VietNamNet Bridge - The fact that an examinee got a score of 10 on a physics test and zero for math in the 2016 high school final exam has raised questions about the reliability of multiple-choice questions.

The exam result of Nguyen Sy H, a student from Nghe An province, was 10 for physics and 8 for chemistry, but zero for math. He got 2.5 for literature and 2.13 for English.

The zero mark for math was not a surprise for H, but he could not explain why he got 10 for physics and 8 for chemistry tests. 

“I could not solve any math question and I left the exam paper blank. Therefore, a zero is predictable. But I don’t know why I got high scores for physics and chemistry,” he said.

“After I solved some questions, I fell asleep on my desk. When the exam time ran out, a supervisor woke me up and I tried to do the other questions by crossing the given ABCD multiple-choice answers at random,” he said. 

“This is the weak point of multiple-choice exam answers,” a high school teacher in Hanoi said. “Students don’t have to think much when giving answers, but they still can get high scores."

“With multiple-choice questions, no one can say for sure that the students who get highest scores are the best students,” he maintained. “This is the game of chance."

The fact that an examinee got a score of 10 on a physics test and zero for math in the 2016 high school final exam has raised questions about the reliability of multiple-choice questions.

Multiple-choice questions have been used largely at exams in Vietnam in recent years because they are believed to have great advantages. 

They allow easy and fair marking of exam papers, while students don’t have to spend too much time to fulfill their works. 

Educators also believe that this is a best way to see students’ capability because students need to have comprehensive knowledge to answer the questions.

However, according to the teacher, this way of raising questions also shows problems, and the biggest problem is that it cannot discover the real ability of students.

“As students only given answers by crossing one of the given choices, they cannot show their creativity and logical thinking,” the teacher explained.

“I have to admit that there are not many cases like H’s, who could get 10 just by crossing choices at random. But in theory, this happens,” he said. “Multiple-choice questions are especially unsuitable to exam questions in subjects related to social sciences."

Le Truong Tung, president of FPT University, said that students would not be able to get 10 just by crossing at random, but thinks that students could get 2.5 if they chose A, or B, or C, or D for all the questions.


NLD