Does Answer Order Influence Undergraduate Students' Performance on In-Class Chemistry Exams?

• In Event: Paper Session 1 (Pending Title)

Abstract

To deter cheating on exams, instructors might use multiple formats of the same exams. While research has examined the impact of using exams of different paper colors, scrambled item order, and scrambled item and answer order on performance, the effects of answer order alone on performance are not well-specified. This study examines the effects of answer order while controlling for item order, on performance on an in-class chemistry exam. DIF analysis was conducted to establish whether one version of the exam was more advantageous. Distractor analysis was also conducted to identify differences in response patterns across the two versions. Results show that responses on either version of the exam did not vary significantly between groups. Further implications will be discussed.

Authors

• Rachel Min Wong, University of Tennessee

• Shenghai Dai, Washington State University - Pullman