Effects of Multiple-Choice and Short-Answer Tests on Delayed Retention Learning

Abstract

This research investigated the value of short-answer in-class tests as learning aids. Undergraduate students (n=187) in 9 technology education classes were given information booklets concerning “high-tech” materials without additional instruction. The control group was not tested initially. Students in the experimental groups were either given a multiple-choice or a short-answer in-class test when they returned the booklets. All groups were tested for delayed retention three weeks later. The delayed retention test included subtests of previously tested and new information. Both short answer and multiple-choice tests were more effective than no test in promoting delayed retention learning. No difference was found between short-answer and multiple-choice tests as learning aids on the subtest of information which had not been tested on the initial tests, however, multiple-choice tests were more effective in promotion of retention learning of the information actually contained in the immediate posttests.

This study compared two types of teacher-made in-class tests (multiple-choice and short-answer) with a no test (control) condition to determine their relative effectiveness as aids to retention learning (that learning which is still retained weeks after the initial instruction and testing have occurred). The investigation involved instruction via self-paced texts, initial testing of learning, and delayed testing 3 weeks later. The delayed tests, which included both previously tested information and novel information that had not been previously tested, provided the experimental data for the study.