Guessing, Partial Knowledge, and Misconceptions in Multiple-Choice Tests

The number right (NR) method, in which students pick one option as the answer, is the conventional method for scoring multiple-choice tests that is heavily criticized for encouraging students to guess and failing to credit partial knowledge. In addition, computer technology is increasingly used in classroom assessment. This paper investigates the effect of computer-adaptive assessment software (CAAS) using the number right elimination testing (NRET) as a scoring method for multiple-choice tests. The samples were 449 Form Two students in 19 Malaysian secondary schools. These students, aged 13 to 14 years, had gone through six years of primary education and at least one year of secondary education. Drawing from the analyses performed on students’ responses to the multiple-choice test in the study, we found that guessing was minimal when NRET was employed as a scoring method. NRET was able to credit partial knowledge and diagnose misconceptions. NRET scores were also consistently more reliable than the corresponding NR scores for all subtests.