05-23-2018, 03:47 PM
(05-23-2018, 01:36 PM)jerrycon_imp Wrote: Has anybody else taken the California motorcycle "knowledge" test (written test) recently? I took it last week, and I declare it [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Test_validity]not valid and [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reliability_(statistics)]not reliable. These are serious charges in the world of testing.
The test was some kind of twisted language game, apparently slapped together by a couple of cruiser riders as they drank lots of strong beer. I failed it once. Studied the puzzling handbook for a bit. And I was lucky to pass it the second time.
Can you imagine the horrible scenario? There you are, a motorcycle rider since 1976, and the state wants to take away your motorcycle license because you failed their crazy language game? That's the thought that flashed through my mind.
If I were ambitious, I'd write the Department of Motor Vehicles a letter recommending that they pay money to a company like [url=https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Educational_Testing_Service]ETS (Educational Testing Service) to construct a proper test (valid and reliable). Freedom to ride one's motorcycle is far too important to leave the testing to amateurs. I am seriously disappointed in the California DMV. I hope they will try to do better.
Where I took the test some years ago, it wasn't much better. However, you cold get a free booklet that I went through beforehand. It was full of stuff that clearly suggested the same type of bias you are talking about. So I assumed that the test was not about motorcycling at all, but about remembering the content of that booklet...