Dr. William James Popham

“We have to create tests that really do reflect how well teachers have been teaching… The kind of test we’re using now is setting up public educators for absolute faliure.” – Dr. William James Popham

MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS: what do they really measure?

You’re sitting in a room, surrounded by your entire graduating class. There is an anxious tension lingering around the room as everyone stares at the Scantron sheet before them. The never ending rows of “A”, “B”, “C”, and “D” answer choices stare back at you and the reality of the next four hours sinks in. Welcome to the ACT.  The test proctor finally gives permission to begin the first section of the test and your mind begins to race as you try to remember all of the test-taking strategies that were taught in the ACT prep class. You realize that reading through the questions and genuinely trying to figure out the answers would take entirely too long and suddenly you remember this strategy: the correct answer is usually the choice with the most information…

The above scenario highlights one major problem with standardized tests: the format. Most tests are given as multiple choice questions which do not lead to scores that reflect the students’ knowledge on a certain subject. The reason being, that in order to score well on a multiple choice exam, the only knowledge students need is how to be a good test taker. Therefore, tests given in this format do not reflect a child’s knowledge, but instead reflect their ability to “figure out” a test.