competency

the pedagagy and professional responsibilities test (PPR), which i took yesterday, includes questions like the following:
A number of students arrive in Mr. Fitch's government class one morning debating the results of a federal election that are being contested nationwide. The class is due to study election-related content later in the semester as part of a carefully planned instructional sequence. Which of the following would be Mr. Fitch's best response in this situation?
A. Begin the class by praising students for
their interest in the election and urging
them to continue pursuing that interest;
then have them turn their attention to the
planned lesson.
B. Devote this class period, and additional
periods as appropriate, to addressing principles
and issues related to the current public debate.
C. Assure students that the class will address
the election in depth after they have progressed
through a series of prerequisite lessons.
D. Encourage interested students to begin
collecting election-related information in
preparation for writing their final term paper.
does anyone have a guess?
usually, all the answers are at least feasible. sometimes they seem ridiculously similar. sometimes they are so verbosely worded, so full of jargon and so awkwardly phrased, that they are completely flummoxing. the above question is pretty reasonable, though you can imagine how any of the answers might be the correct answer. it all depends on who's asking. sometimes flexibility is the answer. sometimes sticking with the plan is all that matters. sometimes you should listen to parents, sometimes to kids. sometimes you should close your ears to everything and simply follow the rules.
i still don't understand who's asking, exactly. all i can tell is that it's someone who is trying to improve the state of our educational system in texas, and they think this will help.
did i pass? it's hard to say. i left the classroom feeling positive about it. but i took a practice test two weeks ago and came up short of passing, with a grade of 80 (you need an 84).
but i realized one concrete flaw in these standardized tests-- the SAT, the TAKS, the PPR. there is no chance to review the test after it's been graded. how is anyone supposed to actually learn anything if he can't see which questions he missed?
isn't that important? according to the current set-up, the priority is to measure what you've learned, your "competency." the priority is not to teach you anything useful, resonant or worthwhile.
if anyone would like to take a guess at the above question, i will be glad to hear your guess and then i will tell you the guess the PPR people would approve of. maybe it will teach you something.