Physics tweaks testing methods

Introductory physics is undergoing several major changes for the fall semester. These include the addition of free-response portions to the multiple-choice tests in Physics 2211 and recitations for both Physics 2211 and 2212.

In response to complaints about the current multiple-choice-only format of exams, the school maintains that multiple-choice questions and tests are important.

Furthermore, according to Michael Schatz, physics undergraduate coordinator, it has been possible in the past to receive partial credit for "answers that are almost correct," although in most cases partial credit was not given.

"Multiple-choice is important. It is closer to real life. Careless mistakes have led to large-scale disasters in the real world. Should these engineers [who make mistakes] be given partial credit for understanding the concepts, but getting incorrect answers?" Schatz said.

Some students agree that multiple-choice is fair because of the possibility of receiving partial credit.

"Like a free-response question, if you solve the majority of the problem correctly, and get an incorrect answer because of a simple mistake at the end, you still have the chance of getting partial credit," Molin Jiang, a first-year Industrial Engineering major, said.

Many students feel differently.

"Multiple-choice questions do not allow for differentiation between those students who followed a solution correctly but made a minor error, and those who completely guessed and were lucky enough to get full credit," Pedram Javanmard, a first-year Biomedical Engineering major, said.

According to Schatz, many students have the misconception that hand-graded, free-response questions will earn them higher grades just because they can show their work.

"Statistics indicate that average scores on multiple-choice questions are higher than those on hand-graded questions," he said.

Besides the format of tests, students had other complaints.

Kaustubh Bhardwaj, a first-year Biomedical Engineering student, said that he felt that the structure of the tests and of the class as a whole was unfair. Bhardwaj took Physics 2211 in the spring.

"My lowest test grade in the class was an 80. My friend's highest grade was the same, and we got the same grade in the class," he said.

"My biggest complaint about the class was the lack of a recitation period," Spencer Nettleton, a first-year Industrial Engineering major, said.

Starting in the fall semester, physics labs will include a recitation period. The School of Physics, Schatz said, is constantly evaluating their curricula to make improvements.

According to Schatz, next semester, self-paced physics, "an experiment to explore alternatives to the standard offering of physics," will be temporarily unavailable so that the department can evaluate its success.

"We feel that this is a good time to look at the results of the experiment and to see whether or not it is working," he said.

The school plans to offer the course again as early as the spring semester. According to Schatz, self-paced physics may be expanded to include Physics 2212; it was only offered as an alternative to Physics 2211 in the past.

"We listen to feedback from our students, and look at what has been done at other institutions. We try to find the best practices to keep our physics program at the forefront," Schatz said in regards to the Physics program as a whole.