Can multiple-choice questions simulate free-response questions?

TL;DR

This study investigates whether well-designed multiple-choice questions can effectively simulate free-response questions in physics exams, maintaining assessment quality while offering grading efficiency.

Contribution

The paper demonstrates that carefully crafted multiple-choice questions can approximate free-response performance, providing a practical alternative for large-scale assessments.

Findings

Multiple-choice questions reflect free-response performance accurately

Weighted choices capture different levels of student understanding

MCQs offer grading and analysis advantages

Abstract

We discuss a study to evaluate the extent to which free-response questions could be approximated by multiple-choice equivalents. Two carefully designed research-based multiple-choice questions were transformed into a free-response format and administered on the final exam in a calculus-based introductory physics course. The original multiple-choice questions were administered in another similar introductory physics course on final exam. Findings suggest that carefully designed multiple-choice questions can reflect the relative performance of the free-response questions while maintaining the benefits of ease of grading and quantitative analysis, especially if the different choices in the multiple-choice questions are weighted to reflect the different levels of understanding that students display.