"Tricky" questions

Fact: Scientific evidence shows that most students have been trained to believe that a multiple-choice question is "tricky" if it requires them to do anything beyond mere memorization of the material. Multiple-choice test questions which require synthesis of facts and concepts, or questions which require analysis of new information in the context of known information, will always be considered "tricky" by those who prefer to merely memorize. It is unfortunately true that some (but not all) questions on Biology 198 tests will require you to synthesize and integrate information which you have learned in class. There is also good scientifically generated data that show you will remember the information longer if you can use it in those situations. And we do want you to remember this information, because we think that some of it is quite important. It may even be useful in other classes you take here at KSU; it certainly will be useful if you want to be an informed citizen, patient, parent, gardener, farmer, doctor, accountant or anything else that involves interacting with other living things.

Fact: The test questions are written by one person but reviewed by several others (most of whom are actively teaching in a section at the time). Any question that is unclear, or incomplete, or fails to account for a fact which appears in the readings or in the studio manual, gets changed or eliminated. Sometimes a bad question still gets through this process. If, after the tests are graded, we notice that a significant number of students misunderstood a question, we change the grading so that those students get credit for our mistake.

Fact: Often the perception of a question as “tricky” comes from a student who over thinks a question or doesn’t read a question clearly enough. To be successful on an exam, you need to carefully read the question on the page and answer it. Don’t think about “what if” this or that occurred. Use the information provided in the question itself and just answer it. You'll do a lot better on the tests, and maybe your stress levels will even decrease.

Fact: Finally, and probably most importantly, if you are making the assumption that we purposefully write test questions that are tricky, you are operating on a different set of assumptions than the persons writing the questions (see above). It should be obvious that if you are operating on a different set of assumptions than the person writing the question, it is much more likely that you will not figure out the answer that the test-writer had in mind. If you assume that the test questions are written to test your knowledge of biology, and that they are written to be as simple and clear as possible, your assumptions are much more in line with those of the test writer, and your ability to deduce the correct answer will be improved. When you and the person writing the test are looking for the answer in the same way, using the same assumptions, you probably will get a better grade on the test...