatHeSaid]

 

[INTPness]

 

[SilkRoad]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, especially from INTPness.

I think it's fairly obvious that my boss's assessment is too general and rather condescending. That doesn't surprise me much. It probably does have something to do with a heavy reliance on multiple choice. I think multiple choice has its place, but I also agree that it can allow students to be very lazy.

I do want to make it very clear that I hate the anti-AMerican attitude I have encountered so often in Europe. It really makes the people who mouth it look ignorant, ironically. I haven't actually known a lot of Americans, but those I've known personally I've liked. One of my best friends in the UK is American, but she's a rather anti-American American...but that's another story.

I'm not sure though that people who say "Americans are all dumb and ignorant" and ridiculous comments like that are just talking about the level of education, ie. having a degree or whatever. I certainly have a wide variety of friends from a wide variety of cultures and all the way from not having finished school to having PhDs. I think having a good education is a good thing if you have the opportunity, but it's more about your attitude to life and learning. One of my good friends (raised in England from an immigrant background) didn't finish school, but he is one of the most informed, curious and intelligent people I know. (He is almost fifteen years older than me, so of a slightly different generation, when admittedly it was easier to make a go of it in financial/work terms without having finished school. I certainly don't recommend not finishing school!) I have discussions with him about books that almost no one else I know has read. I admire what he's achieved in terms of personal development much more than I admire my own - because he's pretty much self-made. I come from a middle-class background, my parents always encouraged me to love books and reading, they paid for a lot of my English degree in university, etc. He had none of those advantages.

Slight digression, sorry. I think that a lot of Europeans are so anti-American, whether they realise it or not, because of America's politics and foreign policy, especially in recent years. But it's ridiculous to tar everyone with the stupid brush just because you don't like their president or their politics.

However, I have noted that a lot of Americans do seem to have huge gaps in their knowledge when it comes to knowledge of the outside world and of geography. THat hasn't helped with the perceptions. Everyone has stories of getting comments from Americans like "You used to live in Ireland? Is that an island with water all the way around it? Do people speak ENglish there?" and "oh, I thought Canada was just that bit above New York. Does it go all the way across?" Both of those are true stories, by the way. (The comment about Canada came from an American I met who was spending time in France, so it wasn't even that she hadn't travelled at all or something like that.) And I have just heard too many stories like that, or actually been on the receiving end of such questions and comments, for me to think that it's just a small handful of somewhat ignorant Americans who don't even have a rudimentary grasp of geography etc. I think for me that's the most notable lack in American education that I've come across. It does seem as though Americans don't get taught a lot about the outside world.

 

[FDG]

To have a viewpoint like this is, well, "uneducated, ignorant, and fundamentally annoying and dumb." People who make statements like that with a broad stroke of the brush are doing the very things that they think others are guilty of. First of all, not all Americans are uneducated, ignorant, and dumb. If this were the case, we wouldn't have corporations and innovators leading the way in their industries, etc, etc, ad finitum. Simply put, we wouldn't be where we are today if all of us were dumb. That's not to say we have it perfect here - I just discussed above one of the many areas where we need improvement. We just had a horrible violent act happen on the streets of Tucson, etc. There are things that need to be fixed here, no doubt. But, to say that we're all stupid is just STUPID!

I believe that when europeans (me included) refer to americans in such a lowly fashion don't really consider people that are curious, logically minded, somewhat interested in the world, etc.; we mostly look at graphs such as these:

 

[Glycerine]

I always loved questions like, "How do you think Abraham Lincoln would have fared into today's world? Why?"

After the test was over, all the SJ's would say, "How can he ask a question like that when it wasn't even in the textbook? I don't remember reading about that and he didn't talk about it in his lectures."

hahahahaha, on a side note, from the intuitive perspective, I had an XNTP professor ask "Lucy's brain was 900 CC, true or false?". Seriously, we are supposed to remember that from one sentence out of a 200-300 page nonfiction book (it wasn't a textbook)? He was great because he asked really random questions on tests about something highly specific just because he thought it was fascinating not necessarily because it was relevant.


On another note, there are ways to make MC really difficult where you have to use a little critical thinking: make the choices seem really similar, use the "only A and B/all of the above/none of the above" option, make up an example to illustrate a concept and only those who really know it will get the answer, be highly detailed.

