New Jersey 2014

[nxtscholar]

Haha....only 12 more days to competition...and I still have yet to touch one of my builds events

Anyways, good luck to everyone. I'll be wearing a physics-themed t-shirt with a physics-themed nickname from JP Stevens.

Hmmm....predictions anyone? Obviously the safe bet would be West Windsor Plainsboro HS South and Community MS....but you never know.

[UQOnyx]

Good luck guys!
Put your usernames on your name tags so that we can recognize each other.
When we all gather in the gym for awards, go in the middle for a meetup.
Hope to see you guys there!

[magicalforest]

So guys... what did you think about Water Quality C?

Ok, I can understand that if you don't prepare for an event, then you can't expect to do well. I can understand that due to inclement weather or whatever reason, if State supervisors release the States schedule TWO WEEKS before the competition (causing multiple last-minute swaps in events), they will be desperate to get any supervisor. I understand that most event supervisors are volunteers, dedicating their time to something they may not be interested in.

But what I DON'T understand is the NJ States Water Quality C test. It was around 40 questions, all multiple choice, with about 8 questions true/false. What was on it? It did NOT test estuaries, marine biology, coral reefs, or the coral indicator organisms. It did NOT test marine abiotic factors, or the different types of estuaries, or the ecologies of the various organisms. It did NOT have a salinity testing portion, or even check for a salinometer.

Below is a couple of the 40 questions. I don't have a copy of the test. But since we (and many other teams) finished in 10 minutes, we spent the rest of the time carefully re-reading decoding the rest of the questions.

It was a 32 multiple choice, 8 true/false test, consisting of questions such as:
If a water sample has a pH of 6, is it
a) acidic
b) basic
c) alkaline
d) neither

Bottled water has no chlorine because
a) it's bottled
b) it's cleaner
c) it's cleaned by UV
d) it's stream water

T/F Chlorine kills bacteria.

Or ambiguous questions such as:
What is groundwater?
a) well water
b) water from ground
c) surface water
(apparently the answer was A, not B)

What does not affect water quality of lakes?
a) Agriculture runoff
b) Leaky septic tank
c) Mining operations
d) Rainfall
The most educated guess was D, since it is the least obvious source of pollution (if you conveniently ignore acid rain...)

Keep in mind the above represents about 1/8 of the entire test.

All of my hours studying coral reefs, coral polyps, the terrifying predatory behavior of the triton, the interesting cooperation between the grouper and the moray eel, down the drain, GONE! No longer would I get another chance to compete in my SO season (we didn't make nationals). All of the hours of preparation- identifying and memorizing the organisms, researching information on each of the 25 indicator species, going over and over the handouts on soinc.org, calibrating the salinometer for a good two hours, ALL OF THAT was reduced down to a 40 multiple choice test that covered NONE of the topics, that relied mostly on luck in interpreting the vague questions. (Is he asking about an example of groundwater, or is he asking the definition of groundwater?)

It makes you wonder, how did the supervisor separate those at the top? No, there were no tiebreaker questions. No, time was not a tiebreaker. He explicitly stated it wasn't, and a team that finished late in our session placed top 3 in the event.

Yes I understand a lot of the supervisors are volunteers. And I should be grateful that Water Quality is even being held at States, because two weeks ago the State coordinator still didn't have supervisors for about 8 different events. The supervisors dedicated their time to write a test, proctor it for an entire day, and grade 26 different tests. I admire that.

But is this subpar test being fair to the competitors, is this validating their time and effort? A lot of the competitors spend a lot of time preparing for their events, only to have supervisors that don't even read the rules, writing tests that do not adequately test the preparation and skills of the competitors.

Besides from Water Quality, what about the fact that Materials Science was cancelled THIS MORNING? Our team members were walking to their room, found it dark and locked, and someone putting up a notice saying it was cancelled. BOOM! Just like that, all their studying and binder-building, all for nothing. And this is a State tournament, the supposed grand finale of the SO season (for many not making nationals)

So, my question to you: how would you have reacted? Suppose you studied really hard for an event that turned out to have a horrible test, that required little prior knowledge or research. That did not follow the rulesheet. What would you do? Could you appeal about a study event?

And is there any way for people to volunteer to create tests for NJ tournaments (especially States), people who read the rules and would make questions about the topics you're supposed to study?

[nxtscholar]

So guys... what did you think about Water Quality C?

Ok, I can understand that if you don't prepare for an event, then you can't expect to do well. I can understand that due to inclement weather or whatever reason, if State supervisors release the States schedule TWO WEEKS before the competition (causing multiple last-minute swaps in events), they will be desperate to get any supervisor. I understand that most event supervisors are volunteers, dedicating their time to something they may not be interested in.

