Using Multiple Choice to Test for Knowledge Comprehension

With the semester well underway and midterms approaching, you may already be using or are thinking about using an online or in-class multiple choice exam for your course. While many instructors use this time-honored format to test knowledge recall and recognition, multiple choice exams can be used for testing knowledge comprehension.

Jonathan Sterne, Associate Professor of Art History and Communications Studies at  McGill University, has developed a four-step formula for writing and administering multiple choice exams that test for comprehension of knowledge.

 

In brief, Professor Sterne recommends:

  1. Making multiple choice exams semi-open book.
  2. Eliminating simple recognition as a factor in the test.
  3. Giving practice questions, and explaining the exam system to students.
  4. Inviting students to write test questions themselves (optional).

Although this formula for testing for comprehension with the multiple choice exam format was developed with large lectures in mind, its principles can be applied to classrooms and courses of any size.

To read the full text of Professor Sterne’s article, see Multiple Choice Exam Theory (Just In Time For The New Term) at The Chronicle of Higher Education Blogs Website.

Do you have any suggestions or best practices for using multiple choice to test for knowledge comprehension?

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