A critical review of systems of scoring multiple choice tests is presented and the superiority of a system based upon elimination method over one based upon the best answer mode is hypothesized. This is discussed in terms of the capacity of the mode to reveal the relationships among decoy options and the effects of partial information,…

Discusses the pros and cons of different methods of hand scoring exams. Proposes a new technique, a combination of perforated responses and gray contrasting stencil background. (FL)

Developed a multiple-choice version of the Problem Inventory for Adolescent Girls (MC-PIAG) and administered it to groups of delinquent (N=55) and nondelinquent (N=69) subjects. Results indicated that delinquent girls are much less competent in handling interpersonal problems than their nondelinquent peers; and supported the MC-PIAG as an…

The author makes a practical attempt to measure the validity of course speakers contributions, course member changes in attitude and knowledge, and the course method of training as tools of the professor. The main conclusion reached is that evaluation is best justified as an integral part of the training process. (RR)

A formal framework is presented for determining which of the distractors of multiple-choice test items has a small probability of being chosen by a typical examinee. The framework is based on a procedure similar to an indifference zone formulation of a ranking and election problem. (Author/BW)

The answer sheets of 122 nursing students showed that 119 changed at least 1 answer; 93.3% of those who changed answers either gained or did not lose points by changing; changing answers on psychiatric nursing exams made more difference than on medical-surgical tests. However, those who made the smallest number of changes tended to have higher…

In this article, the author describes how she and her eighth-grade class moved away from formalism into a more personal, more connected, more authentic response to literature. She also explains the importance of a transactional approach in teaching literature and creating a democratic classroom. She honors Louise Rosenblatt, who introduced…

This paper reports undergraduate student feedback contrasting conventional "Long-answer" examinations with automated multiple-choice question (MCQ) assessment. Feedback was gathered after students had undertaken formative MCQ assessments as a revision aid. Feedback was generally supportive of MCQ summative tests, with 74% expressing a…

This article discusses the assumptions required by the item response theory (IRT) true-score equating method (with Stocking & Lord, 1983; scaling approach), which is commonly used in the nonequivalent groups with an anchor data-collection design. More precisely, this article investigates the assumptions made at each step by the IRT approach to…

To circumvent the problem of academic dishonesty through the mass administration of multiple-choice exams in college classrooms, a study was conducted from 2003 to 2005, in which multiple versions of the same examination were color coded during testing in a large-enrollment classroom. Instructors reported that this color-coded exam system appeared…

This article presents the features, and a brief comparison, of some of the most well-known high-stakes exams. They are classified in the following fashion: tests that only include multiple-choice questions, tests that include writing and multiple-choice questions, and tests that include speaking questions. The tests reviewed are: BULATS, IELTS,…

The present study revisited the issue of simultaneous attention to form and meaning from a methodological perspective that addressed several potential methodological issues of previous research in this strand of inquiry. Seventy-two second-semester-level participants were randomly assigned to one of five experimental groups, including a control,…

Students in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) fields are confronted with multiple external representations (MERs) in their learning materials. The ability to learn from and communicate with these MERs requires not only that students comprehend each representation individually but also that students recognize how the…

Little is known about how best to teach mathematics to students with learning disabilities. This study explored the performance and self-reported calculator use of 13 sixth-grade and 15 seventh-grade students with learning disabilities educated in either standards-based or traditional mathematics curricula on multiple-choice and open-ended…