Prepare for a lot of stinging….
Because I’m pretty much about to destroy my History professor.
I’m taking a course online. And I’m notoriously bad at multiple-choice. So I study, right? A lot. Here’s the routine:
- Review “Learning Objectives” prior to reading the chapter. You know – just to get a good idea what to look out for.
- Review “Key Terms.” Same purpose.
- Find “Key Terms” in textbook, define them, and highlight them. So I know what to look for.
- Read chapter. (Reviewing “Key Terms” and “Learning Objectives” as I go.
- Write an essay. Get at least 94% on said essay. Clearly, I know what I’m talking about, right? Right.
- Give it a few days to percolate. Let my brain settle.
- Make flash cards of “Key Terms” and “Learning Objectives.” Look up definitions again, and review.
- Look over the chapter and ensure that I know what I’m talking about.
- Begin open-book quiz, textbook close at hand.
- Double-check every question, just to be sure I’m getting it right.
- Click “Submit,” with fingers crossed.
- Get a 50 or 57% score, with minor explanations about nit-picky details that the textbook doesn’t actually state in the first place.
I’ve come to a personal conclusion: the man who invented multiple-choice testing deserves to die. Only he doesn’t deserve to be sentenced; he deserves to have to choose his demise from a bank of 5 options, nearly identically worded, and all of them ending in slow, horrible, gruesome, torturous, painful death. ◊
Advertisements
I’m sorry that your test didn’t go well, but your post made me laugh! I’m with you — boo on multiple choice tests!
I see you’ve chosen the male pronoun for the inventor of MC. But such a subtle, confusing, and inscrutable system could have been conceived only by the female heart. : )