Students' Reasons for Changing Answers on Objective Tests

Abstract

The circumstances under which answer changing is beneficial or detrimental to test performance were investigated. Undergraduates (N = 65) identified their reasons for changing answers on a 62-item multiple-choice examination. An analysis of the success of answer changing in relation to the reasons offered for changing was completed. Students who reported guessing as their reason for changing answers were not nearly as likely to benefit from their answer changing as were students who reported other reasons. Implications for previous work and test-taking strategies are discussed.