Multiple-Choice Tests Are A) Good or B) Bad – Education & Teacher Conferences Skip to main content

Multiple-Choice Tests Are A) Good or B) Bad

AdobeStock_130821110_Credit

Teachers hate (and love) multiple-choice tests. On the one hand, they seem dreadfully reductive. On the other, they’re blissfully easy to grade — and easy grading is never to be belittled.

In our recent conversation, Pooja Agarwal recommended multiple-choice tests as one kind of retrieval practice. Inspired by her guidance, you might be asking yourself: “what can researchers tell me about the best kind of multiple-choice test to give?”

If you’re asking yourself that question, look no further: the estimable Andrew Butler is on the case.

(For example: if you want to know how many distractors to include on your test, you should see what Butler has to say…)

 

 


Recent Blogs

Does a “Growth Mindset” Matter? Evidence from Half a Million Students
Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson

Few ideas in education have seen a greater pendulum swing...

Do Classroom Jokes Help Students Learn?
Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson

Back in January, I wrote about a study on classroom...

AI and Learning: Beyond “Good” vs. “Bad”
Andrew Watson
Andrew Watson

As AI changes the education landscape moment by moment, we...