Multi-choice question assessment with time delay

Abstract or Summary

This paper describes a novel enhancement to the standard Multi-Choice Question (MCQ) type assessment. The new method utilises a time delay between students seeing the questions and when they are given the answers to choose from. During this period, students are encouraged to answer the question, as if they are attempting a constructed-response test. We argue that this modified test improves the ability of students to express their knowledge of the subject compared with a standard MCQ test. This is achieved while keeping the advantages of MCQ tests (for example efficient marking) that have made them a popular method of assessment. Details of the first trial of this technique are given and although the main hypotheses were not proved by quantitative analysis, many qualitative benefits were observed.