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This paper aims to examine whether multiple choice questions (MCQs) can be answered correctly without knowing the answer and whether constructed response questions (CRQs) offer more reliable assessment.

The paper presents a critical review of existing research on MCQs, then reports on an experimental study where two objective tests (using MCQs and CRQs) were set for an introductory undergraduate course. To maximise completion, tests were kept short; consequently, differences between individuals’ scores across both tests are examined rather than overall averages and pass rates.

Most students who excelled in the MCQ test did not do so in the CRQ test. Students could do well without necessarily understanding the principles being tested.

Conclusions are limited by the small number of questions in each test and by delivery of the tests at different times. This meant that statistical average data would be too coarse to use, and that some students took one test but not the other. Conclusions concerning CRQs are limited to disciplines where numerical answers or short and constrained text answers are appropriate.

MCQs, while useful in formative assessment, are best avoided for summative assessments. Where appropriate, CRQs should be used instead.

MCQs are commonplace as summative assessments in education and training. Increasing the use of CRQs in place of MCQs should increase the reliability of tests, including those administered in safety-critical areas.

While others have recommended that MCQs should not be used (Hinchliffe 2014, Srivastava et al., 2004) because they are vulnerable to guessing, this paper presents an experimental study designed to demonstrate whether this hypothesis is correct.

Managers and executives need to have a better framework for thinking about and understanding organizational change. Presents a summary of research, based on data from 1,840 managers and executives worldwide on the Managing Change Questionnaire (MCQ), regarding participants’ understanding of important issues inherent in change management. Overall, the average score on the 25‐item MCQ was 71.2 per cent, i.e. roughly a grade of “C” in the subject of change management. Presents additional findings with respect to formal education, age and length of service, nationality, job function, industry, gender and level of management.

Metacognitive beliefs and processes have been found to perpetuate anxiety and depression in youth and adults. However, the presence of metacognitive beliefs in children with autism spectrum disorder is somewhat unclear and has received limited research attention to date. The purpose of this paper is to explore metacognitive beliefs in children with autism and associations with anxiety and depression.

In total, 23 high functioning participants (17 male and 6 female) between the ages of 8 and 12 (M=10.38) diagnosed on the autism spectrum completed the study. Participants completed the Revised Children’s Scale of Anxiety and Depression and the Metacognitions Questionnaire for Children.

Correlation analyses revealed that positive and negative metacognitive beliefs were found, as hypothesised, to be prevalent in this sample.

Despite methodological limitations, this is one of the first research evaluations to provide evidence for metacognitive beliefs in high functioning children with autism and comorbid anxiety or low mood.

The purpose of this paper is to find appropriate forms of analysis of multiple-choice questions (MCQ) to obtain an assessment method, as fair as possible, for the students. The authors intend to ascertain if it is possible to control the quality of the MCQ contained in a bank of questions, implemented in Moodle, presenting some evidence with Item Response Theory (IRT) and Classical Test Theory (CTT). The used techniques can be considered a type of Descriptive Learning Analytics since they allow the measurement, collection, analysis and reporting of data generated from students’ assessment.

A representative data set of students’ grades from tests, randomly generated with a bank of questions implemented in Moodle, was used for analysis. The data were extracted from a Moodle database using MySQL with an ODBC connector, and collected in MS Excel^TM worksheets, and appropriate macros programmed with VBA were used. The analysis with the CTT was done through appropriate MS Excel^TM formulas, and the analysis with the IRT was approached with an MS Excel^TM add-in.

The Difficulty and Discrimination Indexes were calculated for all the questions having enough answers. It was found that the majority of the questions presented values for these indexes, which leads to a conclusion that they have quality. The analysis also showed that the bank of questions presents some internal consistency and, consequently, some reliability. Groups of questions with similar features were obtained, which is very important for the teacher to develop tests as fair as possible.

The main contribution and originality that can be found in this research is the definition of groups of questions with similar features, regarding their difficulty and discrimination properties. These groups allow the identification of difficulty levels in the questions on the bank of questions, thus allowing teachers to build tests, randomly generated with Moodle, that include questions with several difficulty levels in the tests, as it should be done. As far as the authors’ knowledge, there are no similar results in the literature.

The paper is about how to use the World Wide Web (Web) for education. After a brief review of this area, the main issues regarding the use of Web for education are discussed. Based on this discussion, a design, a preliminary implementation of a prototype, the experience gained from this work and future work are described and a few conclusions drawn. Experience from the trial of the system shows that the Web is a cost‐effective technology to facilitate the development of educational applications across the Internet.

The purpose of this study is to examine the interactions among superintendents' chief executive school officers, multicultural attitudes and actions for children from marginalized populations.