In some ways, essay tests are much easier.... you can creatively bullshit your way through. If you are good at making connections, it is usually a piece of cake. The written portion usually always saved my butt. But then again. it seems like there are still many of my peers and such who struggle with this.

 

[INTPness]

Thanks for the thoughtful responses, especially from INTPness.

I think it's fairly obvious that my boss's assessment is too general and rather condescending. That doesn't surprise me much. It probably does have something to do with a heavy reliance on multiple choice. I think multiple choice has its place, but I also agree that it can allow students to be very lazy.

I do want to make it very clear that I hate the anti-AMerican attitude I have encountered so often in Europe. It really makes the people who mouth it look ignorant, ironically. I haven't actually known a lot of Americans, but those I've known personally I've liked. One of my best friends in the UK is American, but she's a rather anti-American American...but that's another story.

I'm not sure though that people who say "Americans are all dumb and ignorant" and ridiculous comments like that are just talking about the level of education, ie. having a degree or whatever. I certainly have a wide variety of friends from a wide variety of cultures and all the way from not having finished school to having PhDs. I think having a good education is a good thing if you have the opportunity, but it's more about your attitude to life and learning. One of my good friends (raised in England from an immigrant background) didn't finish school, but he is one of the most informed, curious and intelligent people I know. (He is almost fifteen years older than me, so of a slightly different generation, when admittedly it was easier to make a go of it in financial/work terms without having finished school. I certainly don't recommend not finishing school!) I have discussions with him about books that almost no one else I know has read. I admire what he's achieved in terms of personal development much more than I admire my own - because he's pretty much self-made. I come from a middle-class background, my parents always encouraged me to love books and reading, they paid for a lot of my English degree in university, etc. He had none of those advantages.

Slight digression, sorry. I think that a lot of Europeans are so anti-American, whether they realise it or not, because of America's politics and foreign policy, especially in recent years. But it's ridiculous to tar everyone with the stupid brush just because you don't like their president or their politics.

However, I have noted that a lot of Americans do seem to have huge gaps in their knowledge when it comes to knowledge of the outside world and of geography. THat hasn't helped with the perceptions. Everyone has stories of getting comments from Americans like "You used to live in Ireland? Is that an island with water all the way around it? Do people speak ENglish there?" and "oh, I thought Canada was just that bit above New York. Does it go all the way across?" Both of those are true stories, by the way. (The comment about Canada came from an American I met who was spending time in France, so it wasn't even that she hadn't travelled at all or something like that.) And I have just heard too many stories like that, or actually been on the receiving end of such questions and comments, for me to think that it's just a small handful of somewhat ignorant Americans who don't even have a rudimentary grasp of geography etc. I think for me that's the most notable lack in American education that I've come across. It does seem as though Americans don't get taught a lot about the outside world.

That's a good response. Just a few things that stand out to me:

1. Your friend whom you admire - who did not get finish school, but who is still very curious and knowledgeable - keep in mind that there are people just like him here in the U.S. I have friends like him too. Right here in the U.S. There seems to be this idea (not you, but with many non-Americans) that curious, intellectual people don't exist in the U.S. And also that dumb, ignorant people don't exist in their own country. I don't believe it.

2. From someone who doesn't know you, you seem to place A LOT of value on finishing school. And that's OK, don't get me wrong. I have finished school (and I may end up with a Ph.D. at some point, and then again I may not), but the degree(s) that are in my closet do not define my value in this life. I'm not sure if you agree with me or not, but it's worth stating. You said, "I wouldn't recommend not finishing school". Why not? Why should everyone go to school (college)? It's not for everyone. Some people don't have the skill set for it (they are better at other things), some people don't enjoy it, and some people flat-out don't want anything to do with it. They don't have to finish school to be considered valuable people who can make a difference in the world.

I know several self-made people who have not finished school. Some are creative and curious and have business instincts. One of them (very open-minded person, BTW) basically said, "Forget school. If some people want to go to school, then good for them. I don't knock them for it. Go for it! But, I don't need school to tell me how to succeed in life. I knew that I would be quite successful without ever having set foot in a classroom. My happiness in life and my success and where I go in life has absolutely nothing to do with whether I've been to college or not." This person is educated on her own terms. She isn't lacking knowledge, but she bucks the "formality" of institutional education. I know another person (ESTJ) who is VERY successful and absolutely hated the idea of going to college. He wouldn't have gone to college in a million years. I know many mothers who are not educated, but who do great things in their community. So, yes, education is *one* of many important things in life, but it is not the end-all be-all.

