Abstract

The aim of this study was to find out the effects of multiple-choice questions on the academic performance of students in the English Language in Cameroon secondary schools, using some selected secondary/high schools in Buea Sub-Division. A hundred Questionnaires were randomly selected from four schools in the area.

The instrument utilized for the collection of data was a questionnaire. Data were analyzed using frequencies and percentages. The results show that multiple-choice questions affect students’ performance positively.

This means that the normal type and the A-type of MCQs have a positive effect on students’ performance, based on the result of the findings, recommendations were made, teachers should not limit themselves only to MCQs questioning but also to Essay type of Questioning.

Teachers and counselors should aid students in preparing for an assessment, by organizing counseling programs to educate students on how to read for an MCQs test. This can be done by exposing them to past MCQs papers in order to enhance their performance not only in the English Language but also in other subjects.

Since MCQs require students to read widely, more books should be made available in libraries for students to read not only in English but also in other subjects.

Conference concerning assessment in the English Language, especially MCQs should be organized not only for examination classes, that is, form five and upper sixth but also to students in other classes in the English Language.

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

For the past years, Geography teachers have been researching the way they teach Geography. Research has shown that there is a gap between what is taught and what students learn (McDermott, 2001).

To understand what students know and how instructional methods influence knowledge, they require well-designed assessment tools. The researcher in this study takes the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) to test Geography comprehension and the effects it will have on the academic performance of students.

Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) is defined as a very flexible assessment format that can be used to measure knowledge, skills, abilities, values, and thinking skills.

Such a test usually consists of a number of items that pose a question to which students must select an answer from among a number of choices. Items, therefore, are fundamentally recognized tasks where students must identify the correct responses).

To use the Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) as an assessment tool, the teacher needs to know the different types so as to detect which type is appropriate for a given level of learners.

Therefore this chapter consists of an introduction and background of the study which explains what MCQs is all about and also what this research is all about.

Also, there is the statement of the problem which explains what actually prompts the researcher to take up this study.

There are the general and specific objectives and general and specific research questions which are the questions that will be answered in this research. The purpose of the study is just what the researcher is seeking to find out in the study. The significance of the study is to show how relevant the research will be carried out and to which kind of people. Lastly, there is the definition of terms as it will be used in the course of research.

Background of the study

Historical background

The multiple-choice question type came to Cameroon and was used in Cameroon around the 1980s to test validity, reliability, and other quality indicators of assessment tools.

The multiple-choice question type was later reintroduced again in 2009 by the Cameroon General Certificate of Education Board.

The Multiple-Choice format has a clear advantage over the true or false format in terms of reduced susceptibility to guessing, better reliability, increased flexibility in sampling various content domains, and higher-level thinking and cognitive skills (Aiken, 1987; Haladnya & Downing 1989).

According to Downing & Haladnya (2006), the most difficulty encountered in developing high-quality test items is a potential setback in the use of multiple-choice tests.

As such item-writing is a difficult task and should be completed by subject matter experts who are experts within a given content domain but are not necessarily published, item editing should be an integral aspect of item development because poorly written items can threaten a test’s validity.

Downing & Haladnya (1997) believe that greater attention needs to be focused on collecting validity evidence as it relates to item development including documented adherence to relevant item-writing principles which would contribute supporting validity evidence to score interpretations,

Multiple Choice Questions may have a negative or a positive effect on a student’s academic performance depending on the type used and at what level of learners’ attainment.

Conceptual Background

Multiple choice questions is not really a new concept as it has been in use for over five years now as a means of assessment in secondary education.

What is more interesting is that some students assume that it is a good means of assessment as it increases their academic performance in some subjects like Geography. A good number of educators have written on MCQs and their effects on students’ academic performance.

Nicole David (2007), says many researchers discourage the use of MCQs arguing that they promote memorization and factual recall and do not encourage high–level cognitive processes. (Airasian, 1994; Scouller, 1998), maintains that, this depends on how the tests are constructed and that they can be used to evaluate learning at a cognitive level.

