Abstract
Enrollment increases at many institutions have forced science faculty to
reevaluate assessment decisions in light of increasing demands on time. Some
have advocated the replacement of free-response examinations with forcedchoice
examinations as a time-saving strategy. The existing research literature
contains many studies comparing student performance on free-response
versus forced-choice question types, but none strictly in a laboratory setting.
The current study evaluated the replacement of free-response practicalexamination
questions with multiple-choice practical-examination questions
in the laboratory portion of an introductory college-level biology course. The
data provide evidence that student performance does differ depending on
format and that substituting one question type with another may have profound
implications with regard to student performance and learning.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 28-31 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | Journal of college science teaching |
Volume | 40 |
Issue number | 5 |
Publication status | Published - 2011 |