[EMAIL PROTECTED] writes:
For example, there are a
number of strategies that examinees can use to get better than chance
performance even when they have no knowlege of the tested material -- for
example, always choosing the longest answer option (Kalat showed that this
strategy works well with the poorly constructed items in typical intro psych
test banks -- I always take care to avoid writing MC questions where this
strategy would pay off)
My last word, because I know that most people aren't interested and are
possibly annoyed. This is all speculative despite any one listmember's belief
that they have some kind of uncontestable scientific support for their
opinion on this matter.
Students may "know" that they should (when in doubt)
- always select the longest/shortest answer
- always select "C"
- never select answers containing the word "always"
but the reality is that not all will employ these strategies consistently. I
have watched students who spent months practicing suddenly "forget"
everything they have learned due to their own anxiety and begin answering
thoughtlessly and impulsively. And I have witnessed students surveying a
tough analogy item with stem pair words that they have never seen or don't
recognize and five words the meanings of which they do not know. There is
such a thing as "blind" or "bad" guessing.
I am not saying that all students should be coached to skip items. That was
never my point. But, in my experience, some students are better off skipping
items, sometimes.
Nancy Melucci
