what happens when a test company gets it wrong

[Don Shepherd]

(10-12-2014 08:40 PM)Tim Wessman Wrote:  

(10-12-2014 12:18 AM)Don Shepherd Wrote:  Regrettably (if I am to believe this thread), the Prime calculator would say the median of that data set is 10, not 11. Every middle school math teacher in the United States would tell you that is wrong. Please tell me this will be fixed.

The statistics applications and everything students will use calculate exactly that way.

The discussion in that thread revolved around the hidden CAS command 'median' which used a different but still perfectly valid mathematical definition. Median is "generally" defined as the way described in the document, but there are at least 3 ways to do it that I am aware of. All of them are mathematically and statistically valid.

Bernard chooses to use that other definition in his CAS, and since HP licenses the CAS and did not develop it internally... sometimes there have been things that go through of which we are unaware and might disagree with or wish would be changed. In that thread though, he indicates that it will be easy for him to resolve that to use a different behavior and so that will be changing to bring that CAS command into agreement with the rest of the system should there be another update put out.

Thanks Tim, but the original poster in that thread said that the unexpected behavior of median wasn't just in CAS mode, but in home mode too. Not having a Prime, I can't verify that. If it is fixed, fine, but someone should verify that it works as expected in home mode.

Don