Has amateur testing/licensing really been "dumbed down" ???

Some long-time hams complain that the testing for our licenses has been "dumbed down."

Let's examine some of the facts.

According to Ed Hare, W1RFI, Mangager of the ARRL Lab, the Novice Study Guide that was the only material he needed to study for his Novice test as a teen in ~1963 was a "whopping" 3-1/2 pages of material. Ed has kindly provided to a link to the text of that study guide on the ARRL website as proof.

Ed also tells me that the General class study material of the time was an "unbelievably overwhelming" 16 pages. (I am waiting for Ed to send me a copy of that material, which I will link here as soon as I get it.)

Now look at the ARRL's "Now You're Talking!--5th Edition -- All You Need For Your FIRST Amateur Radio License"

This "lightweight" material for the "dumbed down" beginner's test is, according to ARRL's publication department 292 pages, plus index!!! Now obiously there are some pages devoted to "front matter," a table of contents, etc. but still there are well over 200 pages of material to be studied to prepare for the Technician license which is now the "beginner" license!!!!!!

So, there is, conservatively, more than 10 times the study material required to perpare for today's "beginner" license test than was required for the Novice AND General license tests of 1963 - a time that many of today's OTs think of as "the good old days" and/or "the golden era of ham radio."

Clearly this does not support the idea that things have been "dumbed down." In fact it clearly indicates that because there is so much more material that must be learned (including questions on today's tests on topics that weren't even addressed in the tests of "the good old days") that one can only logically and rationally conclude that the tests have actually become more difficult.

Now some will assert that multiple choice tests are "easier" than "fill in the blanks" tests. However, multiple choice testing has been shown to be an effective method of testing ... look at the SAT, the ACT, the tests for commercial radio operators' license, the FAA tests for private pilot's licenses, and on and on. Multiple choice tests are a proven testing method that's stood the test of many years of use and been subjected to rigorous quality evaluations as to its effectiveness.

In actuallity, I think that what's happened is that many OTs remember the tests that they took many years ago as being much harder and more comprehensive than they actually were. (This is, I think, simply a part of human nature - what they remember most is "sweating bullets" worrying whether they would pass or not - and that causes them to remember the tests as being "really hard.")

Another factor is that some OTs view their license as some sort of "badge of honor" or "diploma" that indicates that they "know all there is to know" about ham radio. This is, in my opinion, a misguided belief.

The license tests are intended to establish that an applicant for a license meets reasonable minimum qualifications. People need to stop viewing their licenses as "diplomas," and start realizing that the license is like the registration slip you get that allows you entry to a class in school - it's the ticket to what should be a life-long "lab course."

We have to stop whining about non-existent "dumbing down" and using that as an excuse to shun and degrade newcomers to ham radio just because they don't know everything that a long-time ham who's studied and learned things through many years of experience may know.

We have to remember that when WE got on the air as "newbies," WE didn't know everything and WE made mistakes. We have to remember how, much more consistently than today, the OTs of the time would patiently take us under their wings and show us the ropes ("Elmering"), rather than shunning and degrading us. We need more Elmers today and less negativism over non-existent "dumbing down."