Members of the American Association of School Administrators, 945 school superintendents, completed the self‐reported, single‐staged, electronic survey. The survey consisted of four sections: a modified multicultural questionnaire; a modified diversity action survey; a national diversity leadership questionnaire; and a personal heritage questionnaire.

Respondents scored moderate (2.0‐3.0) on both multicultural attitudes and diversity actions. The study found a positive correlation between multicultural attitudes and diversity actions. Through a regression analysis, a significant model predicting diversity actions from multicultural attitudes was selected. The study found a positive significant correlation between attitudes and diversity actions.

There is limited theoretical and practical implications regarding the multicultural attitudes of school leaders and how these attitudes influence their decision making. This paper addresses this.

Reviews important contemporary theoretical approaches to the understanding and management of change in organizations, and then proposes an alternative framework for integrating the major themes encountered in organizational change management. Reports on results from an assessment instrument measuring agreement with key principles and concepts from this framework. Analyses results for trends indicating differences according to gender, culture, function, level, industry and other demographic and organizational variables. Discusses implications for change agents and human resources professionals.

The purpose of this paper is to examine whether the current Royal College of Psychiatrists Membership (MRCPsych) written examination is a suitable assessment tool to distinguish between candidates in a high-stakes examination.

Review of current educational theory and evidence in relation to the use of multiple-choice questions (MCQs) as an assessment form.

When MCQ’s are constructed correctly they provide an efficient and objective assessment tool. However, when developing assessment tools for high-stakes scenarios, it is important that MCQs are used alongside other tests that may scrutinize other aspects of competence. It may be argued that written assessment can only satisfy the first stage of Miller’s pyramid. The evidence outlined demonstrates that this may not be the case and higher order thinking and problem solving can be assessed with appropriately constructed questions. MCQs or any other singular assessment alone, cannot demonstrate clinical competence or mastery.

Increasingly, the MRCPsych examination is used around the world to establish levels of competency and expertise in psychiatry. It is therefore essential that the Royal College of Psychiatrists lead the way in innovation of assessment procedures which are linked to current educational theory. The author has evidenced how the current MRCPsych, may at least in part, hold inherent biases which are not related to a candidate’s competency.

The paper aims to investigate the effect of multicultural knowledgebase on attitudes and feelings of preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds among pre‐service teachers. Currently issues of multicultural education have been heightened by the academic achievement gap and emphasis on standardized test‐scores as the indicator of learning.

This descriptive study was conducted using surveys. A variety of data were collected through pre‐ and post‐tests. Questionnaires included Multicultural Content Test‐Educational (MCCT‐E), Multicultural Questionnaire (MC), and Preparedness Survey (PS). Descriptive statistics were used for data analysis.

Results indicated that a class in multicultural education significantly increased knowledge about diversity, attitudes towards multiculturalism, and levels of preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds. There was no correlation between multicultural knowledge and attitudes and between attitudes and preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds.

As teacher education evolves, there is need to rethink opportunities to learn how to teach children from diverse backgrounds beyond multicultural knowledgebase. More extensive and well integrated methods (direct experiences, mentorship, observing and working in authentic settings) are recommended. These methods enhance internalization of concepts, and ability to confront fears, misconceptions and misinformation during teacher preparation. This study suggested that teacher education programs should provide more sustained interaction with diversity issues and/or children of diverse backgrounds in order to transform the gain in multicultural attitudes into practice.

The study challenges the assumption in teacher preparation programs that knowledge transforms pre‐service teachers’ attitudes and preparedness to teach children from diverse backgrounds.

The purpose of this paper is to propose a practical conceptualization of the balanced scorecard (BSC) to describe the mechanism producing creation of monetary value for hospitals in the territorial context of Lombardy region (Italy).

The authors propose a model‐building strategy that assigns key indicators to key performance areas, and identifies causal relationships between key performance areas. Second, the authors utilize a suitable statistical approach to estimate causal relationships among involved latent variables, taking into account the hierarchical structure of data. Utilizing a suitable data decomposition, the causal model is applied separately to the within data (hospitals) and to the between data (local health agencies).

In the measurement model a new latent construct (medical human capital) was found that resumes the amount of formal training and the performance of surgical staff in hospitals. The estimated causal models reflect the usual directional assumptions, supposed in a typical BSC causal scheme, with some differences. For local health agencies, fruits (financial measures) are strongly related to clinical processes (leaves) for which the medical human capital constitutes its unique trunk. However, for hospitals, fruits (financial measures) are directly linked to clinical processes and Patient Satisfaction.

The main limitations of this study are the lack of new independent data to validate the obtained causal structures and the limited number of indicators that reflect the deficiency of available information in regional administrative archives.

The present study may be useful to guide further efforts which attempt to conceptualize BSC in the health sector. As more information can be made available, other performance indicators can prove to be linked with this structure using the same methodology.