1. Psychology Department, George Mason University
A new test of the Testing Effect: The effect of quiz format
Patrick J. McElroy & Doris Bitler Davis
Psychology Department, George Mason University
Cognitive and
Behavioral
Neuroscience
Program
ABSTRACT
METHODOLOGY
Undergraduate Psychology and Neuroscience majors enrolled in Psyc304, Principles of Learning, served as subjects. Quiz format (fill-in, multiple-choice questions, Fill-in Word Banks) were varied across three semesters:
Group Semester Quiz type and source Subjects
FI Fall Fill in n=55
MC Spring 2014 Multiple choice n=26
WB Fall Fill-in Word Bank n=65
All quizzes consisted of 10 questions, with 12 quizzes (one per chapter) administered each semester. An in-class, noncumulative, multiple-choice exam followed every 3 chapters, for a total of 4 exams each semester. A take-home, cumulative, multiple-choice exam served as the final.
Previous research on the testing effect has shown that students taking fill-in-the-blank quizzes earn higher multiple-choice exam scores than those taking multiple-choice quizzes. However, students prefer multiple-choice quizzes and knowing they can recognize the correct response, rather than recall it. The current study examines the effects on long-term retention of an intermediate quiz type, fill-in-the-blank with a word bank. Results indicate that this format may have some of the advantages of both fill-in and multiple-choice quizzes.
DISCUSSION
Just as Fitch, Drucker, and Norton (1951) found, students who were quizzed earned higher grades than comparable students who took only the five exams. This is likely a result of the deeper level of processing involved in studying for fill-in-the-blank quizzes. After introducing an intermediate format quiz in the form of fill-in-the-blank with word bank, the results show the new format produces grades interposed to fill-in without a word bank and multiple choice formats, but closer to the scores of the fill-in formats. This can be a result of the intermediate format incorporating the deeper understanding of fill-in formats while also utilizing recognition of material as seen in multiple choice formats. Future research is planned to assess students’ test anxiety, as well as exam performance, under different quiz conditions, with the goal to better understand how to create a learning environment that both improves learning and increases student comfort and satisfaction.
RESULTS
In-Class Exam 1: No significance found
In-Class Exam 2: Exam two showed significant amongst all three comparisons. MC x FI t(76) = 5.12, p < .001, FI x WB t(113) = 1.86, p < .05, MC x WB t(85) = 4.29, p < .001.
In-Class Exam 3: Exam three showed significance between MC x FI t(40) = 2.20, p < .05, and MC x WB t(33) = 3.10, p < .01. FI x WB showed no significance in their interaction after comparison.
In-Class Exam 4: Also showed the same significance between MC x FI t(78) = 4.90, p < .001 and MC x WB t(66) = 3.01, p < .01, but no significance between WB x FI.
Take Home Cumulative Final: The final cumulative exam showed one level of significance MC x FI t(36) = 2.42, p < .05.*
*This can be due to the Final exam being take home as well
INTRODUCTION
The testing effect, i.e., the phenomena of retrieval having a positive effect on long-term memory, has been studied in a variety of different classroom settings. Students, when given a choice, usually prefer multiple choice assessments due to the idea the assessment is “…significantly easier, less complex and clearer, more interesting, less tricky and fairer” (Birenbaum, 2007). However, It has been demonstrated in a multitude of studies that fill-in-the-blank quizzes result in higher multiple-choice exam scores than multiple-choice quizzes on the same material (for example, see McDaniel, Anderson, Derbish, and Morrissette, 2007). With the knowledge of what produces higher scores and what anxiety does to students’ choice of assessments, an assessment that can possibly lower anxiety levels and promote high scores should be explored. The current study examines the effect on exam performance of an intermediate quiz type, fill-in-the-blank with a word bank. Creating an intermediate format can possibly lower the anxiety levels, but also promote better retention of the material.
REFERENCES
Birenbaum, M. (2007). Assessment and Instruction preferences and their relationship with test anxiety and learning strategies. Higher Education 53:
Fitch, M. L., Drucker, A. J., & Norton, J. A. (1951). Frequent testing as a motivating factor in large lecture classes. The Journal of Educational Psychology, 42(1), 1-20.
McDaniel, M.A., Anderson, J.L., Derbish, M.H., & Morrisette, N. (2007). Testing the testing effect in the classroom. European Journal of Cognitive Psychology, 19(405), .