This will depend on the different types of MCQs tests and the types that should be given to its respectful classes. The different types of MCQs are examined below;

• Normal-type; it is made up of a stem plus four options. It tests facts, comprehension, and application.
• A – Type; It is made up of a stem and five response options. It tests facts, comprehension, and application.
• K – Type; It has a stem and five combinations. It tests comprehension, application, and analysis.
• E – Type; It is made up of an assertion and reasons. It will test comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis. Conceptual background also consists of the concept of questioning, the concept of MCQs questioning, and the concept of academic performance. All of this concept shall also be examined below;

Questioning

Questioning is a sentence or phrase that seeks information through a reply or to poses a question or questions regarding analyzing or examining something example of a question is; which of the methods will work best?

This concept is linked to education in that in every milieu of learning or education there must be some series of questions to prove to understand.

For example, in a classroom after which a geography teacher has finished teaching the topic Earthquakes, he/she will therefore pose a question to the students to see if he/she can move to the next topic or not.

Multiple Choice Questioning (MCQs)

Multiple choice questions is a form of assessment in which respondents are asked to select the best possible answer out of choices from a list.

If guessing an answer, there is usually a 25 percent chance of getting it correct on a 4 answer from multiple choices which can be automated using multiple choice questioning. MCQs format is mostly used in educational testing, in market research, and others.

For example, E.L Thorndike developed early MCQs; J. Kelly was the first to use such items as part of a large scale assessment.

Essay Questioning

An essay is prose or composition with a focused subject of discussion or a long systematic discourse.

In other words, the essay is a literary device for saying almost everything in a topic or discussion (Aldous Huxley).

Essay as an educational tool, help as a way to get students to analyze what they have read.

They are four main essay types which include; factual recall, analysis/explanation type, synthesis/application type and opinion type essays. They help to facilitate student learning

Academic Performance

Academic performance according to the Cambridge University Reporter (2003) is frequently defined in terms of examination performance.

Academic performance/achievement refers to what the students have already learned and is usually measured via assessments like standardized tests, performance assessments, and portfolio assessments (Santrock, 2006).

The descriptive assessment information will usually be translated through grading systems such as Grade Point Average (GPA) and course grade. This study will make use of the cumulative GPA since it provides information of the students’ academic performance across time.

The academic performance which is measured by the examination results is one of the major goals of a school. Hoyle (1986) argued that schools   are established with the aim of imparting knowledge and skills to those who go through them and behind all this is the idea of enhancing good academic performance

Contextual Background

The concept of deals with the implementation/methods of multiple choices. According to this research, multiple-choice questions are the best type of questions that could be given to students.

But hear the teacher is the one who determines which form of assessment will be more appropriate to the students and which will produce a positive effect on the students’ academic performance.

If the teacher decides to use the MCQs to test the students’ level of learning, after knowing their level of cognition or their level of thinking, it is because the teacher knows that MCQs will assess perfectly what he/she intends to assess.

Therefore, depending on the degree of congruence with assessing students, the teacher’s assessment may enhance students’ performance.

Whereas relying on multiple-choice tests as a primary method of assessment is educationally dangerous for many reasons. Some of the reasons are examined below;

1)         Students may recognize facts well enough to score high on the test, but not be able to think about the subject or apply knowledge even though being able to think and apply is essential to knowing any subjects. Therefore, the conclusion that a student ‘knows’ Geography or science is because she got a high score on multiple-choice may be false.

2)         Since the questions usually must be answered quickly and have only one correct answer, students learn that problems for which a single answer cannot be chosen quickly are not important.

Statement of Problem

During my last teaching practice in G.B.H.S Muea, after carrying out an evaluation in multiple-choice questions (MCQs) and Essay, I came to realized that some students excel more in MCQs and fail the essay part while others excel more in the essay part and fail the MCQs.

I then concluded that the relatively poor academic performance of some students in Geography points to the fact that students may have problems with answering multiple-choice questions.

As such, it is to understand the effects of MCQs on the academic performance of students that the research sets out on undertaking this study.

Purpose of the Study

To find out what assessment tools can better affect students academic performance (MCQs and Essay types of questions)

Objectives

The objective of this study is to find the effects of Multiple-choice questions (MCQs) on the academic performance of secondary school students in Geography.

Specific Objectives

1. To find out the effects of Normal and A-types of MCQs on students’ academic performance.
2. To find out the effects of k and E-types of MCQs on students’ academic performance.
3. To find out what type of questioning type (MCQs or essay) do students prefer.

Read Also: STUDENTS’ PERCEPTION ON MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS (MCQs) IN ORDINARY LEVEL ENGLISH CASE OF FORM FIVE STUDENTS IN CAMEROON