Table 1 - uploaded by Jan Fermelis
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Students' final results according to citizenship status and campus
Source publication
This paper investigates the assessment methods and student results within a first year undergraduate management course offered within the business faculty of an Australian university. This course is compulsory for those studying for a commerce or management degree. The assessment results of full fee paying international students were compared with...
Context in source publication
Context 1
... study found that the average student final result score for the unit was 61.58% with domestic students (DS) receiving an average overall mark of 63.23% compared to international students (IS) who received an average overall mark of 57.07%. These final results are included in Table 1 below, where students are categorized according to their citizenship (international student or domestic student), and according to their campus of enrolment (metropolitan, regional or rural/online). These results may appear satisfactory for a first year university unit considering the many language and other difficulties faced by international students. ...
Citations
Purpose
This paper aims to examine whether multiple choice questions (MCQs) can be answered correctly without knowing the answer and whether constructed response questions (CRQs) offer more reliable assessment.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper presents a critical review of existing research on MCQs, then reports on an experimental study where two objective tests (using MCQs and CRQs) were set for an introductory undergraduate course. To maximise completion, tests were kept short; consequently, differences between individuals’ scores across both tests are examined rather than overall averages and pass rates.
Findings
Most students who excelled in the MCQ test did not do so in the CRQ test. Students could do well without necessarily understanding the principles being tested.
Research limitations/implications
Conclusions are limited by the small number of questions in each test and by delivery of the tests at different times. This meant that statistical average data would be too coarse to use, and that some students took one test but not the other. Conclusions concerning CRQs are limited to disciplines where numerical answers or short and constrained text answers are appropriate.
Practical implications
MCQs, while useful in formative assessment, are best avoided for summative assessments. Where appropriate, CRQs should be used instead.
Social implications
MCQs are commonplace as summative assessments in education and training. Increasing the use of CRQs in place of MCQs should increase the reliability of tests, including those administered in safety-critical areas.
Originality/value
While others have recommended that MCQs should not be used (Hinchliffe 2014, Srivastava et al. , 2004) because they are vulnerable to guessing, this paper presents an experimental study designed to demonstrate whether this hypothesis is correct.
