A retrospective comparative study of multiple choice questions versus short answer questions as assessment tool in evaluating the performance of the students in medical pharmacology

Abstract

INTRODUCTIONAssessment is a powerful driver of innovative changes in education and defines goals for learners and teachers. Assessment is said to drive student learning and define curriculum. However, the assessment of learning is often one of the more difficult and time-consuming aspects of education.1 The performance assessment communicates the students what material is important, motivate the students to study, identify areas of deficiency and the need for further learning. It also identifies areas, where the course or curriculum is weak, and it facilitates modification of the syllabus or curriculum and help in guidance and counselling.2 Success in education, in turn, is largely measured by performance on examinations. If students know that that their success on the examination rests entirely on rote recall of facts, they will adopt a learning style that relies purely on memorization. On the other hand, if students are required to integrate, interpret and apply information they will adopt a strategic learning style in order to drive the highest degree of success. Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are a common type of assessment due to their reliability, validity and ease of scoring. 4MCQs offer advantage of being more versatile in measuring rote memory to more complex knowledge. Large amount of information can be measured in a short time. Scoring is objective and can be reliably completed. With 3-5 options, the effects of guessing can be reduced.Another common type of assessment is short or long essay type questions. This format allows students more flexibility in their response and reflects their individuality of approach in which interpretative skills can be evaluated. 5 ABSTRACT Background:The aim was to assess the effectiveness of multiple choice versus short answer questions (SAQs) as assessment tools for evaluating performance of 2 nd MBBS students. Methods:The study was observational, retrospective study of written pen and paper type assessment that utilized a sample of 100 2 nd year medical students. Study consisted of two parts; part I was multiple-choice questions (MCQs) based on endocrine system where four options were given for a question and the single best answer was to be ticked. MCQ was timed at 20 mins for 30 questions with 1 mark each. There was no negative marking. Part II was SAQ on same system where 16 SAQ were given. SAQ was timed at 60 mins for 30 marks questions. After the test students had to reply on a feedback form. Result: There was a strong correlation between the marks scored in two formats of test and there was no statistical difference between the two set of marks. Conclusion: SAQs are as effective as MCQs in assessing the performance of the students in medical pharmacology.

An Empirical Investigation of the Fairness of Multiple-Choice Items Relative to Constructed-Response Items on Tests of Students’ Mastery of Course Content

“…Like the current study, a wide range of investigations on a variety of types of tests have found that scores on MC and CR items tend to be positively correlated (Ward, 1982;Frakes & Lathen, 1985;Wainer & Thissen, 1993;Rodriguez, 2003;Bleske-Rechek, Zeug, & Webb, 2007;Bible, Simkin, & Kuechler, 2008;Park, 2010;Pepple, Young, & Carroll, 2010;AAAS, 2011;Tiemeier, Stacy, & Burke, 2011;Hift, 2014;Walke, Kamat, & Bhounsule, 2014). The large magnitude of the positive correlations between MC and CR scores in the current study are particularly striking when one considers the fact that MC and CR items were not explicitly paired by construct, but were written as organic test items to assess classroom mastery.…”

Use of multiple choice questions during lectures helps medical students improve their performance in written formative assessment in physiology

“…We found a good correlation between the overall performance of students in MCQ and SAQ, which is in concurrence with a study done by Walke and coworkers, who concluded that since there is a strong correlation between MCQ and SAQ performance, SAQs are as effective as MCQs in assessing the performance of their students. [5] However, our study sheds light on the fact that this may not be true for all students since the inherent ability to process and imbibe knowledge is different in individuals. When we divided the students into groups based on their performance in SAQs, we found no correlation in their scores.…”

Effectiveness of Saq and Laq in Assessing Cognitive Domain Among First Year Mbbs, Biochemistry Students

“…Introducing a judicious mix of SAQs and MCQs along with a long answer type questions in various MBBS university exams will provide a much-needed objectivity in the assessment and would reduce the student's exposure to examiner's fallibility. 13 SAQs, MCQs and LAQs are used to test cognitive domain of students, e.g. comprehension, interpret, recall, ability to apply.…”

“…Walke YS (2014) 13 recommended the suitable of incorporating both SAQs and MCQs along with long answer type questions in routine assessment of MBBS students.…”