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Answer changing in multiple choice assessment change that answer when in doubt--and spread the word!
Daniel Bauer1, Veronika Kopp, Martin R Fischer
1Schwerpunkt Medizindidaktik, Medizinische Klinik Innenstadt, Klinikum der Universität München, Ziemssenstrasse 1, 80336 Munich, Germany. daniel_bauer@med.uni-muenchen.de
BMC Medical Education
|August 28, 2007
Summary
Changing answers in multiple-choice exams generally improves scores. Informing students about this benefit encourages more answer changes, confirming its advantage for test-taking strategies.
Area of Science:
- Medical Education
- Cognitive Psychology
Background:
- Multiple-choice examinations often feature a persistent misconception that changing answers is detrimental.
- Previous research indicates that reconsidering and changing answers typically benefits students' scores.
Purpose of the Study:
- To validate previous findings on the advantages of answer changing in multiple-choice tests.
- To investigate if informing students about these benefits increases answer changes and impacts performance.
Main Methods:
- Analysis of end-of-term exam answer sheets from 79 third-year medical students at the University of Munich.
- Randomization of students into two groups: one informed about answer-changing benefits, the other not.
- Instruction for both groups to mark all answer changes.
Main Results:
- Answer changes were predominantly from incorrect to correct, aligning with existing literature.
- Informed students changed answers significantly more often than uninformed students.
- While informed students scored higher, the difference in mean point increase was not statistically significant.
Conclusions:
- Students should be educated on the benefits of changing initial answers when in reasonable doubt.
- Encouraging answer reconsideration is advisable, as students are likely to change more answers when informed.
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