Influence of multiple-choice answer form design on answer-marking performance

Abstract

An evaluation of 8 potential new multiple-choice answer forms was conducted. The purpose of the evaluation was to determine whether the new forms differed significantly from a standard IBM form in facilitating the marking of answers. The new forms and the standard IBM form were administered to 4th graders, 8th graders, and college students by means of a timed answer-marking task. 6 of the forms produced significantly lower Total Right and Total Erasures scores than the IBM form. Differences in Total Double Marks were not significant. Females were found to achieve consistently higher mean Total Right scores than males on all answer forms. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2025 APA, all rights reserved)