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by klassik 861 days ago
100% agree There's a simple statistical argument behind it: the variance drops as you increase the number of tests.

Let's say your true ability is A and you have one measurement M1. The variance (or, let's put it in another way: the probability that your M1 is waaaay different from your A) goes down if you also get M2, M3, M4 and take an average.

In other words: your measurements become more precise and the stress goes down a lot

2 comments

Taking four independent samples isn’t the same as taking one sample and cutting it into four.
One could say that grades are an even better metric! They measure all manner of academic topics over many years and across many different instructors.
Only if the grades are assigned in a standardized manner across all candidates, which they definitely are not.