Closed-Ended Practice Tests Improve Performance on Open-Ended Final Tests of Text Comprehension (Poster 16)

• In Event: AERA Poster Session 8
  In Poster Session: Division C Section 1A Poster Session 2. Literacy: Reading and Writing Across Contexts (San Diego)

Abstract

Two experimental studies explored whether practice testing with closed-ended questions can help students improve their understanding when learning from text and influence their ability to accurately assess how well they have learned the information they had read. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: multiple-choice practice testing, true-false practice testing or a re-read control condition. It was found that relative to the re-read condition, taking either type of closed-ended practice test improved students’ understanding of the texts, as assessed by either an essay or short answer format final test. Additionally, taking a closed-ended practice test was found to influence the accuracy of metacomprehension judgments making students less overconfident in their understanding.

Authors

• Lena Hildenbrand, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Thomas D. Griffin, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Jennifer Wiley, University of Illinois at Chicago

• Tricia Ann Guerrero, University of Illinois at Chicago