A baby is shown sitting on the floor. He appears to be about a year and a half old. Incidentally, he is a very plain baby. Strewn about him on the floor are the toys that he has been playing with. There are a ball, a rattle, a ring, a doll, a bell and a pair of roller-skates. Evidently, the candidate is supposed to be aghast at the roller-skates in the possession of such a small child. The man who drew that picture had evidently never furnished playthings for a small child. I can imagine nothing that would delight a child of a year and a half more than a pair of roller-skates to chew and spin and hit himself in the face with. They could also be dropped on Daddy when Daddy was lying on the floor in an attempt to be sociable. Of all the toys arranged before the child, the roller-skates are the most logical. ... That is my great trouble in taking tests and examinations of any kind. I always want to argue with the examiner, because the examiner is always so obviously wrong.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Benchley humorously critiques a test image of a child with roller‑skates, noting the absurdity of judging a small child’s safety with such toys.
- In plain terms
- He finds the test image absurd and jokes about the child's perspective.
- What can you take from it?
- Test questions should be realistic and considerate of context.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- How do we ensure test realism?
- When is humor appropriate in assessments?
Another view
Humor may not translate across cultures or audiences.
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