Assessment formats: do they make a difference?

Abstract

This study has explored the relationships between the results of various formats of paper-and-pencil classroom assessments in five classroom chemistry tests. The formats of assessment that have been used were: multiple choice, short answer, and structural communication grid. The study was conducted in Greece with the participation of first year upper secondary public school pupils (Lykeio, Grade 10, age 15-16). The correlations between the different formats of assessment tended to be between 0.30 and 0.71. This is a wide range but even the highest value is well short of 1.0. This suggests that the best student found by one method is not necessarily the best student by another method. This raises questions about the validity of the formats of the assessment and what different formats of assessment are testing. [Chem. Educ. Res. Pract., 2005, 6 (4), 204-212]