HoldenCaulfield's Journal: Calculator

Bleh, I want to post this to my livejournal, but can't access LJ due to the silly proxy. Anyway, the students are taking the math section of the Ohio Graduation Test (http://www.ode.state.oh.us/proficiency/OGT/default.asp). The test is required for graduation for the class of 2007 and beyond. Now apparently someone is providing the calculators for the test. You can order the calculator online here: http://www.copcoinc.com/htdocs/store/merchant.ihtml?step=7&listall=yes&catid=75

While that merchant has them for 7.75 for orders of more than 100, I'm sure Ohio got them even cheaper (even though the exact ones that Ohio has are market "Ohio Graduation Test"). While I understand the need for controlled testing, having the state or individual schools buy enough calculators so that everyone has the same calculator seems a bit ridiculous.

On the other hand, I'm sure allowing graphing calculators is an issue, as people will complain about disparity between the haves and have-nots. Requiring scientific calculators may be difficult as well, as those with graphing calculators may not have access to other calculators . . . I wonder if there's a simple solution . . .