During the ninth week of instruction (after taking four multiple-choice question quizzes, and a midterm with multiple-choice questions and short-answer/essay questions), students were given the opportunity to evaluate PCMC in an online "Partial Credit for Multiple-Choice (PCMC) Survey" hosted by SurveyMonkey.com.
These are the complete survey results. Analysis will be forthcoming after more data has been compiled from future semesters. Values for the mean and standard deviations are given next to the modal response category for each question. Note that the order of questions within sections II and III were randomly scrambled for each student.
Partial Credit for Multiple-Choice SurveyThe following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
Cuesta College
Astronomy 210 Spring Semester 2010 sections 30674, 30676
(N = 76)
I. In order to receive credit for completing this survey,
first enter your first and last name below:
____
II. Recall that for this semester there is PCMC = "partial
credit for multiple choice," where you can get partial
credit even after circling a wrong answer, if you have
also eliminated an incorrect answer by marking it with
an "x."
Answer the following statements which may or may not
describe your beliefs about PCMC in this class.
Because of PCMC...
II.1 ...I read questions more carefully.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 4 : ****
3. Neutral 12 : ************
4. Agree 35 : *********************************** [4.0 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree 23 : ***********************
II.2 ...I spend more time taking a test.
1. Strongly disagree 2 : **
2. Disagree 20 : ********************
3. Neutral 20 : ******************** [3.3 +/- 1.1]
4. Agree 20 : ********************
5. Strongly agree 14 : ********
II.3 ...I feel more confident about circling a correct choice.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 6 : ******
3. Neutral 17 : *****************
4. Agree 36 : ************************************ [3.8 +/- 1.9]
5. Strongly agree 14 : **************
II.4 ...I look for incorrect choices before circling a correct choice.
1. Strongly disagree 3 : ***
2. Disagree 12 : ************
3. Neutral 8 : ********
4. Agree 36 : ************************************ [3.7 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 17 : *****************
III. Answer the following statements which may or may not describe
your beliefs about PCMC in this class.
III.1 PCMC helped me answer test questions better.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 6 : ******
3. Neutral 23 : ***********************
4. Agree 34 : ********************************** [3.7 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 11 : ***********
III.2 I would recommend using PCMC in future semesters of this class.
1. Strongly disagree 1 : *
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 35 : *********************************** [4.3 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree 35 : ***********************************
III.3 Having PCMC a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree 0 :
2. Disagree 1 : *
3. Neutral 11 : ***********
4. Agree 40 : **************************************** [4.1 +/- 0.7]
5. Strongly agree 24 : ************************
III.4 Using PCMC was difficult.
1. Strongly disagree 38 : ************************************* [1.6 +/- 4.4]
2. Disagree 30 : ******************************
3. Neutral 4 : ****
4. Agree 2 : **
5. Strongly agree 0 :
III.5 I would identify incorrect choices even without PCMC.
1. Strongly disagree 4 : ****
2. Disagree 7 : *******
3. Neutral 18 : ******************
4. Agree 36 : ************************************ [3.5 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree 10 : **********
IV. (Optional.) Please type in any comments you may have regarding
the use of PCMC in this class.
"I LIke it Becouse it gives u a better chance to get the correct answer becouse eliminate a couple of the wrong answers."
"The main reason that it is helpful to me is because the reward of partial credit forces me to slow down and work on eliminating before looking for the right answer. Having this incentive I believe actually increases the number of correct answers because of the incentive for students to reason through all of the answers."
"it works. do what you do good sir"
"It's a good method of testing that urges students to read and understand by process of elimination the content of a question by proof."
"Stops you from just circle the first answer u see. i would say it is a good thing"
"PCMC helps me get affitional points inour test."
"The only thing that I dont like about partial credit multiple choice is that we are only allowed to cross out one answer. I usually mark off all of the choices I know are wrong, so it's a little harder to just mark off one."
"PMCS rocks!"
"im just still not use to putting an X yet.."
"having PCMC makes it a lot easier for me to be ready to take the tests"
"At first it was a little hard to understand exactly how to use PCMC, I wasn't sure if I had to have a correct answer circled or not to get the PC, which hurt my grade a bit, but I quickly figured it out and benefitted from it. I think it can only boost one's grade if they understand how to use it."
"I think its great becasue even if you dont know the correct answer to thegiven question, at least you can earn some credit by no which answer is not correct. :)"
"Half credit on missed questions is better than nothing."
