Open AccessMULTIPLE‐CHOICE QUESTIONS AND STUDENT CHARACTERISTICS 1
Author(s) -
Alker Henry A.,
Carlson Julia A.,
Hermann Margaret G.
Publication year - 1967
Publication title -
ets research bulletin series
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
eISSN - 2333-8504
pISSN - 0424-6144
DOI - 10.1002/j.2333-8504.1967.tb00993.x
Subject(s) - preference , ambiguity , creativity , nonconformity , criticism , psychology , test (biology) , aptitude , multiple choice , mathematics education , social psychology , developmental psychology , computer science , mathematics , engineering , statistics , significant difference , paleontology , operations management , biology , programming language , art , literature
Multiple‐choice aptitude and achievement questions have been criticized for penalizing the highly able student while rewarding the less able one. This paper reviews previous attempts to examine this criticism and presents original research designed to expand the ways of testing the critics' proposal. The research explored relationships between performance on multiple‐choice questions and characteristics which the critics suggest differentiate students who are rewarded from those who are penalized. The S s were 108 undergraduate males. The characteristics examined were: creativity, nonconformity, ability to recognize ambiguity, preference for complexity, and test‐wiseness. Analyses of the data for the total group of S s and for various sub‐groups supported some, but not all, of the critics' claims and suggested the need for reformulating arguments concerning multiple‐choice assessment.