So what percentage of the math score do you think should depend on reading natural language sentences, and what percentage should depend on manipulating equations, numbers, and symbols?<p>I suppose if the test <i>really</i> wanted to be practical, there would be a few questions about student loans, tuition rate increases, and post-graduation employment rates.<p>My core argument is that making the questions wordier do not make them better questions for a math test.  Most of the practical math I have ever done (anecdotal) has not started as a paragraph of prose.  It most often begins as a chart, table, technical drawing, or list of numbers.  If I ever need to translate between English and math, it has almost always been to document the mathematical model, rather than implement a model from a written description.  I therefore cannot fathom why mathematical pegagogy has such an infatuation with story problems.<p>Real life just throws a pile of numbers at you, maybe gives you some column headings, and expects you to make sense of it yourself.  You want practical?  Put up an image of a medical bill next to the insurance statement and ask the student how much they owe.  Good luck with parsing that &quot;off vst l3, 2MT38K, diag&quot; and the &quot;negtd max&quot; and the &quot;less copay&quot;.