We describe how an answer-until-correct multiple-choice (MC) response format allows for the construction of fully multiple-choice examinations designed to operate much as a hybrid between standard MC and constructed-response (CR) testing. With this tool—the immediate feedback assessment technique (IF-AT)—students gain complete knowledge of the correct answer for each question during the examination and can use such information for solving subsequent test items. This feature allows for the creation of a new type of context-dependent item set: the “integrated testlet.” In an integrated testlet, certain items are purposefully inter-dependent and are thus presented in a particular order. Such integrated testlets represent a proxy of typical CR questions, but with a straightforward and uniform marking scheme that also allows for granting partial credit for proximal knowledge. As proof-of-principle, we present a case study of an IF-AT-scored midterm and final examination for an introductory physics course and discuss specific testlets possessing varying degrees of integration. In total, the polychotomously scored items are found to allow for excellent discrimination, with a mean item-total correlation measure for the combined 45 items of the two examinations of (mean ± standard deviation) and a final examination test reliability of α = 0.82 (n = 25 items). Furthermore, partial credit is shown to be allocated in a discriminating and valid manner in these examinations. As has been found in other disciplines, the reaction of undergraduate physics students to the IF-AT is highly positive, further motivating its expanded use in formal classroom assessments.
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There is, however, a variety of IF-AT forms with variety of answer keys available from Epstein Educational—a fact that greatly aids in test security.
The top two scorers overall were excluded from this analysis because they scored 100% on the exam and thus had no opportunity for earning partial credit. The next fifteen top-ranked students were used to represent the top group.
For non-integrated items, it is presumed that the order of question presentation is irrelevant. However, there is some indication that this may not be the whole story; see Ref. 44.
This “Introductory Physics for the Life Sciences” is an algebra-based course that significantly differs in subject matter from the “Introductory Physics II: Electricity and Magnetism” course discussed throughout this article. While the topics between the two courses were different, the methods of instruction and assessment were nearly identical.