But what I DON'T understand is the NJ States Water Quality C test. It was around 40 questions, all multiple choice, with about 8 questions true/false. What was on it? It did NOT test estuaries, marine biology, coral reefs, or the coral indicator organisms. It did NOT test marine abiotic factors, or the different types of estuaries, or the ecologies of the various organisms. It did NOT have a salinity testing portion, or even check for a salinometer.

Below is a couple of the 40 questions. I don't have a copy of the test. But since we (and many other teams) finished in 10 minutes, we spent the rest of the time carefully re-reading decoding the rest of the questions.

It was a 32 multiple choice, 8 true/false test, consisting of questions such as:
If a water sample has a pH of 6, is it
a) acidic
b) basic
c) alkaline
d) neither

Bottled water has no chlorine because
a) it's bottled
b) it's cleaner
c) it's cleaned by UV
d) it's stream water

T/F Chlorine kills bacteria.

Or ambiguous questions such as:
What is groundwater?
a) well water
b) water from ground
c) surface water
(apparently the answer was A, not B)

What does not affect water quality of lakes?
a) Agriculture runoff
b) Leaky septic tank
c) Mining operations
d) Rainfall
The most educated guess was D, since it is the least obvious source of pollution (if you conveniently ignore acid rain...)

Keep in mind the above represents about 1/8 of the entire test.

All of my hours studying coral reefs, coral polyps, the terrifying predatory behavior of the triton, the interesting cooperation between the grouper and the moray eel, down the drain, GONE! No longer would I get another chance to compete in my SO season (we didn't make nationals). All of the hours of preparation- identifying and memorizing the organisms, researching information on each of the 25 indicator species, going over and over the handouts on soinc.org, calibrating the salinometer for a good two hours, ALL OF THAT was reduced down to a 40 multiple choice test that covered NONE of the topics, that relied mostly on luck in interpreting the vague questions. (Is he asking about an example of groundwater, or is he asking the definition of groundwater?)

It makes you wonder, how did the supervisor separate those at the top? No, there were no tiebreaker questions. No, time was not a tiebreaker. He explicitly stated it wasn't, and a team that finished late in our session placed top 3 in the event.

Yes I understand a lot of the supervisors are volunteers. And I should be grateful that Water Quality is even being held at States, because two weeks ago the State coordinator still didn't have supervisors for about 8 different events. The supervisors dedicated their time to write a test, proctor it for an entire day, and grade 26 different tests. I admire that.

But is this subpar test being fair to the competitors, is this validating their time and effort? A lot of the competitors spend a lot of time preparing for their events, only to have supervisors that don't even read the rules, writing tests that do not adequately test the preparation and skills of the competitors.

Besides from Water Quality, what about the fact that Materials Science was cancelled THIS MORNING? Our team members were walking to their room, found it dark and locked, and someone putting up a notice saying it was cancelled. BOOM! Just like that, all their studying and binder-building, all for nothing. And this is a State tournament, the supposed grand finale of the SO season (for many not making nationals)

So, my question to you: how would you have reacted? Suppose you studied really hard for an event that turned out to have a horrible test, that required little prior knowledge or research. That did not follow the rulesheet. What would you do? Could you appeal about a study event?

And is there any way for people to volunteer to create tests for NJ tournaments (especially States), people who read the rules and would make questions about the topics you're supposed to study?

Well, I did Scrambler and Mission Possible (for those who may ask and keep track of whose doing what, I got dropped from boomilever). But the general consensus I got from people I asked was that the WQ test was definitely NOT legit. You have reason to complain. Hillsborough said that one question was how many H atoms are there in a molecule of water. Yeah, so I was almost wondering if WQ is a division B event or not...

There's no doubt that WQ was obviously poorly directed but what is there to do at this point? States is over and it's not like they could retest. Void the results? Not likely either. In all honesty and in terms of placement, if the test was easy, then every person should have been subject to the same opportunities to place easily. I understand your frustration, but at this point in time, the best we could do is to simply direct "suggestions" to the coordinators of NJSO.

Good luck guys!
Put your usernames on your name tags so that we can recognize each other.
When we all gather in the gym for awards, go in the middle for a meetup.
Hope to see you guys there!

sigh, just saw this. But congrats anyways on placing!

[Luo]

And is there any way for people to volunteer to create tests for NJ tournaments (especially States), people who read the rules and would make questions about the topics you're supposed to study?

I am the founder of an organization called Science Olympiad at MIT that organizes MIT students to write tests for Science Olympiad tournaments and to volunteer at Science Olympiad tournaments. Our organization's membership is now in the dozens and includes alumni of many of the top national teams, including Solon, Fayetteville-Manlius, and West Windsor-Plainsboro South. We've written tests for three tournaments so far (including one-third of the events at one tournament) and hope to continue expanding our outreach in the future. Our goal is to host a Division C tournament of our own next year.

