- Title: The memorial consequence of multiple-choice testing
- Authors: Marsh, Roediger, Bjork and Bjork
- Access the original paper here
- Listen to a deep-dive podcast:
Paper summary
This research explores the effects of multiple-choice tests on student learning. While testing generally improves later performance (the testing effect), it also introduces students to incorrect answers. The study reveals that students may learn and retain these false facts, particularly those arrived at through reasoning rather than guessing. However, the overall positive impact of testing surpasses its negative consequences. The researchers suggest strategies to mitigate the negative effects, including immediate feedback and “don’t know” options. Ultimately, the findings highlight the complex interplay between testing and knowledge acquisition, challenging the simplistic view of tests as purely assessment tools.
What are the key implications for teachers in the classroom?
Here are some key implications for teachers in the classroom, based on the sources you provided:
- Multiple-choice tests can improve student performance on later tests, even when the questions are complex and require higher-level thinking. This benefit is not limited to simple definitional questions but also holds true for questions that tap into concepts at higher levels in Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives.
- Multiple-choice tests can also lead to the learning of false facts. Students can sometimes select and remember incorrect answers, especially if they reason incorrectly about the choices.
- The positive effects of testing generally outweigh the negative effects.
- Teachers can reduce the negative effects of multiple-choice testing by providing immediate feedback, offering a “don’t know” option with a penalty for wrong answers, and varying the ways in which concepts are tested across exams.
- Teachers should view tests as a pedagogical tool that can enhance learning, not just as a means of assessment. By understanding the processing dynamics triggered by testing, educators can construct tests that are both effective and beneficial for students.
Quote
The prevailing societal emphasis on testing as assessment is unfortunate, because it obscures the critical pedagogical aspects of testing. Tests, optimally constructed, can enhance later performance, provide feedback to the learner on what has and has not been learned, and potentiate the efficiency of subsequent study opportunities.
