Multiple choice quiz or exam

#1

I have completed 2 courses through Saylor. The practice has been at the end of a topic, there is quiz, correction and rewrite of the same quiz.The instructor always provided the correct mulitple choice answer so a student could explore his errors. Also, the correction of the quiz becomes a learning experience. The other definitive practice was the meaning of “rewrite the quiz or exam” mean’t the student was faced with a repeated test and not a new one. If an instructor refuses to present corrected multiple test answers for a final and he insists on ushering in a new test or exam he ought to make clear that his practice extends to no corrections of the exam and there is no “rewrite of the test”, but a new test or exam. This proclamation ought to be made before the course begins.

Let me explain the importance of this opinion" rewrite versus new test". The student is exposed to six months of very academic work with many gigabytes of info to memorize, understand and selectively identify in the test situation. It would take the average person 6-8 week preparation to study for this “new” exam. Hence, the completion time of the course is seriously impacted.

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#2

Thank you for your feedback. We can do a better job of letting students know, before taking an exam, that correct answers are not given for missed questions.

I’ve added a note about it to our About final exams guide, but will suggest other places to colleagues.

I appreciate your argument for providing answers, although I can share some insight about why we currently do not. Mainly, we want to encourage study of the concepts behind questions whenever possible and to avoid a situation whereby one can pass an exam by memorizing specific questions. For the same reasons, we try to have as large a bank of questions as possible.

Each exam attempt should, at least, follow the same general order of concepts as the course and should connect to learning outcomes. You might find the tips in this guide helpful: How to Study for Final Exams – among other things, we alk about using our site search to make researching correct answers easier.

I’m happy to hear your thoughts!