Online vs. written multiple-choice questions tests: accuracy and usefulness

With the on-line resources becoming common one can ask what are the limitations when applied to online examinations. Standardized multiple-choice questions test are commonly used either as a tool to enable student selfexamination or as a tool to test a large number of students in a more efficient way. However, the means of delivery and what one intends the tests to measure should be carefully considered. During last two years in teaching the course “Signals and System” both on-line and written, proctored and non-proctored multiple-choice questions test were used in production environment (in vivo). Obtained data suggest that test delivery method strongly influences test accuracy when measuring the knowledge students gained. On-line nonproctored delivery, although being the simplest, yields strongly biased results and is suitable only as a tool to enable student self-assessment of the knowledge gained, while the on-line or written (non-strictly) proctored tests are still the method of choice is ones wants to objectively measure the knowledge students gained.