Science Olympiad at MIT reached out to New Jersey's state director to offer our help immediately when we received the news that New Jersey was struggling to find event writers and supervisors for its state tournament. We did not receive a response from the New Jersey state director. If a shortage of event volunteers arises again, we would be happy to help. Feel free to contact us at scioly [at] mit [dot] edu anytime.

[magicalforest]

In all honesty and in terms of placement, if the test was easy, then every person should have been subject to the same opportunities to place easily. I understand your frustration, but at this point in time, the best we could do is to simply direct "suggestions" to the coordinators of NJSO.

I would have no problem at all if the test was at least fair. If the questions was worded clearly, the meaning of the questions was apparent.

But that was not the case. If the question was not overtly obvious, then it was overtly ambiguous. It did not test your preparation for the event. It did not test whether you went the extra mile, and read extra information beyond the bare bones on the SO website. It did not test if you were willing to put in time to study for a relatively unfamiliar topic that isn't covered in school. The questions were simple. The questions that would have separated 1st from 26th place were the ones that made little grammatical or logical sense. It tested if you were lucky in answering the poorly worded questions, or if you were able to somehow decipher the obscure meanings (which I obviously failed at).

Certain ideas may seem very obvious if glanced on the surface, but become very ambiguous if you research closely enough. A lot of the questions threw the nuance right OUT THE WINDOW. It would be the equivalent of asking: Is gray black or white?

Gray is neither black nor white. How are you supposed to answer that? Well, gray is a combination of both black and white. But which one is the right answer? You ask the supervisor who replies, "Sorry, cannot help you with that. I am just simply asking you whether gray, the color, is closer to the color white or the color black. Fairly simple" (Directly quoted from the supervisor, with some obvious replacements) And so, questions like these, ones with a 50-50 shot for anyone who didn't even study the topic, were essentially used separate teams #1 to teams #26.

Of course, don't feel I'm targeting you nxtscholar with my anger. I'm just really angry with the way the States tournament was held.

How are we supposed to offer "suggestions" to the NJ State committee for next year? They were willing to get anyone to write tests and not even inform them of the SO rules. Do we assume they genuinely care for us, and would be willing to read through our suggestions?

What if next year, they also put a notice two week before States, "We understand all the teams are very interested in the State schedule. We are working very hard and the schedule will be released shortly" and release the schedule a week before the tournament? And then I have to change partners again and start from the beginning to teach my new partner the event? Or next year I have the luck to choose an event that, when I walk into the room in the morning, conveniently see "Event cancelled" across the doors?

It's so funny. Us students are held to the highest standard. Building infraction? 2nd tiered. Writing overtime into Experimental Design? You have to stop writing, there's a time limit. Two weeks before the competition and schedules aren't out yet? They are busy and they are volunteering their time. Be lenient. Learn to handle event conflicts a week before the tournament because, seriously.

What about the event supervisors? Our Water Quality test, off topic and doesn't even meet minimum requirements. Would have gotten an F. Materials Science, a big fat 0 for not showing up the day of the competition and no notification in advance. Of course the supervisors don't feel any disappointment, don't feel their efforts were wasted and were down the drain.


I could have picked any random person from my team to do Water Quality. They would have done as well, if not better than the people who studied the topic. Why did I even bother to spend two hours calibrating my salinometer, go through every library book on coral reefs, beg teachers for resources, force my partner to go through practice tests on the Test Exchange? Why did people in NJ even bother to put any time towards Materials Science?

I am the founder of an organization called Science Olympiad at MIT that organizes MIT students to write tests for Science Olympiad tournaments and to volunteer at Science Olympiad tournaments. Our organization's membership is now in the dozens and includes alumni of many of the top national teams, including Solon, Fayetteville-Manlius, and West Windsor-Plainsboro South. We've written tests for three tournaments so far (including one-third of the events at one tournament) and hope to continue expanding our outreach in the future. Our goal is to host a Division C tournament of our own next year.

Science Olympiad at MIT reached out to New Jersey's state director to offer our help immediately when we received the news that New Jersey was struggling to find event writers and supervisors for its state tournament. We did not receive a response from the New Jersey state director. If a shortage of event volunteers arises again, we would be happy to help. Feel free to contact us at scioly [at] mit [dot] edu anytime.

Yes yes that would be very very much appreciated! Please contact the NJ State supervisor in advance for next year. On behalf of all the SO people in NJ, we would really appreciate tests and competitions that validate our time and effort.

According to the NJ State Website, the State Supervisor is Ms. Jennifer Wirt, and her email: [email protected]

Of course, a little minor concern. I am sure that the people in your organization would do their best for the competition to be fair. But, West Windsor-Plainsboro South happens to compete in NJ. I do believe people would want the tournament to be fair, but alumni like to visit their dear old high schools, especially with such a strong SO program making so many memories at West Windsor-Plainsboro South.

