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Title:
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AN ANALYSIS OF ANSWER SELECTION PATTERNS FROM MULTIPLE-CHOICE ITEMS |
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Author(s):
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Jay C. Powell, James Bernauer, Vishnuteerth Agnihotri |
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ISBN:
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978-972-8939-28-1 |
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Editors:
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Kinshuk, Demetrios G Sampson, J. Michael Spector, Pedro Isaías, Dirk Ifenthaler, Radu Vasiu |
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Year:
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2010 |
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Edition:
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Single |
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Keywords:
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Answer Selection Patterns, Multiple-choice tests |
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Type:
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Full Paper |
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First Page:
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203 |
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Last Page:
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214 |
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Language:
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English |
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Cover:
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Full Contents:
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click to dowload 
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Paper Abstract:
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There are three assumptions underlying the use of total correct scores in the assessment of student performance. First, it is assumed that information from alternative-answers, if such information exists, is inaccessible because of the linear dependency problem inherent in combining both acceptable (A) and unacceptable (¬A) answers into a single analytical approach. Second, alternative answers are selected in the absence of knowledge. Therefore, they contain no useful information about student performance. Third, the growth pattern of learning is characterized by a shifting of answers from any wrong answer to the corresponding right answer, rendering the investigation of the meaningfulness of alternative ¬A answers unnecessary. The first assumption is false in the sense that a method for bypassing the linear dependency problem has been in the literature for nearly 20 years. The other two assumptions are confronted in this report of student answer-selection behaviour and are shown, from actual student response data, to be false as well. The implications of gathering this information for improving teaching are drawn throughout the paper and the value of this additional information towards supporting explanatory approaches to teaching are presented. |
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