[QUOTE=KPChief;188291]Not disagreeing with your suggestion, but who would the examiners for such a test be?[/QUOTE]
It would be a bunch of old white men, which is why it will never be the system in the US. (It would have to be experienced ship masters and chief engineers.) The US is too diverse and people pull the racism/sexism card too easily.
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;190271]It would be a bunch of old white men, which is why it will never be the system in the US. (It would have to be experienced ship masters and chief engineers.) The US is too diverse and people pull the racism/sexism card too easily.[/QUOTE]
A better explanation is costs, a few knowledgable people can create tests which can be administrated by individual unskilled clerks at each location.
Same principle applies at any fast food franchise. Reduce each job to a small number of easy steps that someone with minimum training can follow.
Iâd be fine with an oral component to the exam, or even sketches. Do we not discuss and sketch on the job? We do it all the time.
Just came across this thread. Pretty interesting. I think a good question is to ask why did the U.S get away from oral exams for MM licensing originally? As I understand it, up to the 1950âs a good part of license exams consisted of sitting in front of a board of merchant marine captains/ chiefs and answering their questions, as prepared by the USCG. I was told that often these captains/chiefs were officers that happened to be in port and volunteered, back when a ship would take a week to offload, and port time was ample. (I donât know if this is true. Just what I heard).
Lifeboat certificate exams were done in orally in front of a group of captains, that I do know, probably to the 1950âs again. For some reason this âBoard of Expertsâ concept for MM licensing was phased out. Then essay questions were used (1960âs?) When I was a cadet in CMA in the 1980âs there were still 20-year old âScoop Sheetsâ passed around that we used for studying for exams, that consisted of handwritten answers to these essay questions. Then, at some point, even the essay questions were phased out and everything became multiple choice.
Hopefully one of the truly Old Salts will read this and tell us why we got away from oral and essay questions in the first place. We were there once. Must be a reason we got away.
For the same reasons as every other bureaucracy or institution: time, cost and, most important of all, ease of administration. That it produces a crappier âproductâ is, at best, a secondary concern if itâs a concern at all.
America! Give us convenience or give us death.
So the mate finishes his exam but the examiner want to ask a few question to determine the fitness of the candidate.He asks the mate: Youâ're anchored in 6 fathoms of water and the wind picks up and your vessel starts to drag anchor, what do you do?" âIâd drop another anchor,â the mate replies. âOk, says the examiner, âsay the wind increases some more and with two anchors down, you again start to drag, what do you do then?â âIâd drop another anchor.â is the answer. The examiner gets a little exasperated and asks, " Where the hell are you getting all these anchors? " Answer:â Same place youâre getting all this wind."
[QUOTE=Capt. Phoenix;190271]It would be a bunch of old white men, which is why it will never be the system in the US. (It would have to be experienced ship masters and chief engineers.) The US is too diverse and people pull the racism/sexism card too easily.[/QUOTE]
Feh. You may be right on the outcome, the rest Is nonsense. âExaminersâ for a multiple choice test are typically GS-7 pay grade, that level maxes out at about $55,000/year. I doubt youâll find any Masters and Chief Mates applying for a job at that level, or that the money to pay at a higher pay scale will be budgeted.
Along the same lines, NMC recently advertised for a GS-13 (Starting at about $95,000/year) position as the team lead for deck examinations, itâs still unfilled as no qualified persons applied.
[QUOTE=freighterman;190423]Hopefully one of the truly Old Salts will read this and tell us why we got away from oral and essay questions in the first place. We were there once. Must be a reason we got away.[/QUOTE]
The last essay exams given were the Freight and Towing deck licenses and Motor Towing engineers license. The exam questions and answers were in large wooden card files. When you tested, the examiner would pull a question card pair. The question card was white and the answer card was red or pink as I remember. Each card usually had 4 questions. Youâd answer the card, turn in your papers for grading and pick up the next card. Theyâd grade as you progressed through the test. The examiners had discretion to give partial credit for your answers.
When I tested in New Orleans in '79 or '80, there was a mate that sat for 1000 ton F&T master at the same time. A yeoman gave him his exam. His questions were marked wrong if they werenât answered verbatim. The MT that administered my exam mentioned on several of my answers, that I could write more and say less than anyone heâs seen! The rules and regs questions were way out of date on my exam. I pointed that out to the examiners. I was told that I was the first one to take this exam in a couple of years and I was issued the last Motor Towing license. They were dumping the file cabinet in the garbage when I left.
I donât know if I qualify as a âtruly old saltâ but I do remember when 63 was old!
[QUOTE=Kennebec Captain;190430]So the mate finishes his exam but the examiner want to ask a few question to determine the fitness of the candidate.He asks the mate: Youâ're anchored in 6 fathoms of water and the wind picks up and your vessel starts to drag anchor, what do you do?" âIâd drop another anchor,â the mate replies. âOk, says the examiner, âsay the wind increases some more and with two anchors down, you again start to drag, what do you do then?â âIâd drop another anchor.â is the answer. The examiner gets a little exasperated and asks, " Where the hell are you getting all these anchors? " Answer:â Same place youâre getting all this wind."[/QUOTE]
For an engineering question, how about âSketch and describe the operation of a left-handed Fallopian tube?â
[QUOTE=jdcavo;190434]Along the same lines, NMC recently advertised for a GS-13 (Starting at about $95,000/year) position as the team lead for deck examinations, itâs still unfilled as no qualified persons applied.[/QUOTE]
I believe I applied for that and the reason I was given for being denied was that I was not around for interview, but they sent no emails or left any voicemails. Unless they drove to my house and knocked on the door I donât see how they tried to contact me.