This is not a new issue to the "dumbing down" claims. The argument is that with some many questions in the pools it is not practical to memorize all the questions in a pool of interest to cover all the question possibilities in a test. Our new mentoring program may want to take the reality of this issue into consideration in implementing the program. 73, Wade W0EJ

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on this article, Jay. That philosophy -- using memorization of questions and answers to pass the test -- is counter to what we've been saying in our license manuals and instructor materials for as long as I can remember. I asked staff to take the article off the Web site.

The editors tell me that this article was recommended by someone who is known to us who observed one of these classes and the followup work the group does with students to bring them along after the license exam is out of the way. But I agree that an approach that relies exclusively on memorization of the question pool is not something we can promote.

73, Mark K1RO

-----Original Message----- From: Bellows, John (Dir, Dakota) Sent: Tuesday, April 27, 2004 12:00 PM To: arrl-odv Subject: [ARRL-ODV:10520] RE Web Article Is Your Club's License Class Really Efficient?

The following is from the current ARRL Web Page article "Is Your Club's License Class Really Efficient?"

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>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>> " I met the group in the morning for the experiment. I did nothing more than provide them with a printed copy of the Technician Question Pool and set them only to reading it for three hours--no lecturing, no explaining, no teaching. We took 15-minute breaks every hour, had lunch at noon and came back for three hours in the afternoon. At 4 PM we administered the test. It was all over in just one day. " >>>>>>>>>>>>>>> I wonder when we shifted from encouraging folks to learn about Amateur Radio as moved to a "just study the question pool mode." This concept unabashedly touts relying exclusively on short term memory to pass the Technician test. It doesn't even pretend to promote remembering the material beyond the test much less understanding the material.

If this is the new paradigm we ought to consider cutting costs by dumping The Big Project, cutting the entire Education Staff and just publishing a monthly journal and books. Wait a second --- if all we need to know are the answers in the question pool why bother with a journal or books?

I'm going to have a tough time challenging those who say we are "dumbing down" Amateur Radio if ARRL is promoting this.

Jay, KØQB