BBC - Why can't people with dyslexia do multiple choice?
NickTheBatMan
discriminate against people with the condition and is taking legal
action to prevent their use. But why do people with dyslexia find
multiple choice difficult?
More at http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7531132.stm
Now being a Dyslexic I find multiple choice massively easier than
having to write at all ! But that's because I don't have to think what
I'm going to have to write and don't have to write anything just tick
or circle... I can read reasonably well and can type massively better
than I can write and my memory's all but useless... all dyslexics are
different thankfully :)
Silverfin
specialised in teaching students with dyslexia. I have never noticed a
particular difficulty with multiple choice tests; in average, my
students have tended to do somewhat better on them. Obviously if
reading is a problem, the test will be hard, but then this will be a
problem with all kinds of test papers, not just MC ones.
Perhaps what the person in the article is actually comparing tests
which have many short questions (lots of reading, little writing) with
tests which have only a few long questions (little reading, lots of
writing)? This is not quite the same thing as criticising the format.
It seems quite possible that some people with dyslexia find MC tests
particularly hard, but I don't think it's likely that the majority do.
The article also mentions several other things. The 25% extra time is
a good thing because it relieves the stress of time pressure, and the
need to rush to finish. The black/white issue is IME often worked
around by printing tests on coloured paper, and if this is not
possible, using a gel overlay. Small print should not be a problem,
because it should be possible for anyone sitting a test to request a
large-print version (as do many with visual impairments).
If students with dyslexia have difficulty in holding all the different
answers in their heads at once, this is not really a surprise, because
so do an awful lot of people. I generally suggest that they first read
through each answer separately and discard any that are obviously
incorrect. Of the remaining, they compare answers two at a time, and
decide which is the better/worse option.
I would be interested to hear if anyone disagrees with my comments
above, and/or can help improve my understanding of these issues.
Silverfin
On Jul 29, 7:01 pm, NickTheBatMan <nickw7...@gmail.com> wrote:
> A medical student with dyslexia claims multiple choice exams
> discriminate against people with the condition and is taking legal
> action to prevent their use. But why do people with dyslexia find
> multiple choice difficult?
>
> More athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7531132.stm
an old friend
"NickTheBatMan" <nick...@gmail.com> wrote in message
news:a73ce6a4-64af-46a5...@i76g2000hsf.googlegroups.com...
Flash Gordon
<snip multiple choice tests, eaier or harder for dyslexics?>
> If students with dyslexia have difficulty in holding all the different
> answers in their heads at once, this is not really a surprise, because
> so do an awful lot of people. I generally suggest that they first read
> through each answer separately and discard any that are obviously
> incorrect. Of the remaining, they compare answers two at a time, and
> decide which is the better/worse option.
>
> I would be interested to hear if anyone disagrees with my comments
> above, and/or can help improve my understanding of these issues.
<snip>
I always found multiple choice far easier than other tests. I did them
by reading and understanding each question, then reading the answers one
at a time deciding as I went "definitely no", "unlikely", "possible" and
"definitely yes". If I only find one "definitely yes" that is the
answer, if I find two or none I need to re-read the question and answers
a lot more carefully! However, I only occasionally needed to actually
compare two answers and never more than two as far as I can remember.
--
Flash Gordon
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