In the course of teaching high school, I have noticed that there are persistent underground myths circulated by students. Some of them are urban legends found at http://www.snopes.com/, like trying to protest gas prices with a one-day boycott. Some are more insidious.

I am taking on one myth that has major implications for the standardized test scores that form the basis for judging school progress. (Is that a good lead? Do you want to know more?)

Here it is: many students truly believe that "c" is the most likely choice for a correct answer on a multiple choice test. All of the California state standardized tests are multiple choice. These students know the stakes of these tests, and they are looking for any chance to improve their score. Choosing "c" has become a viable test-taking strategy.

Even after I remind them that standardized tests have multiple versions generated by computers which randomize answer order, a lot cannot let go of the hope for an easy answer.

This is a powerful reason to reconsider how tests are designed and administered. The only real way to assess students' mastery of a concept is with multi-modal aseessments.

There, I will step off the soapbox now.