Wise One: My grandson has taken his driver's test a few times and failed. I'm told there are 25 questions and a person passes after getting 20 correct. It's my understanding that as the test progresses, the computer shuts off after five incorrect answers and the one tested is not told what he missed. Wouldn't it be better if the student were told what he got incorrect so he could learn from his mistakes? -- Concerned Grandpa
Dear Grandpa: We have three teenage grandsons with either a driver's license or a permit. They are Hotfoot, Leadfoot and Bigfoot. Neither were their fathers averse to acceleration as teenagers. Ha!
Bill Sadler, spokesman for the Arkansas State Police, explained about the test.
As the test begins, the computer randomly selects 25 questions from a database of more than 200. Each question effectively comes from the 92 pages of study material in the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide. (This is a clue.)
Find the study guide at arkansasonline.com/driverstudyguide/.
Each question has multiple-choice answers, the correct answer of which is quoted verbatim directly from the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide. (Another clue.)
The computer automatically stops a test when the applicant chooses 20 correct answers, or 80%. The test is stopped if the applicant chooses incorrect answers exceeding 20% of the test questions, or six.
A parent or guardian with concerns may contact the Highway Patrol Division administration office at the Little Rock headquarters, Sadler said. While an applicant's test answers are recorded and may be a subject for discussion with a parent, he said, consider that a recent accounting shows the test was administered 134,000 times in a year. Protecting the integrity of the test is extremely important, he said.
May we offer an experience? Our house was home for an entire school semester to one of those grandsons. Pandemic-related, naturally. He was, um, blase about actually studying the Arkansas Driver License Study Guide. We made him read it to us out loud, in the garage, over several days.
Did this help? He passed.
He also reminded us that teenagers are the best people ever.
Dear Mahatma: Thank you for addressing the darkness of Cantrell Hill. I also had reported the streetlight outage to 311 and Entergy, to no avail. I should have contacted you earlier. -- Paula
Dear Paula: You refer to last week's column, and prompt action by the city's chief traffic engineer, to make a work order for Entergy to get the lights back on.
Credit goes to the newspaper for allowing this conduit between people and governments.
You are now appointed a Junior Mahatma Detective. When the lights go on, report in.
Dear Mah: I have a 2018 Chevy Equinox in Pepperdust Metallic. When someone asks I say taupe, light gray or I don't know. -- Jerry in the Village
Dear Jerry: Just the other day, coming home from the golf course, we saw our second Pepperdust Impala. No matter what it's called, we call it beautiful.
Fjfellone@gmail.com