HOW TO SCORE EXAMS By Todd Eller, PhD

HOW TO SCORE EXAMS By Todd Eller, PhD

by | Apr 1, 2025 | Health

Scoring multiple-choice, true & false, and fill in the blank exams are quite easy. You simply score if the answer was correct or not. Allow us to share some boring information that actually is important in the creation of multiple-choice exams which are quite important. First, do not try to confuse or trick your students. Look at this multiple-choice question:

Who is the champion of behaviorism?

  1. John Watson

  2. BF Skinner

  3. Ivar Lovaas

  4. Edwin Guthrie

The serious problem with this question is that all of them could be correct. The question does not ask who invented behaviorism. That is a question that is far more based in fact. The question itself is a matter of opinion and each one of these psychologists could have claimed to have been champion of behavioral thought. Many believe that the true champion of behaviorism is BF Skinner. Others say Lovaas with his work with autistic children. The question above is a poor. The object of a test is not for a student to understand your opinion. If you want to have a debate on who the champion of behaviorism is, it needs to be done in essay or debate form. Not in a multiple-choice format because the question is debatable. Now, look at this question: 

Who were the inventors of the Operant Conditioning Chamber?

  1. John Watson

  2. BF Skinner

  3. Ivar Lovaas

  4. Edwin Guthrie

  5. A and B

  6. B and not C

  7. All of the above

First, the correct answer is BF Skinner. When a test or professor engages in multiple-choice answers such as A and B or B and not C, this simply confuses the test taker. The purpose of the test is to test knowledge, not the ability to figure out tricks. 

Now, look at this question:

Who invented behaviorism?

  1. John Watson

  2. BF Skinner

  3. Ivar Lovaas

  4. Edwin Guthrie

The answer is John Watson. This is a good question as it is clear and not debatable. It is also not asking the student to figure out how the professor thinks. So many professors fall into the trap of wanting students to think the way they think. It is your job to help students gain knowledge and think for themselves.

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