Reddit reviews Classroom Assessment: Principles and Practice for Effective Standards-Based Instruction (6th Edition)

Did you ever take a class in measurement and evaluation? If you'd like a solid resource to refer back to, this has been a pretty decent book so far and covers a lot of the things the others are talking about. You could probably find an earlier version for a hell of a lot cheaper, but so far (in my class) it's been pretty useful and not a stupid fluff-text. It talks about the purpose and use of different types of questions, stuff to avoid, etc. It has a whole chapter on selected-response questions, and another on constructed-response questions, and focuses on how to make assessments both valid and reliable.

Consider what you mean by "the effectiveness of a multiple choice test". The educator is collecting evidence to support a claim about the understanding and skills of the student. A multiple choice test where answers could be potentially plugged in to solve the problem does not fully support the claim that the student has mastered a method for solving the problem without being given potential solutions. Professional judgement is required for interpretation.


In the classroom, a student's reasoning and skills should be evaluated in a variety of ways. For example, constructed response questions that require the student to explain each step in solving an equation or a project that requires a student to use their mathematical skills in a real life context could be used. These types of assessments are also imperfect because there is a degree of interpretation when assigning a grade.


All assessments have error, they are never perfect measures of a trait or skill.


Can a multiple choice question be written that accounts for your concern, yet evaluates whether a student has mastered this particular topic? Yes, the test could ask to solve two equations, and then have the students select the sum of the two solutions. Plugging in the answers would not help them solve that compound problem. However, this question is not perfect either because we are now evaluating whether they know what the word 'sum' means. This question also requires the student to be correct twice in a row, which could increase assessment error.


However, that is okay because, as I said above, all assessments have error, they are never perfect measures of a trait or skill.


Another factor to consider is that familiarity with multiple choice questions can be beneficial because that is the format of many standardized tests. Doing well on standardized is clearly not the end goal of education, but it is a reality.


Source: I flipped around in my Classroom Assessment textbook before writing this post: http://www.amazon.com/Classroom-Assessment-Principles-Standards-Based-Instruction/dp/0133119424