Comparison of Open Ended Questions and Multiple Choice Tests in terms of Psychometric Features and Student Performance

Abstract

This study aimed to compare open-ended questions test and modified test based on multiple-choice questions in terms of psychometric features and student performance. Multiple-choice items tests were modified from open-ended items tests which were developed towards two units in 4th grade Science and Social Sciences lessons. Open-ended questions tests and multiple-choice questions tests for each lesson were compared in terms of item difficulty, item discrimination, reliability, student performance and cognitive levels. The research data was obtained from 5th grade secondary school students who study in Samsun at 2016-2017 academic year. The research results show that there were significant differences between different tests' formats according to item difficulty, item discrimination, students' performance, and gender.