Advantages
There are several advantages to multiple choice tests. If item writers are well trained and items are quality assured, it can be a very effective assessment technique. If students are instructed on the way in which the item format works and myths surrounding the tests are corrected, they will perform better on the test. On many assessments, reliability has been shown to improve with larger numbers of items on a test, and with good sampling and care over case specificity, overall test reliability can be further increased.
Multiple choice tests often require less time to administer for a given amount of material than would tests requiring written responses. This results in a more comprehensive evaluation of the candidate's extent of knowledge. Even greater efficiency can be created by the use of online examination delivery software. This increase in efficiency can offset the advantages offered by free-response items. That is, if free-response items provide twice as much information but take four times as long to complete, multiple-choice items present a better measurement tool.
Multiple choice questions lend themselves to the development of objective assessment items, but without author training, questions can be subjective in nature. Because this style of test does not require a teacher to interpret answers, test-takers are graded purely on their selections, creating a lower likelihood of teacher bias in the results. Factors irrelevant to the assessed material (such as handwriting and clarity of presentation) do not come into play in a multiple-choice assessment, and so the candidate is graded purely on their knowledge of the topic. Finally, if test-takers are aware of how to use answer sheets or online examination tick boxes, their responses can be relied upon with clarity. Overall, multiple choice tests are the strongest predictors of overall student performance compared with other forms of evaluations, such as in-class participation, case exams, written assignments, and simulation games.
Read more about this topic: Multiple Choice
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—Lydia Arnold, U.S. commune supervisor (of the North American Phalanx, Red Bank, New Jersey, 1843- 1855)
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—Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803–1882)