For instance, I'm beginning to invent things - to take ideas, develop them, research the market for relevancy, basically get the product ready - right up to the point of manufacturing (that's where I stop) - and then license the product to a manufacturer. Inventing, product development, whatever. It's a little of both. Why do I need to sit in a college class for that? I can tell you one thing - if someone is teaching a college class on inventing (unless he's doing it strictly out of love for teaching or to "give back" and he's actually been an real-life inventor), I'll probably be better at inventing than he is. I don't want to learn from him. I'll figure it out myself. In this line of work, you have to do a TON of learning or else you're going to waste invaluable time and money on something that won't even work.

So, I'm not smashing education itself - but I am saying that sitting in a college classroom doesn't do much for me as it pertains to my personal goals at this point. College isn't everything and it's important to me that people realize that. Society has shoved down our throats the idea that if you haven't graduated college, you aren't much. But, once you graduate, you're "in"! Now you are somebody! I don't buy it. Every person has equal value - and that value is inherent. Some people don't "use" their value like they should, but they still have it. You can be whatever you want to be in life - sometimes that path will require a college education, other times it won't. When our lives are over, it's not really going to be about "whether or not we finished school".

 

[INTPness]

I believe that when europeans (me included) refer to americans in such a lowly fashion don't really consider people that are curious, logically minded, somewhat interested in the world, etc.; we mostly look at graphs such as these:

I can't view the graph for some reason. Maybe you can repost it?

 

[Athenian200]

I believe that when europeans (me included) refer to americans in such a lowly fashion don't really consider people that are curious, logically minded, somewhat interested in the world, etc.; we mostly look at graphs such as these:

I would have to agree with that. I don't think that Europeans who say that Americans are ignorant mean that ALL Americans are ignorant... they're talking about the people they've encountered or statistical data. Even I would agree that there seems to be an unfortunate trend of Americans being less educated and curious people. In fact, I had to learn everything I know by looking it up on my own... had I relied on society and a typical education, I would likely be as uninformed as everyone else.

The statement Americans make about Europeans is that they're impractical snobs, or something like that, and they don't usually claim it applies to all of them as individuals.

When people make sweeping statements, or express contempt for something, they very rarely believe that their generalization applies to ALL of something (unless they're extremists of some sort). Most people will qualify when asked and say, "Well, I think it's true of the majority of them, but I guess there are probably some good ones out there... there always are, but it doesn't change the general trend."

 

[INTPness]

The statement Americans make about Europeans is that they're impractical snobs, or something like that, and they don't usually claim it applies to all of them as individuals.

Nice post. You make a lot of good points.

To be fair, I don't understand that line of thinking in the above quote either (Americans making sweeping statements of Europeans). I've heard Americans say it. I have extensive travels through Europe and I have never had such a thought. I've never adopted anything even resembling that into my line of thinking. I think it would be very short-sighted to make a statement like that - a "sweeping statement" as you say. Even if I didn't mean it about ALL, but I was just talking about MOST of them. I don't know, maybe it's an INTP thing to try and avoid slipping into a faulty mindset. On the other hand, I guess I've laughed at comedians who have made jokes about "snobby Europeans", so maybe I do see some form of snobbery in them in my unconcious thoughts, or maybe the comedians were just really funny, who knows. I don't know. I just see people as people. I don't think, "oh, he's European, wonderful, another one of those people." Instead, I just think, "OK, here's a person. Let me find out what he is all about as an individual." When I meet someone, it's with a completely clean slate. I try not to bring assumptions to the table of what they might be like. Now, if someone says "I just got out of prison yesterday for murder", then I'm going to proceed with caution because new information has been introduced. But, I'm still going to give them the time of day and not write them off as stupid or dumb. Maybe they've changed. Maybe they're different. Who knows what I will find out about them - probably some things good and other things not - like anybody else we come across in life.

