A Comparison of Quantitative Questions in Open‐Ended and Multiple‐Choice Formats

Abstract

Open–ended counterparts to a set of items from the quantitative section of the Graduate Record Examination (GRE–Q) were developed. Examinees responded to these items by gridding a numerical answer on a machine‐readable answer sheet or by typing on a computer. The test section with the special answer sheets was administered at the end of a regular GRE administration. Test forms were spiraled so that random groups received either the grid‐in questions or the same questions in a multiple‐choice format. In a separate data collection effort, 364 paid volunteers who had recently taken the GRE used a computer keyboard to enter answers to the same set of questions. Despite substantial format differences noted for individual items, total scores for the multiple‐choice and open‐ended tests demonstrated remarkably similar correlational patterns. There were no significant interactions of test format with either gender or ethnicity.

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