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Multiple choice tests can seem like an easy option for teachers looking for a simple way to grade their students, but recent research has shown that they can actually be harmful for the learning process. So should teachers not use multiple choice tests?
The answer is not so simple. Read below to see what research says are the dangers of multiple choice tests and where they can safely be used. Below that are examples of other types of assessments that can be used to replace old fashioned multiple choice exams.
Why Multiple Choice Tests Are Bad
One of the first things any teacher who has had to design tests will tell you is that creating a multiple choice test is a lot of work. Teachers have to not only design many questions that students will fly through very quickly, they also have to think of 4 possible answers of varying difficulty to challenge their students’ thinking.
Other forms of testing like projects, papers, and constructed responses require the teacher to only create one or perhaps a few questions and perhaps one example response. In addition to this, multiple choice tests often can not be reused in cases where students can not be trusted to not cheat.
This means that multiple choice questions are a lot of work for the teacher. However, there are some suggestions that multiple choice questions might not be that useful for the students either.
Research shows that multiple choice tests encourage students to study in a lazy memorization based style that allows them to cram in fact, but not understand the connections between those facts or remember them long term. A study published in Life Science Education compared multiple choice style tests (MC) with constructed response questions (CR).
The study found that students who were studying for a multiple choice test did not study as effectively as those who were given a test with both multiple choice and constructed response questions.
According to the researchers, the mixed style test “correlated with significantly more cognitively active study behaviors and a significantly better performance on the cumulative final exam”. (Stanger-Hall) This suggests that multiple choice tests encourage students to study in ineffective ways even though those methods result in a lower score.
Because students are simply trying to remember individual pieces of information, there is less of a focus on how those individual pieces of information are connected or how they should be used together to actually do something useful. The brain learns best when it understands something in context rather than just as a disconnected piece of information.
For example, if a person is asked to memorize the number 149217761993 it would seem like a daunting test which might take quite a long time to be able to recite perfectly. However, if the number is broken apart into 1492 (The year Christopher Columbus set sail to make contact with Native American peoples) 1776 (The year the United States declared independence from the British Empire) and 1993 (The year that the EU was formed) the memorization task can probably be done in an instant.
Even though more information has been included and more ideas brought to the table, rather than this extra information being a burden for the brain to process, it actually makes it so much easier to process as the numbers are placed along already well established lines of learning and context. Rather than starting from scratch trying to remember each individual number, using well trodden routes of thinking by connecting information to context makes it much easier to learn.
The research above shows that multiple choice tests encourage students to memorize number by number rather than seeing how those numbers connect to what they already know. Because of this, multiple choice tests should not be used for learning purposes, but are there other reasons multiple choice tests might be useful?
Why Multiple Choice Tests Are Good
One reason multiple choice tests are very good is that they are far more objective than projects, papers, and other constructed responses. There is almost always only one answer for each question and a student either gets a point or does not.
In other testing formats, a teacher’s judgment is required much more often to make subjective calls on what is right and what is worth a high grade. This can not only put more stress on the teacher to be mindful to treat students fairly, but can also open up the door to a lot of disagreements and discussions with displeased students about a specific grade they got on an assignment.
However, this predicament is really based on the fact that numbers are required for this type of grading. What multiple choice tests do well is differentiate students numerically so that they can be better compared.
This practice may be useful for competitive universities who might make a decision based on a razor thin grade difference between students, but more and more schools are putting less emphasis on grades and more emphasis on other areas of student achievement such as extracurriculars and their letters of interest when applying.
However, having numbers to feed into systems like competitive universities or businesses is not the only reason it can be useful to differentiate students numerically and compare them. This data can be useful for schools to reflect on their own practices and look at how various groups in the school compare to ensure no one is being left behind.
Additionally, they are great for games! Every teacher has certainly heard about Kahoot by this point in their careers. If not, welcome to your first year teaching.
Multiple choice tests can be a great way for students to have a quick fun competition about important pieces of information that can be later connected back into the context in which they are important. Multiple choice tests are great for making scores and getting students to actually want to practice to beat their friends.
Giving students a number and comparing them does not always have to be a bad thing, but it should be done carefully. As the research above shows, teachers who rely too heavily on multiple choice testing will end up with lazy students who only have a surface level understanding of their subject.
Better Testing Options
- Essay
Essays are great options to have structured responses on a topic. Prompts can require students to include various pieces of information or cover certain topics so that the teacher can ensure learning is occurring.
Essays allow for a long, organized discussion over a topic that shows not only what a student knows but how they are able to make connections and discuss what they know. Essays can be traditional five paragraph essays, but it is important to move beyond simple five paragraph essays at some point as students can quickly tire of that structure and it is not really very useful post graduation.
- Long Answer
Long answer exams are basically just multiple mini essays/paragraphs. They should still be organized responses based on prompts, but are useful when a teacher needs to have students show learning on several somewhat disconnected topics. This is particularly useful in science classes for example where a single essay will often not be able to have an organized discussion of everything talked about in a unit.
- Project
Projects are a fantastic and fun way for students to show their learning. Teachers should give clear prompts and always include at least one example if not more. The more examples students can see of what the teacher would like for them to create (or not create) the better idea they will have of what they should do.
Teachers may worry that projects are more fun than testing, but the teacher should design projects in a way that students will be unable to complete them without applying concepts learned in class. Projects also have the benefit of being something concrete that students can make and feel proud of rather than a test that will simply be in the garbage the next day.
- Presentation
Presentations are basically just a verbal essay. Learning can be shown in the same ways, but it is often easier to include visual information that the student can refer to as they are going along in their organized response.
Presentations are also useful for practicing public speaking. This fundamental skill will be useful for all students even if they do not take anything away from the core content of the subject, they will leave the class better able to express themselves with confidence.
- Portfolio
Portfolios are a fantastic way to ensure students are learning and monitor their progress. Rather than a simple set of grades, a portfolio has students do multiple tasks under various conditions and then save them in an organized portfolio to be assessed by the teacher. Portfolios can be various types of completed questions, tasks, and even other assessments like projects and papers that the students collect as proof that they are capable in the subject being taught.
While tests only allow for the number to be kept afterwards, portfolios allow for all work a student has done throughout the year to be saved and organized to be shown off. It can often be the start of a professional portfolio or resume that students can even take with them after graduation.
Students can also present their portfolios at the end of the year as a sort of reflection on what they have done. Not only will this help them remember class content covered throughout the year, but it will give them a sense of needing to keep their work high level as they know their classmates will see it at the end of the year.
Conclusion
In conclusion, multiple choice tests are overused and actively harmful to the learning process. However, there are a few cases where they can be fun or even useful.
Multiple choice tests cause students to study in a lazy way that disconnects information from the context in which it is being learned which lowers their scores and makes them less capable. However, they can be useful for fun games and competitions or for data collection for the school to reflect on its practices.
So while multiple choice tests can be used occasionally, they should always be mixed with other types of assessments such as projects, papers, and constructed responses. They are more work for the teacher to create, take less time and effort for students to complete, and leave nothing lasting beyond the testing time.
Instead, teachers should rely more heavily on longer form assessments that require students to use information in context to do something practical that they can keep with them after graduation. Papers and presentations are great, but also including portfolios and projects will give students something physical to take with them that might be the starting off point for their careers.
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References
Stanger-Hall, Kathrin F. “Multiple-Choice Exams: An Obstacle for Higher-Level Thinking in Introductory“ Science Classes.” CBE—Life Sciences Education, vol. 11, no. 3, 2012, pp. 294–306., https://doi.org/10.1187/cbe.11-11-0100. 56hyu6j7
