survey on the habit to change the answers in multiple choice questions [MCQ] exams: Does the examinee benefit?

ABSTRACT

Nowadays multiple choice questions [MCQs] are amongst the most accredited type of examination tools. Examinees [students] change their selected answers with the hope to get higher scores, whereas it may decrease their final scores on the contrary. This study evaluates such a habit in medical students. The medical students' exam papers in dermatology ward during the past nine years were reviewed to check their answer sheets for changing the answers to MCQs. Frequency of changes in changing answers to MCQs, and total effect of these changes in the final scores were evaluated and analyzed. this study, 614 medical students were considered. At the end of their course in dermatology ward, 472 MCQs were used as the standard examination. Totally 45.5% of the students [41.7% males and 46.5% females] had changed their answers to the MCQs, which had no meaningful difference in terms of gender. Mean total score of both of groups, who had changed and who had not changed their answers, were compared and no changes were seen. Based on the direction of changes, this study showed that 36% of students had corrected their wrong answers, 30.2% had changed their correct answers to wrong ones and 38% had changed wrong answers to other wrong ones. Statistically no meaningful changes were seen. In 40% of students these changes had led to higher scores, 31.5% had got lower scores and 28.5% had no change in their final scores. Medical students who had taken part in this survey had changed their answers less than what literature explains, and fewer students had corrected their wrong answers and as a result had got lower scores. It seems that temptation to change answers based on the fine attention to MCQs and logical thought might lead to higher scores, but the change by itself had not led to better results, blind change works just by chance as in our students