I just did the first test. And a lot of those questions reminded me of exams I took in a class at San Jose State in 1964 where the question was framed: "The author of the text says....." with a statement that might be true. It was chickenshit and I was satisfied with the "D" I got in the class.

Though I was an AR disciple in the early '60s, there comes a point where those with a reductionist aptitude continued and I backed off. I'll not bother with any more tests because all I know and all I need to know is: " Never initiate force or fraud and never use emotion as a tool of cognizance."

Which test did you take? Much of this can be reasoned from first principles. If you are a reasonable and realistic person, you are already halfway there. As you see, though, much of it depends on having memorized the texts.

I am not familiar with Leonard Peikoff's works in the first place. Moreover, he actually pushed forward some new ideas that catch some long-time Objectivists by surprise.

I did well on Ominous Parallels because I followed the tongue-in-cheek advice, "When in doubt, blame it on Immanuel Kant."

57........ and I'm fine with that.

In other words, you are satisfied with your own estimation of how well you understand Objectivism. That is what I understand from your fragmented post.

I am not clear on what you meant by "schooled." Usually, when we say "Sally schooled Bill in geometry" we mean that she taught him a thing or two that he did not know. Thus, you seem to be saying that the testing taught Dr. Leonard Peikoff what he did not know about Objectivism, rather than teaching Ayn Rand what she did not know.

In the context, however, of what I perceive to be your misuse of the word "schooled" you seem to intend a synonym for "actively taught". Thus, to you, the test seems to be teaching Objectivism as presented by Peikoff, as differentiated from the teachings of Ayn Rand, though not necessarily opposed to the expostions of Ayn Rand. Exactly what did you mean?

The creator of the tests is a second-generation Objectivist. His family business is supplying educational materials to private schools. He wrote the test, and then proofed it against over 50 - as I recall the first 58 - volunteers, all of them self-identified as Objectivists before the release of the movies. He made some changes, but largely, the tests stood validation as presented.

Some people have objected that their low test scores were unfair. My freshman year of college was 1967. After five colleges and universities, I completed an associate's, a bachelor's, and a master's from 2005 to 2010. Believe me, that is a complaint that I have heard often

Thanks for being honest. More of the regulars here could 'fess up. Myself, I found that my low scores actually validated my higher scores. In other words, the tests accurately gauged my understanding of these or those principles. And we all have a lot to learn. I never met anyone who scored 100%.

Realize, of course, that this is only your understanding of canonical Objectivism, not a measure your worth as a human being. Some people (who also cannot pass the test) confuse the two. Ayn Rand was and remained a close personal friend of Bennett Cerf who was lightyears away from canonical Objectivism. He was a benevolent and intelligent person. (That is how I perceive you.) Sometimes, that is all that life requires.

Wow. I scored 58 on the general knowledge test. Regardless of whose interpretation the test followed, I have a lot to learn.

We played around in there. here's the deal. on Peikoff's understanding Objectivism, the wording of the questions and answers were poorly framed. and it was schooling to Peikoff not to Rand. gah. pissed me off. I look at your score on the first test and see the test is skewed. Not rationally structured and not based entirely on Rand. fail. so why take the rest of the tests?

My scores

Peikoff's Understanding Objectivism Test 1 64
Ominous Parallels Test 1 85
Virtue of Selfishness Test 1 80%
Virtue of Selfishness Test 2 92%
Introduction to Objectivist Epistemology 77%
Objectivism General Knowledge: 86%

Test Score Range:

0-60: Minimal understanding (Low) – Basic study needed

61-69: Moderate understanding (Low-Mid) – Basic study needed

70-80: Good understanding (Intermediate) – Basic study review needed

81-90: Competent (High-Mid) – Proceed to more technical studies

91-100: Advanced  (High) - Proceed to more technical studies