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One of the
defining aspects of university is multiple choice testing. Most university
students will be tested with a few multiple choice questions at some point
in their studies, and some programs and universities are notorious for
basing the majority of your grades uniquely on multiple choice testing.
This article is designed to relieve some of the stress students associate
with multiple choice exams, and to teach students how to maximize their
performance on this type of exam. To this end, four aspects of multiple
choice testing will be addressed:
- the myths
and realities of multiple choice exams
- destressing
multiple choice exams
- the best
ways to study for multiple choice exams
- using
the weaknesses of multiple choice testing to your advantage
The myths and realities of multiple choice exams
Various myths about multiple choice exams are told amongst students which
cause unnecessary apprehension and the adoption of less than ideal study
strategies. To make multiple choice exams a much more pleasant experience
both in terms of stress and grades, these myths and the realities of multiple
choice testing will be presented. Don’t fall prey to these myths
yourself!
Multiple
choice exams are easy
Many students have encountered multiple choice exams in high school, and
have found that “having the answers in front of you” makes answering
the questions much easier. Don’t be fooled by this myth at university!
Courses that base the majority of their marks on multiple choice exams
still need to maintain a certain average and distribution of grades as
specified by the university. This is especially true of first year courses.
The psychology exam that uses multiple choice exams will still need to
have a 65% average, just the same the a chemistry exam that requires full
written answers. To accomplish this, professors need only select multiple
choice questions of sufficient difficulty to give them the average they
require. It is therefore essential that you dedicate adequate amount of
time to preparing for a multiple choice exam. In addition to knowing the
answer to questions, feeling comfortable with the material will help relieve
the stress of writing the exam.
Multiple
choice exams are hard
This myth is less frequent than believing that multiple choice exams are
hard, but it occasionally circulates through the student body. To be fair,
some students do find multiple choice exams difficult, but this need not
be the case. With proper preparation and techniques to writing the exam,
multiple choice exams will not be any more difficult than other types
of exams. Again, the issue of course average and distribution of grades
comes into play. A course average of 50% at the end of term is simply
not acceptable. Yes, some tests may be harder than others, but ultimately
the professors will need to adjust their marks if the average is too low.
If you study properly and still do poorly on the exam, consult your professor
to see if they plan to adjust their marks.
I have
too many A’s in a row, so the next answer must be a B
Believing that there are hidden patterns of any kind in an exam might
have worked twenty years ago, but this is certainly a myth nowadays. Professors
are now instructed to randomize their answer keys before giving an exam,
so the chances of the next question being an A or a B are equal, even
if your last 4 answers are A. There are better techniques to answer a
question than look for a magic answer pattern. These techniques will be
covered in subsequent sections.
The best
way to study for multiple choice exams
Knowing the myths about multiple choice exams is a first step towards
properly preparing for a multiple choice exam, but it is not the last.
By informing yourself about the material that will be on the exam and
about the exam itself, you can develop a study strategy to earn the high
grades that you desire. Here are a few important points you should consider:
What material
will be tested?
To many, knowing what material will be tested may seem like a no-brainer,
but you’d be surprised at how many people accidentally don’t
spend the time to clarify this point. Be clear about what will be on the
exam. Will material be from the lectures, the readings, or both? Roughly,
how many questions will be coming from the lectures and the readings?
Will the exam be cumulative over the whole year, or only cover material
since the last test? Will the exam cover chapters 1-7 inclusively? Questions
such as these are important to ask early on so that you have sufficient
time to study all of the material.
It is also
important to ensure that you don’t waste valuable study time on material
that will not be tested. Although you may find it useful to review course
readings that were not on the exam, if you have been instructed that questions
will be based only on lecture material, you should dedicate the majority
of your study time to your lecture notes.
The details
of the exam itself
Once you know about what should be covered on the test, it is useful to
know a few details about the exam itself. A couple of no-brainer questions
are where and when the exam will take place (after all, you wouldn’t
want to have studied all that time for nothing!). It is also useful to
know how much of your final grade the exam is worth. If the exam is worth
a small portion of your grade and you are doing reasonably well in the
course, you may wish to dedicate more time to classes in which you are
not performing as well and in which the exams are worth a large portion
of your final grade.
Knowing how
many questions and how much time you will have are other important questions
to ask, as they help you develop strategies for completing the exam. If
you know that you have 1 hour to complete the exam and the exam has 60
questions, you should plan to spend on average a little less than one
minute per question.
Knowing what
kind of questions the professor likes to ask is also useful. Will the
multiple choice questions test whether you memorized certain information,
or whether you are capable of applying what you learned in the course
to novel situations. This information can generally be obtained by asking
the instructor, but it often useful to consult students who have already
completed the test to see if they have any insight as well. You might
also consider consulting our test
archive to see if any previous tests are available to help you in
your studies.
Continue
to Part 2
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