> The purpose is to test if you can read a passage and comprehend it.
I disagree. The purpose is not to test if you can read a passage. The purpose is to test if you can show someone else you can read a passage. That's not only an incredibly important distinction, because the ability to communicate is an evaluatable skill, but also the skill itself is essential to have.
On the other hand, I do have to admit that a lot of tests are designed to evaluate things that can't really be evaluated... but that's largely because decent testing is hard to scale.
I disagree. The purpose is not to test if you can read a passage. The purpose is to test if you can show someone else you can read a passage. That's not only an incredibly important distinction, because the ability to communicate is an evaluatable skill, but also the skill itself is essential to have.
On the other hand, I do have to admit that a lot of tests are designed to evaluate things that can't really be evaluated... but that's largely because decent testing is hard to scale.