"I love the PCMC option, it's very helpful."
"I like being able to get partial credit
I think the use of PCMC is a good tool for eliminating an incorrect answer, which can give you a small amount of points for at least identifying one that was wrong."
"I believe that PCMC is a good way to buffer your grade if you get the initial question wrong. Usually I can figure out which answer is the definite wrong one. Good job PDogg"
"I really like the use of PCMC."
"its a good system in identifying the correct answer by removing the wrong one"
"It helped me feel like I had a greater understanding of the subject when I could identify a wrong answer even when I didn't know the correct one for sure."
"i think that we should be able to iliminate all the wrong choices we know for sure and get extra partial credit instead of just one"
"This is the first time I have seen an instructor use the PCMC system. I like it. You have the opportunity to get partial credit rathor than getting no credit at all. You have more hope when taking a test. Please keep this system going."
"I think that is helps to actually be able to mark off answers that you know are incorrect and in turn be able to get partial credit for it which is great!"
"i enjoy it. its enjoyable"
"I am glad that even if we don't know the right answer we may know the wrong one and get points on that alone."
"Great idea!"
"I like it, it makes you really read over the question and narrow down choices."
"That was legit"
"PCMC's great"
"I thought it was a good way to get some points."
"I like the practice, even if I didn't receive partial credit I like the physical act of crossing out the wrong answer. I think it is a good confidence booster."
"Gives you points for knowing what is wrong and not just for what is right
In multiple choice tests identifying incorrect answers is a standard tactic to maximizing test results, especially if you don't know your stuff. I've been using this tactic for over 45 years. It works! Adding a half point for selecting a wrong answer is not a big deal for me. But it might encourge some to use this tactic more often."
"Good way to get points"
"Sometimes i think i cross out a wrong answer and it's the right answer which sucks"
"This is the first time I have seen partial credit multiple choice, and I am 100% in favor of it. It helps me identify correct answers more efficiently and get better grades on the tests. :D"
"I like being able to get credit for knowing what the wrong answers are on it seems fair. I would suggest you keep using the PCMC in the future."
"I think it a much more efficient way of testing because it makes taking tests not as stressful because it is always possible to still earn some points."
"I think it's a smart idea and I've never seen it before. I would definitely recommend it for other teachers and future classes. I like it because sometimes you may not know what the right answer is but you know what it isn't."
"I think PCMC is a very useful, keep using it. It can't hurt us in, so i like it"
"Its legit :)"
"I like this because sometimes you know that certain answers are not correct but you might not be positive about what one is correct. This way, you can still get a little bit of credit for knowing a little opposed to not getting any credit. I like the PCMC method a lot and strongly suggest keeping it."
"SHIBBY!!!"
"It helps a lot. Like it. Its sweet. Its fun. I love PCMC."
"I like it a lot but sometimes it makes me nervous because essentially it is two chances to be right, but it is also two spots where I can make the wrong choice (making me feel twice as wrong )"
"This is really helpful for concepts that I don't fully understand
Loves it."
"its a good system and i believe that more teachers should follow this practice"
"I like it but at the same time it is hard because i get confused on which isnt the correct answer and spend more time on that than the right answer."
"I love it"
"I like it because if I feel unsure about an answer, at least I feel that I have bettered my chances by eliminating an answer for each problem, and at least can fall back on the fact that at least I will get partial credit. It does make me read questions more thoroughly and take my time."
"love it!"
"Really like it overall, but feel like more questions would be better and less points for each question."
"It makes me feel much more confident about my test scores. Its a brilliant Idea!"
"Having PCMC in class allowed me to be more relaxed too when taking a quiz or exam, mostly because I had the comfort of knowing that even if I answered a question incorrectly, I could still get partial credit for crossing out the wrong answer."
"PCMC is probably a good thing for people that aren't the great test takers, those who second and triple guess themselves. Generally, I look at all or most of the answers anyway; or I use elimination to select an answer."
"i like"
"i think they are great"
"I think it's a great incentive to eliminate answers."
"i think its good because it shows you that even if we dont know the correct answer, we at least are not completely stupid and we at least know what its not"
"It really helps to narrow down your choices and makes it much more clear and understandable."
"It helped me a lot when it came to answers i didint know"
"I think that PCMC is great it shows how much people have learned, it tests them so that if they were only partly listening they would get credit"
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