Multiple-choice exams differ from short-answer and essay exams. The following account intends to promote a good start. This is a work of fiction. Any resemblance to real students, courses, or your instructor is purely coincidental.
The exam consists of a single problem: Compute 16+16. The correct answer is worth 100 points. Four students take the exam.
Student #1 answers 32. She gets 100 points.
Student #2 answers 62. After several meetings with the instructor and long negotiations, he gets 50 points—the assessment being that 50% of his answer was correct and hence he deserves 50% of the points.
Student #3 answers 22. He get 75 points. His argument is that he made only a minor mistake with the carry. The carry is an advanced subject, since many additions do not require it. His answer is more accurate than that of student #2 and therefore he deserves more points.
Student #4 does not answer. “It is confusing and misleading and stupid” he said later, to add a number to itself. Rather, you should multiply it by 2. Multiplication was discussed in class, but not included in the material covered by the exam. Hence, he could not answer the question. The instructor gives him 25 points to cut the discussion short.
Both the average and median of the exam are 62.50 points. Student #1 passes with an A. Student #2 is below average and passes with a C. Student #3 is above average and passes with a B. Student #4 fails with a D. Everyone is ok, including student #4. He realized, although too late, that calling the instructor's question “stupid” was a fatal mistake, and therefore he did not expect to pass.
In a parallel universe, the same four students take the same exam for the same class at the same university with the same instructor, but a discordance of the space-time continuum turns the exam into multiple-choice. Four choices are offered for the question: 32, 62, 22, and “none of the above”. In the parallel universe, each student picks the choice corresponding to the answer s/he gave in the other universe.
The exam average is 25, the median 0. No one is happy. Only student #1 passes the exam. She thought she could not show how much she knew. Everyone can pick the correct choice even without knowing the answer. Eventually, she completed her degree. Students #2 and #3 did study some, but thought the exam was too difficult. They transfered to other programs and eventually graduated in Political Science and Public Administration, respectively. The instructor, too, realized too late his fatal mistake. He moved on to teaching Italian Cooking in a nearby culinary institute. No multiple-choices there. For the exam, students prepare a dish. Students #4 followed the instructor. His options were limited and he loved pizza and pasta far more than additions and multiplications.
Copyright © 2010 Sergio Antoy