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Related Experiment Videos

Measuring higher cognitive levels by multiple choice questions: a myth?

J J Ferland, J Dorval, L Levasseur

    Medical Education
    |March 1, 1987
    PubMed
    Summary

    Multiple choice tests may not effectively measure higher cognitive skills. This study found no significant differences in difficulty or discrimination across various cognitive levels, suggesting a need for alternative assessment tools.

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    Area of Science:

    • Educational Measurement
    • Cognitive Psychology
    • Assessment Design

    Background:

    • Existing research on multiple-choice items' ability to assess higher cognitive levels is inconclusive.
    • Judges demonstrate consistent, individual classification of items across taxonomic levels.
    • The Examen de Synthèse provided a dataset for analyzing item performance.

    Purpose of the Study:

    • To investigate whether multiple-choice items can differentiate between various cognitive levels.
    • To analyze item difficulty and discrimination across memorization, interpretation, and problem-solving levels.
    • To determine if distinct cognitive traits are measured by items targeting different taxonomic levels.

    Main Methods:

    • Analysis of multiple-choice test items from the Examen de Synthèse (1982-1984).

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  • Selection of items with consensus agreement among three judges and committees for specific taxonomic levels.
  • Statistical analysis of item difficulty, discrimination, and correlations between cognitive levels.

    • Main Results:

    • No significant differences were found in item difficulty or discrimination between memorization, interpretation, and problem-solving items.
    • Correlations between scores and ranks for memorization items and higher cognitive level items were not significant.
    • Judges' item classification was found to be consistent and based on stable, individual mental representations.

    Conclusions:

    • Current evidence suggests multiple-choice items may not adequately measure higher cognitive levels.
    • The study's findings indicate a potential limitation in using multiple-choice formats for assessing complex cognitive skills.
    • Further research and development of alternative assessment instruments are recommended for evaluating higher cognitive abilities.