I have been away from the list for some months, and so apologize if
this topic has been discussed recently.
Have any of you compiled, or have you a reference for, an
evidence-based set of suggestions for students regarding preparing
for and taking multiple choice tests? There is no shortage of advice
to students from peers, study guides, counselors and so on, but much
of the advice appears to be "common sense", and often the advice is
conflicting.
A specific matter: 10 years or more ago I heard, second-hand, of a
study in which a class of intro psychology students was told that the
next week's class would be a multiple choice test; a second section,
taught by the same professor, was told that its test would be essay
format. On test day, half the students in each section, randomly
assigned, actually received a multiple choice test, half an essay
test. Students who prepared for the essay test did best, whether
tested by essay or multiple choice questions. Putting aside for the
moment substantial ethical and methodological concerns, I've always
liked the conclusion offered by the study, i.e., that students
preparing for an essay test may have used higher-order cognitive and
organizational skills, focusing on organizing concepts rather than
memorizing isolated facts and definitions. And, that students
taking my multiple choice tets are well advised to do the same. (I
recognize that methodological limitations do not come close to ruling
out alternative explanations.) Does anyone know if such a study ever
was published, and ever replicated?
Thank you for any assistance you might be able to provide.
Philip Smith
University of Prince Edward Island (Canada)
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Philip Smith, Ph.D., Dean of Arts, University of Prince Edward Island
Charlottetown, PEI Canada C1A 4P3
telephone: (902) 566-0307 fax: (902) 566-0304
e-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
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