To Change Answers or Not to Change Answers: That is the Question

Abstract

Are there any questions? asked Ms. Tobias after giving her seventh grade class the directions for taking a science test. Tom asked, you change your mind after answering a multiple-choice question, is it better to change your answer or to let your first one stand? It's usually wiser to go with your first reaction to an objective question than to change your Amy Tobias responded. But there are exceptions, she added thoughtfully. For example, if you found that you had misread an item, then it would be better for you to change your answer. Or if you remembered a key fact you had previously overlooked, it would be sensible for you to use this fact to reconsider the question. But, in general, first impressions are best. During the test, Amy pondered the answer she had given. She realized that she had no hard data on which to base her advice. She was disturbed to realize that her answer had been based on unsubstantiated folklore. And I teach science! she chastised herself. At lunch, Amy shared her concern with several colleagues. Opinions differed. Of the eight other teachers present, three thought that her response should have more strongly discouraged answer changing, four thought that her response had been about right, and one thought that her response should have more strongly encouraged answer changing. The conversation started John McAlpine thinking. I have to come up with a topic for a master's thesis. Wonder if this topic might work? I could hand out indelible pencils to my students for marking their answer sheets, he thought. I'd explain that if they wanted to change an answer, they should cross out the old answer and mark the new one. Then I'd score each answer sheet twice-once for original answers and once for final answers. I'd then compute the average of each set of scores. If the original answers yielded a significantly higher mean score, our majority opinion that students should let their first answers stand would be confirmed. If the final answers produced a significantly higher mean score, then students would be better advised to change their answers when they feel inclined. On Saturday morning, John was off to the university library to see if there was research literature on the topic. There was.