20110321

Education research: partial credit for multiple-choice questions (PCMC) student attitudes (Spring semester 2011)

Starting Fall semester 2008 and continuing through Spring semester 2011, Cuesta College students taking Astronomy 210 (introductory astronomy) at Cuesta College, San Luis Obispo, CA have piloted the use of partial credit for multiple-choice (PCMC) questions.

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 Survey
Cuesta College
Astronomy 210 Spring Semester 2011 sections 30674, 30676
(N = 45)

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      0 : 
2. Disagree               2 : **
3. Neutral                6 : ******
4. Agree                 29 : *****************************  [4.2 +/- 0.8]
5. Strongly agree        20 : ********************
     
II.2 ...I spend more time taking a test. 
1. Strongly disagree      4 : ****
2. Disagree               6 : ******
3. Neutral               14 : **************
4. Agree                 21 : *********************  [3.5 +/- 1.1]
5. Strongly agree        11 : ***********

II.3 ...I feel more confident about circling a correct choice.
1. Strongly disagree      1 : *
2. Disagree               4 : ****
3. Neutral               11 : ***********
4. Agree                 24 : ************************  [3.9 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree        16 : ****************

II.4 ...I look for incorrect choices before circling a correct choice.
1. Strongly disagree      1 : *
2. Disagree               9 : *********
3. Neutral                9 : *********
4. Agree                 17 : *****************
5. Strongly agree        20 : ********************  [3.8 +/- 1.1]

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      1 : *
2. Disagree               2 : **
3. Neutral               10 : **********
4. Agree                 23 : ***********************  [4.1 +/- 0.9]
5. Strongly agree        20 : ********************

III.2 I would recommend using PCMC in future semesters of this class.   
1. Strongly disagree      0 : 
2. Disagree               0 : 
3. Neutral                5 : *****
4. Agree                 17 : *****************
5. Strongly agree        34 : **********************************  [4.5 +/- 0.7]

III.3 Having PCMC a positive experience.
1. Strongly disagree      0 : 
2. Disagree               1 : *
3. Neutral                7 : *******
4. Agree                 22 : **********************
5. Strongly agree        27 : ***************************  [4.3 +/- 0.8]

III.4 Using PCMC was difficult.    
1. Strongly disagree     22 : **********************  [2.0 +/- 3.0]
2. Disagree              19 : *******************
3. Neutral               10 : **********
4. Agree                  4 : ****
5. Strongly agree         1 : *

III.5 I would identify incorrect choices even without PCMC.  
1. Strongly disagree      2 : **
2. Disagree               7 : *******
3. Neutral               20 : ********************
4. Agree                 22 : **********************  [3.4 +/- 1.0]
5. Strongly agree         5 : *****

IV. (Optional.)  Please type in any comments you may have regarding 
    the use of PCMC in this class.
The following are all of the student responses to this question, verbatim and unedited.
"I liked PCMC because it allows you to get points back. It helps your grade if you need it. =)"

"i like it except for when i go to look at my score i have a hard time understanding it ."

"I think that the PCMC is really great and think it is very effective in the class on tests and quizzes. The PCMC makes me more confident that I will not fail and at least get some points when I am going between two answers. I normally have really bad test anxiety and PCMC has really helped me not freak out as much as I normally would. I really like the use of PCMC in this class and really wish that more teachers would use this method."

":)"

"i was lost but being in a group with people that know it and got it helps"

"good"

"I think it is very helpful. I also think that it is great to have an extra opportunity to receive points when it could be just written off as wrong."

"Its useful but is doing things partially and getting partial credit really good if the student as clearly demonstrated they do not know the material? I suppose though that even those student will not be helped much by PCMC. I do believe it is excellent for those who can recall some details about the materials which does in fact demonstrate that they have learned some of the material, which i think should be rewarded with some credit, especially if some of the concepts are difficult to grasp."

":)"

"I like it."

"I really appreciate the opportunity to use the PCMC method on our tests. It encourages me to think about the question on a different level and provides me with the confidence to know that even if i didnt get an answer correct, I know my thought process will be recognized and appreciated."

"I think it is a great fall back for a student struggling with the test."

":)"

"I love that we can get partial credit for indentifying wrong answers, it makes me feel a little bit better if I didn't know the correct answer in the first place."

"It helps because I'm doing so poorly"

"I love it."

"it's good :)"

"It gives you hope on a question that you really have no idea how to answer."

"PCMC WOO!"

"I really like PCMC as a system for getting some partial credit on quizzes and tests. It makes it less stressful because even if I don't have certainty about my answer, I can be certain about at least one wrong answer."

"I think that instead of .5 points it should be anywhere between 1-1.5 points because if there is a 4 choice question, eliminating one question removes 25% of the choices so we should get at least 25% of the points because we knew what answer was wrong out of the 4 showing that we know what's going on.Kinda."

"It definitely helps :)"

"If we don't 'x' out an answer we know is wrong, will we not get as much credit?"

"I often confuse myself trying to figure out which wrong answer I should choose."

"It's a good method"

"i like the PCMC"

"I like it. Its just awesome"

"I feel like sometimes if i 'x' out a wrong answer then the question becomes incorrect and i am only graded solely on the partial credit wrong answer i 'x'ed out."

"I think PCMC is a great idea- however, I think it would help to have more review. I know time is a constraint, but it's hard to have a quiz or test almost every week and not go over "problem spots" or maybe have just 10 minutes the class after the quiz/test to go over common wrong answers. Even though it's nice to get some points made up with the PCMC, I think it would be better yet to know more of the correct answers. I say keep the PCMC and maybe add a 10 minute quiz or test review, or have a question on our Online Reading Assignments that allows us to ask for a review of certain topics."

"PCMC is a good help to figuring out the right answer easily"

"Gives a different perspective on the test. anybody would like to have that possibility to get a little credit when not being 100% that the selected answer was best while especially while mind dueling between two"

"I love it :)"

"I think it is really helpful. It helps you to narrow down your choices and get some extra points at the same time! I just wish they were worth a little more. Maybe a full point? .5 out of 4 isn't a whole lot, but every bit helps!"

"I think it's rad."

"Great tool. Helps you cancel out the wrong answer ."

"I like PCMC because sometimes you are torn between two answers... so if you cross off the ones you know are definitely incorrect, you already have a better score than if you took a chance and had to guess."

"Golden"

"helps"

"I think that this method is very effective for nervous multiple-choice test takers! I am definitely a fan."

"I really love all the oppurtunities we get in order to get more points inside class... PCMC really confuses me. Can you explain it more in detail?"

"PCMC has me going into stressfully test situations with more optimism and relaxation which leads to better scores"

":P"

"I think that there should be partial credit for x-ing out any of the incorrect answers not just the most incorrect because then I worry about that as well as circling the right answer. Then partial credit would be more effective and give students a few extra points if they are struggling with a few questions"

"LOVE PCMC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"I like the PCMC because I don't feel doomed by an incorrect answer. My grade benefits as I am often able to use the knowledge I have obtained to eliminate an answer I know is wrong."


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