ABCs of A, B, or C.

ABCs of A, B, or C.

"Multiple choice test," is a prompt that can result in widely disparate responses from educators. From some, multiple choice tests are considered efficient tools to assess specific objectives. From others, multiple choice tests are a source by which negative stimuli are generated which can lower the self-esteem of the test taker and/or stifle creativity and self expression. Though the philosopher Nietzsche claimed that, that which didn't kill you only made you stronger, one would be hard pressed to find an educator who believed that bad assessment would be good for the student dealing with it. There are many sites which have suggestions for making more effective multiple choice assessments, but one of the common complaints against multiple choice assessments is that there are external mechanisms which can cause their use to limit learning to just what is on the test.

Return tomorrow to see how a change in perspective (and of preposition) can lead to a disintegration of one of the main complaints against written tests as a form of assessment.