Computerized long-menu questions as an alternative to open-ended questions in computerized assessment

To optimally avoid cueing effects and computer scoring problems in computerized examinations a computerized long-menu question (CLM) was developed. This question type was compared to open-ended questions in one treatment group and to multiple-choice questions in another treatment group. Also, scores were compared to self-perceived computer anxiety of the participants. CLMs yield comparable scores to open-ended questions, but the scores differ significantly from those on multiple-choice tests. Correlations in the first comparison (CLMs with multiple-choice) were higher than those in the second camparison (CLMs with open-ended questions). The amount of positive and negative cueing was considerably higher in the first than in the second comparison. Response times of CLMs were higher than those of multiple-choice questions and open-ended questions, differing significantly from both. Computer anxiety did not influence the mean scores in either comparison. Therefore, in computerized testing CLMs seem to offer an acceptable replacement of open-ended questions.