What are some of the strengths and weaknesses of selected response tasks?
Multiple choice, true/false, matching, and fill-in-the-blank assessments furnish snapshots of performance. They can be developed to assess many problem-solving skills, but generally the skills are tested in isolation. These common forms of assessments are blamed for some of the current problems in education. All too often teacher and student alike tend to focus on “will this be on the test” more than “is this important to learn.” However, the ease of administration and scoring, and statistical reliability of these items will probably cause them to remain in use. Multiple choice appears to be the best of the selected response assessment methods. True/false items tend to be tricky and require a tremendous number of items to maintain statistical reliability. Matching items often give away many of the answers. Fill-in-the-blank items are generally scored with a single keyed response. If a different correct response is given it probably will not receive credit causing student frustration. F