I remember going to Turkey of all places. I had no idea what to expect. I came across a family who welcomed me into their store, befriended me, asked a ton of questions about my culture and the U.S. and my thoughts on Turkey, etc. The father wanted his daughter to stay in touch with me. We became pen pals for a time. After 30 minutes in their store, when I had to leave, they were practically begging my friend and I to stay - they wanted to know more, they wanted to experience more of us - and we liked them as well. Then there was a shop owner who was completely rude and made derogatory comments in broken English. Completely ignorant, biased, uninformed, and totally uninterested in getting to know me and my friend as the individuals that we are. That's what I call dumb. Dumb squared. Dumb to the 10th power. Just dumb. We were already judged and his mind was already made up before we even stepped foot in the store. Ridiculous. I could provide multiple examples on both sides of the coin in my travels. People are people, no matter where you go.

 

[avolkiteshvara]

Pros of Essay question: develops critical thought and out of the box reasoning
Cons of Essay question: subject to interpretation of grader, time consuming to review


Perhaps da Yanks value productivity and objectivity over more time consuming enhanced development?

 

[SilkRoad]

2. From someone who doesn't know you, you seem to place A LOT of value on finishing school. And that's OK, don't get me wrong. I have finished school (and I may end up with a Ph.D. at some point, and then again I may not), but the degree(s) that are in my closet do not define my value in this life. I'm not sure if you agree with me or not, but it's worth stating. You said, "I wouldn't recommend not finishing school". Why not? Why should everyone go to school (college)? It's not for everyone. Some people don't have the skill set for it (they are better at other things), some people don't enjoy it, and some people flat-out don't want anything to do with it. They don't have to finish school to be considered valuable people who can make a difference in the world.

Mhm, I want to come back to this discussion at more detail later but it's super late here and I need to go to bed

I just want to make clear that when I talk about "finishing school", I mean high school. I do realise that not everyone is going to do college or uni (for various reasons, ranging from financial reasons to their own aptitudes and interests), and actually I'm quite fine with that. But I think that finishing high school should be a minimum for everyone if remotely possible. I think having at least that level of education is important for being a well rounded person, and you're just going to be crippling yourself unnecessarily in terms of job prospects if you don't have a high school diploma at least, certainly in this day and age. I wasn't sure what level of education you were referring to, or thought I was referring to, when you mentioned my emphasis on education...

 

[INTPness]

Mhm, I want to come back to this discussion at more detail later but it's super late here and I need to go to bed

I just want to make clear that when I talk about "finishing school", I mean high school. I do realise that not everyone is going to do college or uni (for various reasons, ranging from financial reasons to their own aptitudes and interests), and actually I'm quite fine with that. But I think that finishing high school should be a minimum for everyone if remotely possible. I think having at least that level of education is important for being a well rounded person, and you're just going to be crippling yourself unnecessarily in terms of job prospects if you don't have a high school diploma at least, certainly in this day and age. I wasn't sure what level of education you were referring to, or thought I was referring to, when you mentioned my emphasis on education...

Yeah, I guess I assumed (or misinterpreted) that you were talking about college. Which led me on my long-winded, INTP tangent that probably made your eyes bleed while reading it. Sorry 'bout that.

And, yeah, I do believe a basic high-school education is pretty necessary in today's world. There will still be those rare exceptions where someone had to drop out in the 8th grade to help their family on the farm or to get a full-time job at age 16 to help mama pay the mortgage, but in those cases, the person could always go back later and get the high-school diploma equivalency (here in the states, referred to as a G.E.D. - General Education Diploma).

 

[FDG]

I can't view the graph for some reason. Maybe you can repost it?

I can give you the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Views_on_Evolution.svg

what I personally believe: in the US there's a large rural (and ghetto-urban too, probably) share of population that lives "disconnected" from every other part of society and culture, thus their belief and knowledge will be comparatively extremely "ignorant".

 

[INTPness]

I can give you the link:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Views_on_Evolution.svg

what I personally believe: in the US there's a large rural (and ghetto-urban too, probably) share of population that lives "disconnected" from every other part of society and culture, thus their belief and knowledge will be comparatively extremely "ignorant".

Oh, good Lord. That's a whole different debate in that graph. A very complex debate - evolution vs. old world creationism vs. new world creationism, etc, etc, ad finitum (90 page thread, etc.).

Anyhow, yeah, I've met some really closed-minded people wherever I've gone in the world - literally in every country I've gone to, I've met a few of them. And I've also met open-minded people everywhere I've gone. It's a huge mistake to think that in one country you have a bunch of ignoramus' and as soon as you cross the Atlantic (or the Pacific or some other border) that all the sudden you're in great, intelligent company. I've traveled way too much. It's just not true.

