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Abstract #156657

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Veronica Marie Sciotti Dishman, PhD, Pathology, Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida, 4777 City Center Parkway, Port Orange, FL 32129 and Christopher A. Meseke, PhD, Anatomy, Palmer College of Chiropractic Florida, 4777 City Center Parkway, Port Orange, FL 32129, 386-763-2787, christopher.meseke@palmer.edu.

The purpose of this study was to compare, within a single class of chiropractic students, results achieved when administered a multiple-choice and completion exam in which the information tested was identical. The study was carried out in a classroom of 47 students. All students were informed that, within a single testing session, they would be administered two 10-question exams, but not informed about the format of either exam. The course director formulated 10 multiple choice questions, from which 10 completion test items were written, and the tests were randomly distributed. Achievement was significantly higher on the multiple choice exam as compared to the completion exam (mean=8.14+1.37 and 6.91+2.25 respectively; F=8.791; df=1,84; P=0.004). No significant differences were observed in scores based on the order the exams were taken (F=2.105; df=1,84; P=0.151). No interaction effect was observed between the type of exam taken and the order in which it was taken (F=1.106; df=1,84; P=0.296). The results of this study indicate that the student's ability to recognize a learned concept was superior to their ability to recall that same concept. While this study supports the concept that multiple choice tests may prove efficacious for testing basic recognition, completion tests may in fact challenge the student to think and respond at a higher level of learning. With expediency being important in evaluation and feedback, multiple choice items may be used but with stems that require more analysis as compared to basic knowledge.

Learning Objectives:

• Describe the difference between recall and recognition of course content.
• Compare and contrast testing styles involved in evaluation of learning.
• Recognize the limitations and strengths of learning using various testing styles.

Keywords: Chiropractic, Education

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Any relevant financial relationships? No
Any institutionally-contracted trials related to this submission?

I agree to comply with the American Public Health Association Conflict of Interest and Commercial Support Guidelines, and to disclose to the participants any off-label or experimental uses of a commercial product or service discussed in my presentation.

• Slides (pdf) or Handout