Quote Originally Posted by Martinm210 View Post
FWIW,
I think tailoring the test to what the audience both understands and accepts is critical....even more so than the test accuracy.

I don't know how many times I've had someone ask me which direction is better on a pump curve. Is it up or down?
My point on this particular matter is that I'd rather educate the audience through explanation than dumb-down the test and presentation of data. This way, those who already do understand are presented with what they want and those who don't understand just have to read a bit (yeah, reading... what a horrible thing to expect people to do ). Compromising a test just to make the results nice and easy for the lowest common denominator is damn near a crime in my book (note: I'm speaking in general, not in specific).

BTW, I read that first line of your post to my wife and it sent her off on one of those 10-15 minute "everything that's wrong with society when it comes to basic math/science" rants