A trial of multiple choice examination in pharmacology

An account is given of the introduction of MCQ in an Indian Medical institution in 1974/75. Preliminary results suggest that the reliability coefficient of MCQs rises with their difficulty, and that Pearson-type coefficient indicates a higher degree of correlation with essay marks than do Spearman coefficients. A 'student assessment response' taken with standard item analysis technique may be of value in assessing questions for future use.