The Agony of Choice – Exploring Students’ Answers in Multiple Choice Tests

Authors

  • Mirjana M. Vučković
  • Milica Prvulović

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.18485/bells.2016.8.8

Keywords:

multiple choice tests, selected response assessment, testing

Abstract

Multiple choice tests, in which students have to choose the correct answer from a limited set of options, belong to the category of selected-response assessments. They are considered to be relatively objective, fast and easy to mark. Most teachers believe that students should not change their first choice, although they are often in two (or more) minds about which answer is correct. In this research we tried to see whether this widely accepted belief was true and whether there was a connection between the student’s level of knowledge and how prone he/she would be to changing his/her mind. We analyzed 342 tests taken in October 2014 by the students at the Faculty of Philology, University of Belgrade. The results showed that students with higher test scores changed their minds as frequently as those with lower test scores. On the other hand, the former were more likely to benefit from changing their minds than the latter.

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Published

2016-11-30

How to Cite

Vučković, M. M. ., & Prvulović, M. (2016). The Agony of Choice – Exploring Students’ Answers in Multiple Choice Tests. Belgrade English Language and Literature Studies, 8(1), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.18485/bells.2016.8.8

Issue

Vol. 8 No. 1 (2016): BELLS - volume 8

Section

THEORETICAL AND APPLIED LINGUISTICS

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