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From: reggie@dinsdale.nm.paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
Newsgroups: comp.sources.wanted,comp.edu
Subject: Re: Multiple choice test shell needed
Message-ID: <6752@pdn.paradyne.com>
Date: 15 Nov 89 14:49:33 GMT
References: <6741@pdn.paradyne.com> <1989Nov14.161530.6224@aqdata.uucp>
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Reply-To: reggie@dinsdale.paradyne.com (George W. Leach)
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In article <1989Nov14.161530.6224@aqdata.uucp> sullivan@aqdata.uucp (Michael T. Sullivan) writes:
>From article <6741@pdn.paradyne.com>, by reggie@dinsdale.nm.paradyne.com (George W. Leach):
 
>>        However, it is my feeling that these types of questions are not a
>> good means of testing exactly what students do and do not know.  Nor are

>I don't know.  I had a GE class where the multiple choice test was HARD
>and I felt it did test what I knew.  Multiple choice tests are like anything
>else, they're just a tool that can be properly used or abused.

      Yes, I guess that is true.  However, just like determining the appropriate
questions to ask on a survey and how to ask them, they are not easy to design
well.  I have seen more poorly designed multiple choice tests than good ones
over the years.

      An essay type or problem solving type question can also be poorly
designed.  It is difficult to come up with a problem that will accurately
test the knowledge of a student, present a challenge, and not take up the
entire test time.  Furthermore, if students can not see how to take a 
specific problem and solve it, there is no guessing.  On a mutliple choice
test, the process of elimination can reduce the chances of a wrong guess
and one might just get lucky.  They teach these methods for the SATs!!!!
Of coures, one could argue that this is applying a type of problem solving :-)



>>        This does involve more work on the part of the instructor to formulate
>> a test, set up the grading criteria (partial credit is difficult to decide
>> upon and often is difficult to keep objective across all students' work), and
>> actually grade the tests.  It is also a bit more difficult on the students who
>> must take the test.  However, in my opinion it is all worth it.  Students will
>> learn more in the long run.

>This is fine if you aren't teaching a large GE class with hundreds of students.
>In cases like that, it makes sense to give multiple choice tests because they
>are easier and objective.  A student in Psych. 1 doesn't need the attention
>to detail that a student in an upper-level CS course does.

     Yes, I have heard from some others via e-mail about the problems of
managing a large class.  My opinion is that teaching large classes is not
a desirable situation for learning.  However, the economics of many departments
dictate such an approach for certain types of courses.  I don't teach in those
settings.  I also feel that most CS courses are not taught that way either.

>...

>> wrong with their answers.  Remember tests can be used to aid in the learning
>> process, not just to evaluate.  Some of the most valuable lessons that I have
>> learned in my life have come from mistakes I made in formulating solutions
>> to problems on test.  If the work was not on the test when they were handed

>This is just a separate note on the above.  In some classes, tests count
>too much to learn from them.  What I mean is that missing 30% of the
>questions and learning from the corrections on your test _is_ a great
>learning experience.  Problem is, if that test was worth 40% of your
>grade for the quarter it's not much help in the grade department.  Another
>reason I disliked school so much.
 

	(1)  Are you there to get good grades or learn?

	(2)  As I stated in my original note, I provide people with the
	opportunity to take on extra credit assignments that will help 
	in the grade department.  I try to tie them in with test problems
	that presented folks with difficulty.  So, they have a chance to
	demonstrate that they have learned.

George W. Leach					AT&T Paradyne 
(uunet|att)!pdn!reggie				Mail stop LG-133
Phone: 1-813-530-2376				P.O. Box 2826
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