Efficacy of multiple choice questions as a tool for formative assessment

Formative assessment is an intrinsic part of the ongoing teaching-learning process. Aim of the present study was to compare multiple choice questions with the conventional method of evaluation i.e. long answer questions and short answer questions as a tool for formative assessment. The study was conducted in the Department of Anatomy, as a part-end assessment. Two hundred and thirty eight students of First-year MBBS took the test by both the above methods. Analysis of the study was done by Quantitative analysis and Qualitative analysis. Post-validation was done by Item analysis, by calculating the difficulty index of each item. The average percentage of marks obtained by multiple choice questions method was 60.2% and by conventional method was 64.6%.The failure rate was higher in multiple choice questions method (23.1%) as compared to the other method (11.3%). Item analysis showed that 70 % of the questions were in the acceptable range, 4 % were too difficult and 26% were too easy which needed modification. This study inferred that for multiple choice questions to be a meaningful and effective tool of evaluation, the tests should be frequent, covering small portions and with immediate feedback to the students. To make any assessment fair and valid, the written tests should be strategically mixed with all types of questions.