Tipssouls,
Just finished grading about 100 introductory psych exams and am struck by
this: My objective section is composed of 10 matching column (10 fill in the
blank type items with a list of 18 choices for answers) and then 15 regular
multiple choice items. My students' performance, on balance, was just so
much worse on the matching column than on the multiple choice.
Sometimes I wonder (this is purely speculative, of course) if by shifting
over to a primarily multiple choice format for most examinations early in the
schooling of our kids, we have inadvertently given in to a certain passive
attitude cultivated by many other institutions as well. What I mean is, the
right answer kind of "slaps you in the face" on a multiple choice item. It
seems as if when we ask many of our students to make even a minimal effort to
search for the answer, they balk. I know I lose a certain number of students
right off the bat after the first class meeting because I announce that my
exams include essays.
I still remember the thread regarding multiple choice versus essays and I
understand that according to some research, multiple choice versus other
types of items seems to be pretty equally in assessing learning. That is not
my concern. Rather, if part of our goal is to teach our students to engage
in active, effortful thinking, are we doing them a disservice by getting them
comfortable with a purely multiple choice format from elementary school
onward? I have no intention of abandoning my current format because it is
more challenging for students. However, I feel as if by the time I am
working with them, students have grown comfortable with MC format and the
memorize-regurgitate strategy and it's a steep uphill battle from there.
Just wondering about other folks' experiences and attitudes about this
problem.
Nancy Melucci
Santa Monica et al Colleges
Huntington Beach, CA
