Do Multiple Choice Questions Pass the Test?

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Again this discussion is all about traditional guess testing: Mark a best answer to each question. The end result is only a rank of how well the student did on the test. There is a far better way to do multiple-choice.
I developed Knowledge and Judgment Scoring as a way of letting students report what they knew and trusted, as the basis for further learning and instruction. It turned many passive pupils into self-correcting scholars.
Software is now available to ease the transition from guess testing, at the lowest levels of thinking, to Knowledge and Judgment Scoring, at all levels of thinking. By the third test, over 90% of my students opted for Knowledge and Judgment Scoring: reporting what they knew rather than guessing at answers.
To be successful students must not only know something, but function as high quality achievers.
For details and free software to do this in the classroom and on standardized tests, please see http://nine-patch.com.

Richard A. Hart of MO 12:40PM January 13, 2012

A well-constructed test will not only measure a student’s retention of facts but test students’ ability to apply what they have learned to novel problems and to make connections and inferences. A multiple choice test that incorporates a taxonomy of higher levels of thinking will force students to analyze, evaluate and synthesize information. For a good discussion and research support regarding the design and use of multiple choice tests to measure different cognitive levels, see the University of Cape Town’s handbook.

Patrick Mattimore 1:50AM December 11, 2011

"Multiple guess" has a place in evaluations. They are a part of the process of learning, but, certainly not a total evaluation technique. Like statistics and the statistician, results are as good as the test writer and the whether topic lends itself towards simple unexplained answers.

AL of TX 9:57AM December 01, 2011

Some disadvantages of multiple-choice test can be reduced with effective choices, including two correct answers, with one more accurate than the other because it incorporates the other.

David Miller of OH 6:53AM November 30, 2011