The choice is yours: The effects of optional questions in engineering examinations

Examiners may provide optional questions in the question paper of any examination. It gives examinees the choice to select their options to complete the set of the required number of questions for answering. The examinees may choose to answer the questions from the well‐prepared portions of the subject. Some examinees misuse this facility by answering more than the required questions. Few examinees mess up the serial number of questions in the answer sheet. These acts of examinees sometimes create issues in marks awarding process, which raises doubt on the fairness of the evaluation process. This article reviews the contribution of optional questions in engineering semester examinations and analyzes the effects of improper behavior practiced by some of the examinees. Two surveys were conducted to gather perspectives on optional questions from examiners and examinees, respectively. The answering behavior of examinees vis‐á‐vis optional questions have been analyzed through the investigation of answer sheets, which were written for engineering semester examinations. Association rule mining methods have been applied on the gathered data to discover interesting hidden facts about tackling of optional questions. On the basis of findings, the article recommends further actions that need to be taken for effective utilization of optional question and question with optional subparts. The review of the effects of optional questions is a novel study and has not been dealt with in the literature for furthering the quality of engineering education.