On Thu, 29 Mar 2001 [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
> People have been reacting to my comments as if I were saying that essays are
> BETTER than MCs and I am most emphatically not saying that.
>
> I am saying that I believe that I need to have them in my tests just as much
> as I need MCs. I am trying to find the right blend of objective and essay
> work in my tests. I believe that essays are needed to foster understanding
> of broad themes in the knowledge and encourage student planning and
> initiative, and give practice in writing which I believe should be included
> in courses in all disciplines at the college level.
Ok, I'll bite here. I agree with Nancy. I also give a combination format
because I truly believe that, despite the obvious subjective component
in the grading process, there is a different type of thinking that is
being evaluated. I do believe that there are different learning and
thinking styles, for what it's worth, and I have clearly seen this in
my own teaching and testing of students.
In the past I have even offered students the individual choice of an all
MC final or all essay final. Out of 40 students I typically get 6 or 7
who WANT the all essay final because they are better at talking through
the links in the material than "recognizing" that a single response is
"truly better" than the rest.
In all of my classes I also offer students the option to turn any MC
item into a SHORT essay, especially if they can provide me with their
evidence for why more than one of the options is potentially "correct".
I find that quite often I can correct problem thinking in this way,
without having to penalize the student--especially if they are correct
about their thinking relative to the "correct" response but incorrect
relative to some alternate response--they might pick the "wrong" answer
even then they know the "right" answer.
Anyway, I do think that different kinds of thinking are being assessed, no
matter how good the MC items--and I agree they can be EXCELLENT. But
especially in the upper division classes I like the essays for a
different kind of assessment.
>
> Nancy Melucci
> ELAC
>
Annette Taylor, Ph. D.
Department of Psychology E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
University of San Diego Voice: (619) 260-4006
5998 Alcala Park
San Diego, CA 92110
"Education is one of the few things a person
is willing to pay for and not get."
-- W. L. Bryan
