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Multiple‐choice examinations: adopting an evidence‐based approach to exam technique
Author(s) -
Hammond E. J.,
McIndoe A. K.,
Sansome A. J.,
Spargo P. M.
Publication year - 1998
Publication title -
anaesthesia
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.839
H-Index - 117
eISSN - 1365-2044
pISSN - 0003-2409
DOI - 10.1046/j.1365-2044.1998.00583.x
Subject(s) - medicine , multiple choice , affect (linguistics) , final examination , medical education , physical examination , educational measurement , medical physics , medline , surgery , significant difference , law , linguistics , philosophy , political science
Negatively marked multiple‐choice questions (MCQs) are part of the assessment process in both the Primary and Final examinations for the fellowship of the Royal College of Anaesthetists. It is said that candidates who guess will lose marks in the MCQ paper. We studied candidates attending a pre‐examination revision course and have shown that an evaluation of examination technique is an important part of an individual's preparation. All candidates benefited substantially from backing their educated guesses while only 3 out of 27 lost marks from backing their wild guesses. Failure to appreciate the relationship between knowledge and technique may significantly affect a candidate's performance in the examination.