Testing Selection
We have to careful when selecting a test. If it is a short test then we can give multiple choice test. We have to remember that some of the students guess the answer, for those students it is not a good choice to have multiple choice test or matching test.
I do see your point that multiple choice tests may not be the best choice given a student can just simply guess the answer. I think a remedy for this is really mastering the art of writing good quality multiple choice questions. When I was in college, I took a course on test development. A few concepts that stuck with me were when writing a multiple choice exam, make sure each question has at least 4 options. This provides that students only have a 25% chance of getting the question correct. I a student is guessing on each or many questions, there is a high probability they will not get the question correct. This will reflect in their test score, which presumes they will change their study habits so the next test they take, they will not just guess the answers. Thanks for posing the stimulating question.
I like to involve several different testing styles on my exams. It seems to be a better reflection of content retention because students "test" just as differently as they learn.
