tilttalk  

TILT quiz scoring question

Kenneth Simon
Mon, 06 Nov 2006 21:18:33 -0800

Hello all,

One of my colleagues has disputed the method used for scoring quizzes in TILT.

As you know, in TILT, some quiz questions have more than one correct answer. Those questions are worth one point per potential correct answer. So, if there is an item with five choices, three of which are correct, someone taking the quiz could score anywhere between one and three points for that question.

When it comes time to tally the quiz score, it is computed by dividing the total number correct into the total number possible.

My colleague objects, saying that each question must count equally, and the only proper quiz score is the percentage of questions answered completely right or completely wrong. In other words, if there are ten questions, the only score is "how many questions correct out of ten?"

Is his objection valid? I've searched the literature on test construction theory and it's leading me in circles. Any input would be appreciated, especially if you have something (example, article, precedent, whatever) that I can cite to back up the current TILT scoring method.

Many thanks!

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Kenneth Simon
Reference Librarian / Reference Technology Coordinator
Von der Ahe Library
Loyola Marymount University
Phone: (310) 338-7686