 

[Southern Kross]

I can't believe had machines mark all your high school tests/exams! I only had that for these advanced exams that you could take if you wanted in.

Our external exams were sent off and marked by someone by hand by someone who was paid specially to do so.

Now the GOOD professors, on the other hand, would show up on day 1 and say, "I'm not like the rest of them. If you want to learn, then you're in the right place. If you want to show up every day half-asleep and expect to get a "B" in my class, you're probably in the wrong place. These professors often would give tests comprised of several open-ended questions (i.e. choose 2 world cultures and compare and contrast those cultures in regards to their current economic activity as it pertains to this class). These professors usually wouldn't let you "drop" your lowest test score. Every test counted and you had to perform well and you had to "actually learn" if you wanted a good grade.

The situation is closer to what university was like for me.

Hmmm, I'm not sure how it works in other countries, but I'm not sure that I want an 18-year-old going right into medicine. Not that they couldn't handle the material if they were intelligent, but what about life experience? That's part of the theory behind the first 2 years of college here, which are made up of a broad spectrum of classes. You usually have to take some form of arts/humanities, a few social science classes, a math class, a physical education class, a hard science class, a government and/or history class, and other electives of your choice to round out the breadth of your education. Then and only then can you begin to get deeper into the subject you want to study. Someone serious about medicine would probably want to get their first degree in something like physiology, anatomy, etc. For law, perhaps government, economics, maybe even business. But, yeah, if you got your degree in fine art and then suddenly decided you wanted to go study medicine, you can certainly apply for med school, but it doesn't mean you will get accepted and you would definitely need to take preliminary coursework so that you were equally prepared with your fellow medical students. You wouldn't be ready to start studying medicine tomorrow. But, the idea and the assumption is that if you have an exceptional academic record - you are a superior student, that you should probably have the capability to do well in whatever subject you study. If you get into medical school and can't keep up, then it won't work for you. You won't make it and you won't become a doctor.

Fair points. Its interesting though. It seems like America thinks of undergraduate degrees as an extension of high school...

As far as I know (from what I vaguely remember when talking with med student friends) in NZ usually med students take a year of biology courses and then if they do well enough the can apply to start medicine. They have psych tests and interviews, as well as an assessment of your marks (A+ to A average is absolutely necessary) and a select few make it through. After that you do 3 years of theory plus lab training (and maybe some volunteering at a hospital? I'm not sure), with more and more eliminated each year I believe - this gives you a BSc with medicine as a major. Then you do post-grad studies with increasingly more practical work and more specific areas of focus as things progress.

With law, you can start it right away but you only take a few classes in it for the first few years so you had to do a conjoint degree (most did a BA) to make up the points.

In high school, it would be short answers. In early college it could be both. The further on you go in college, the more open-ended the questions will become. Rather than "what is the answer to this question?" it will become "explain in detail what you know about x".

Really. I did short answers and essays in exams at high school from year 9 (8th grade) for English and Social Studies subjects (and in a way for languages if you took them). And I think all my exams at university except one (a first year course which was multiple choice) were essay based - but then I did do a BA.

I remember the Year 13 (12th grade) English exam being epic in difficulty and size. It had 2 short answer sections on a poetry and a prose excerpts of 10 questions each, a essay question on static images/speeches/whatever (which you could prepare earlier), then 3 or 4 essays on books/plays/poets/movies you studied - all of which had to be done in 3 hours

They don't do it this way now. We have a really convoluted system that: no one understands, puts huge pressure on teachers, discourages trying and basically attempts to eliminate the word 'fail'.

 

[entropie]

I didnt know what you said about multiple choice tests. Well I think the majority of germans wouldnt know that aswell, yet the majority would say americans are dumb yes. Then again, germans are the masters of criticizing everything and everyone so I wouldnt take that too personal. A huge point of critique is probably americas obsessions with religion that's a thing which is not understood amongst my people. Germany is a very hands-down practical and rational society and this creates a problem.

At first glance an american and a german would get along pretty well, I have harder times to get along with the french or even with someone from England. But on second glance germans and americans are fundamentally different. For example in America it's considered polite to talk alot and impolite to not to. In germany this exactly the opposite. In Germany aswell the general belief is there is no God. Tho there are religious people even those are convinced there is no God. And it's only a select few, who would in silence and for themselves believe in a God. In Germany fantasy is generally not a thing you get very far with in society. Tho this is changing at the moment. Germany too is a very foreign people unfriendly country. There are still more people running from the country than coming to it and America would be the exact opposite. You can quite quickly integrate in the american culture at many places and it's a good thing for a globalized future.