[nTvarify]

As a graduating senior this year, I am glad that I finished my Science Olympiad career with the NJ Division C Water Quality test.

The entire test was hilarious. The entire 40 minutes was hilarious and my partner and I could not stop laughing. Frankly everyone in the room was goofing around. The test was ridiculous. Besides its ridiculous easiness, the only questions that set apart the top teams were completely subjective. "Can you see microorganisms?" (T/F)

No one has mentioned probably the most ridiculous answers of all on that test. I hope no one ever has to see something so hilarious and stupid again. The question asked about adding something to water. The first two answers: A. Increase taste B. Decrease taste.

Increase taste

Decrease taste

What the f***. I can't even begin to explain how stupid those responses were.

Overall, it was a hilarious test to take and I really enjoyed just laughing about it and not really caring about how well we were going to do. I will miss Science Olympiad and this specific test will be one of my favorite Science Olympiad moments of all time.

[magicalforest]

I guess people will respond differently. Maybe because there's pressure on our team to do well, or because we thought we had a chance to somehow make it to Nationals. Nationals sounds like a lot of fun...

But yes. I probably am overreacting. Just another tournament. I guess you can only do your best and hope for the best? >.<

I would just wish the state organizers would be more responsible.

Or maybe spending so much time on SO just isn't worth it. What other activities do you guys do besides SO?

[Luo]

I am the founder of an organization called Science Olympiad at MIT that organizes MIT students to write tests for Science Olympiad tournaments and to volunteer at Science Olympiad tournaments. Our organization's membership is now in the dozens and includes alumni of many of the top national teams, including Solon, Fayetteville-Manlius, and West Windsor-Plainsboro South. We've written tests for three tournaments so far (including one-third of the events at one tournament) and hope to continue expanding our outreach in the future. Our goal is to host a Division C tournament of our own next year.

Science Olympiad at MIT reached out to New Jersey's state director to offer our help immediately when we received the news that New Jersey was struggling to find event writers and supervisors for its state tournament. We did not receive a response from the New Jersey state director. If a shortage of event volunteers arises again, we would be happy to help. Feel free to contact us at scioly [at] mit [dot] edu anytime.

Yes yes that would be very very much appreciated! Please contact the NJ State supervisor in advance for next year. On behalf of all the SO people in NJ, we would really appreciate tests and competitions that validate our time and effort.

According to the NJ State Website, the State Supervisor is Ms. Jennifer Wirt, and her email: [email protected]

Of course, a little minor concern. I am sure that the people in your organization would do their best for the competition to be fair. But, West Windsor-Plainsboro South happens to compete in NJ. I do believe people would want the tournament to be fair, but alumni like to visit their dear old high schools, especially with such a strong SO program making so many memories at West Windsor-Plainsboro South.

Ms. Wirt is the state director that we contacted, and that was the email address that we used. Time permitting, we will try to contact the New Jersey state director again next year to offer our services farther in advance. We always strive to write tests that not only validate competitors' time and effort, but offer all competitors a stimulating and exciting challenge. I am aware that West Windsor-Plainsboro South is in New Jersey (which is partially why I mentioned them), but I assure you that there should not be a reasonable doubt regarding the fairness of our tests. We also encourage any competitors to contact us after the competition to ask questions about the exam, answers, scoring, MIT, MIT applications, college applications in general, MIT life, college life in general, or anything else at all. Our goal is to help Science Olympiad and Science Olympians as much as we can with the time that we have. Please let me know if you have any questions.

[nxtscholar]

I guess people will respond differently. Maybe because there's pressure on our team to do well, or because we thought we had a chance to somehow make it to Nationals. Nationals sounds like a lot of fun...

But yes. I probably am overreacting. Just another tournament. I guess you can only do your best and hope for the best? >.<

I would just wish the state organizers would be more responsible.

Or maybe spending so much time on SO just isn't worth it. What other activities do you guys do besides SO?

I personally do InvenTeam, and other STEM activities.

Now, I personally don't mind. I didn't perceive you to be venting exactly; pigeon, I'd be pretty annoyed too. I definitely agree that states could have been run better. In my own event, the event coordinator was directly giving advice to teams to help them avoid being tiered 2. While that's nice and all, how is that fair to the teams that already built their devices with the rules in mind?

My point was that in response to your questions about what could be done to appeal a study event in the sense of changing results. Yeah, nothing could really be done. But as Luo pointed out, there shouldn't be a problem in the future....if NJSO really did care about not repeating this debacle.

Because once again, that test seems to me to have been more of a division B test if anything.

Just curious, what school are you from?