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I am not going to get into the whole discussion here but simply put, estimating IS a very valuable skill for math and for life in general. For anyone that does math in their head rather than depending on a calculator, being able to estimate an answer is useful and provides a building block for more advanced math. Sometimes it's not always clear how they want you to estimate but criticizing the testing of estimation skills is off base IMO.
And I think some people get testy because of the way the OP was phrased "for those of you..." That phrasing implies criticism and problems (that are not unique to the Triangle I might add). I am sure I could go to any number of states or areas and critique 3rd grade exams.
I agree that estimating is valuable, maybe even more now as computers are used everywhere and cell phones all have calculators. However, the questions are indeed poorly designed, especially when several close estimates are placed side by side, *then plus* the precise answer.
However, to test estimating is hard due to its fussy nature. One thing I can think of is to space the answers so that the good estimates are separated enough from the bad ones, and ask students to quickly finish many questions. But then it becomes a speed test, and I suspect that students' performance would still be highly correlated to the results doing precise calculation.
One skill I find quite useful in life is to use "mental math" to double check others' calculations (price quote, labor charge, tax, ...). Rather than judging "how close is close enough", students can be given a set of problems and corresponding calculation results, and asked to quickly identify 1 or 2 lines that were calculated wrong.
And I think some people get testy because of the way the OP was phrased "for those of you..." That phrasing implies criticism and problems (that are not unique to the Triangle I might add). I am sure I could go to any number of states or areas and critique 3rd grade exams.
I used the phrase "For those of you who are looking at public schools in the Triangle" because
1) I wanted to hear local comments as I "know" many of the regular posters. I didn't want the thread moved to the state section. And I certainly wasn't going to make the description generic enough where it would be moved to a national forum.
2) I thought those that currently have kids in Triangle public schools probably have already seen the type of questions, thus the thread would not be as amusing. Again, I've blatantly been told I failed at the humor thing. I've been booed off the stage already. Your too late.
3) As someone who moved here 2 years ago, I had seen some of the questions on Portland's test. Some of them I thought we funny how they worded them. So I thought it would be fun or interesting for relocators to see how some of the questions are worded on the NC EOG.
This is in NO WAY a scientific sampling people. I said these were my favorites. I did not say they were respresentative of the entire EOG. Next time I'll make sure I put up a disclaimer.
As my 3rd graders said "you're way over thinking this thing."
I am not going to get into the whole discussion here but simply put, estimating IS a very valuable skill for math and for life in general.
The point is that whether to estimate party bags or not is not something
a 3rd grader would know. I also think the answer is incorrect , most moms would make a few extra.
On a scale of 1 to 10, I estimate this test gets a "D."
No, it's got to be a multiple choice, and you get a range of values when estimating :
A) D-F
B) C-D
C) B-C
D) A-B
E) None of the above
F) All of the above
There are multiple gotchas here which make it impossible to answer without more info - kind of like the original questions.
I tried to keep this in the humorous vein of the rest of the thread, but the more I think about it the less funny it seems to try and put estimating with no specific guidance into a multiple choice test.
That mental math one is hilarious... what rule says you can't jot something down if the end result is the same??? But I guess I do get that they're trying to prep the kids for 'real world' events.
The point is that whether to estimate party bags or not is not something
a 3rd grader would know. I also think the answer is incorrect , most moms would make a few extra.
I agree - they need to have one of the answers listed as "Ask mom"
I used the phrase "For those of you who are looking at public schools in the Triangle" because
1) I wanted to hear local comments as I "know" many of the regular posters. I didn't want the thread moved to the state section. And I certainly wasn't going to make the description generic enough where it would be moved to a national forum.
2) I thought those that currently have kids in Triangle public schools probably have already seen the type of questions, thus the thread would not be as amusing. Again, I've blatantly been told I failed at the humor thing. I've been booed off the stage already. Your too late.
3) As someone who moved here 2 years ago, I had seen some of the questions on Portland's test. Some of them I thought we funny how they worded them. So I thought it would be fun or interesting for relocators to see how some of the questions are worded on the NC EOG.
This is in NO WAY a scientific sampling people. I said these were my favorites. I did not say they were respresentative of the entire EOG. Next time I'll make sure I put up a disclaimer.
As my 3rd graders said "you're way over thinking this thing."
OK, those are fair points especially about not getting the thread moved. I guess my only point (and this was more directed at the discussion after your post) was that estimating is a valuable skill in a math context and sometimes tough to teach when the kids want to answer the question exactly.
I probably misread your post to have a slant like "look at these silly tests that our Triangle-area public schools are using" in a critical way. I see now that was not your intent.
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I've been booed off the stage already. Your too late. 