The thing about education, well you can see it this or that way. In Germany you go to University and only write exams up until age 26 - 30 yrs, depending on the difficulty of subject. After that you again learn everything anew in a company. So University is basically most often a huge waste of time. Then agaqin you learn a lot there so this could come in handy one day, it's complicated it depends on how quickly you want your workfroce educated. I doubt tho that someone only writing exams and having a longer time at University is automatically better qualified than someone who did not. On the paper tho it appears as such.

Well then there is the example of americans not even knowing the major capitals of Europe. The first time I heard that I thought "and ? I dont know the major capitals of the US states aswell". This is really no base of reference for me.

It's hard to tell for me, sometimes when you discuss things on the boards I am like "wtf thgis the most natural thing in the world, why do they have to discuss it ?" This so a difference in education not really experience achieved from learning. I personally do not consider myself smarter than the americans on this board, I feel no need for that. And people who do feel a need for that, so lets say europeans, I think they should get that pole out of their asses. It's a pretty arrogant thing and a thing most often done by older generations in my country. They appear sometimes to somehow have given up on learning from other cultures and to think the best way will always be theirs and noone else.

May they die out in peace

 

[Chloe]

Here in Medicine school all exams are multiple choice, they work very good, and there's verbal part of the exam if you passed written. in HS there's never multiple choice test. and prejudice about non educated Americans probably come from type of HSs in US and Europe, here we have specialized HSs so good students all go to top and mostly, after primary school (14) never ever again meet "dumb" students, in gymnasium we learn things like Latin as obligatory, so when someone says Americans are stupid in comparisson to Europeans, they dont count in people in Europe who go to lower rank schools, where there is no so "liberal arts" education. Those 2 worlds (gymnasium and lower HSs) are so separate that social circles almost never mix and when you go to college 90% of people are from gymnasium so you get the wrong feeling this is good representative of whole population.

 

[INTPness]

Here in Medicine school all exams are multiple choice, they work very good, and there's verbal part of the exam if you passed written. in HS there's never multiple choice test. and prejudice about non educated Americans probably come from type of HSs in US and Europe, here we have specialized HSs so good students all go to top and mostly, after primary school (14) never ever again meet "dumb" students, in gymnasium we learn things like Latin as obligatory, so when someone says Americans are stupid in comparisson to Europeans, they dont count in people in Europe who go to lower rank schools, where there is no so "liberal arts" education. Those 2 worlds (gymnasium and lower HSs) are so separate that social circles almost never mix and when you go to college 90% of people are from gymnasium so you get the wrong feeling this is good representative of whole population.

What country are you from?

 

[Haphazard]

I don't know about you but in HS we had tests in all classes pretty much every other week except gym, in some classes very regularly every week. However, there were only 2 standardized tests that HS students were required to take, and those weren't even counted towards your grade. Most people took the ACT, some took the SAT, and many people took AP exams, some 5 or 6 a year.

I was surprised when I got into college that the testing really seemed to die down a lot. In my college calc class, there were only 3 exams before the final, and in my Korean class a measley 2! My philosophy of comics class this semester (don't ask) doesn't even have exams at all, but instead a paper that's worth something like 80% of my grade due at the end of it. I think if you get into the softer humanities much of the grading is like this, not based on tests, but otherwise? No way.

 

[OrangeAppled]

That was not my HS experience (I'm in the US). Only some tests were multiple choice (and never machine graded), ones which involved detailed facts (ie. History and Science), but we'd also often have an essay portion where we'd discuss the non factual aspects like significance or relating something to something else and/or to explain our understanding of something in detail. I don't see the problem with that..... As someone who does not memorize facts well but grasps concepts easily, this made more sense to me . Pulling exact dates off the top of my head is rough, but writing an essay is not, so it was great to have multiple choice for the dry, factual aspects. I don't think this has affected my education negatively, rather it accommodated my learning style better.

Even our standardized, state tests (given to gauge where a school & students are at in comparison to others) usually had written portions in addition to any multiple choice. Those tests has nothing to do with our grades either.

In college, I cannot recall one multiple choice exam....we had a lot more projects and papers than exams, and exams were heavy on essays also.