Fun With Goaltending A Free Throw ...
 

Here's a question and answer from a recent IAABO Between The Lines rules quiz:

4. Committing basket interference or goaltending during a free throw is a technical foul. True or False?
4. False-10-4-9.

Is it just me or does the "or" make this an oddly worded question?

Basket interference during a free throw is not a technical foul, but goaltending during a free throw is a technical foul.

Wouldn't an "and" make this fully false?

"Partially false" is false.

And, if they said "and" someone would complain that you can't have NOT and GT on the same play.

Partially False ...
 

Yeah. OK.

But it still took me a few minutes to wrap my head around the "or" and answer the question correctly even though I completely understood the difference between basket interference and goaltending on a free throw.

In fact, I originally answered the question incorrectly before reading the answer despite fully understanding the difference between basket interference and goaltending on a free throw.

Since only one of these two things is true, then the answer is false. Again playing on what the rule used to be to get you to be confused. Not the best question, but it is still false if one part is incorrect.

Peace

Thank You For Being A Friend (Cynthia Fee, 1985) …
 

Thank you.

For The Good Of The Cause ...
 

You can tell when people who have no experience writing tests or quizzes write a test or quiz.

There was a reason that my school had an entire class on "measurement and evaluation" for physical education majors. Several weeks were dedicated to test writing. It is not as easy as people think it is. It is often words like "or" on a test or quiz that are what makes these bad questions. The goal of any test or quiz is to evaluate what a person knows, not see if they can find the trick part of a trick question.

Trick Or Treat ...
 

Agree. I don't think that IAABO or the NFHS trying to trick us on purpose, they just can't consistently write good questions.