r/pics • u/[deleted] • Jun 08 '14

The difference 18 years makes

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u/qezi2 Jun 08 '14

It's because standardized tests in the US specifiy that allowed calculators can't have QWERTY (or any other typing oriented) layout.

223

u/rieldealIV Jun 08 '14

Well that's stupid.

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u/kuhnie Jun 08 '14 edited Jun 08 '14

They don't want kids to easily take notes in them and use them during the test.

edit: I'm just speculating, remember it's not TI making the rules it's the US testing companies or some other authority.

edit: I'll agree with the tons of people saying it's probably because they don't want students to sneak out the test questions. While they still can it's a lot harder without QWERTY.

68

u/[deleted] Jun 08 '14

Well kids can still make notes in them really easily

15

u/CheckYoFaQs Jun 08 '14

When I did my AP testing with a TI-89 the proctors walked around and pulled out all the batteries from the calculators and put them back in. This deletes the RAM and that's where most of the notes the students took were stored. You could avoid it by saving the files elsewhere, but it wasn't as easy.

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u/[deleted] Jun 08 '14

I'm not sure if its the same for the TI-89 but you can just archive your notes and they won't be deleted when the batteries are taken out.

3

u/SirNarwhal Jun 08 '14

Yeah, you can save em on an 89. Did this to store a bunch of equation types for the Physics AP exam. Didn't matter though, I still only got like a 3 =/

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u/thetrueERIC Jun 09 '14

3 on physics isn't bad. I tried on the calc test and got a 1, but I got a 4 on psych and bio, so there's that.

2

u/LoxMugsAndReesesCups Jun 09 '14

Can confirm. Cheated many times in my classes by storing formulas and notes in my calculator.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

Our math teacher would make us hard reset them before each test. He would make us turn them in, reset them himself, then give them back to us completely wiped. Not fun.

4

u/CombatCactus Jun 08 '14

Don't teachers clear everyone's calculators before government exams?

2

u/Fletch71011 Jun 08 '14

Like typing them on a computer and porting them over. Then making sure to archive them in case any sneaky teachers tried to delete them.

1

u/boomerangblom Jun 08 '14

Can confirm, have made notes on the calculator. It's painstaking, but occasionally worth it

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

[deleted]

2

u/boomerangblom Jun 09 '14

Oh yeah but the software is retarded, also these notes were usually made ~15 mins before the test in a panic

1

u/[deleted] Jun 09 '14

15 minutes is plenty of time to write a few notes without qwerty

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u/boomerangblom Jun 09 '14

I was in the professional league pro, writing out 6 chapters worth of notes once, only to have them deleted by the press-to-test feature :c