Why conventional multiple-choice tests may not tell the whole story
Multiple-choice questions are widely used because they allow teachers to assess many students efficiently and produce objective results. However, selecting the correct answer does not always reveal how a student arrived at that answer.
A student may know the concept, partially understand it, guess correctly, or hold a misconception while still receiving the same score. Valencia and Cruz-Ocampo examined whether a three-tiered multiple-choice question (TTMCQ) could provide more information about students' actual understanding.
The assessment adds two layers to the conventional answer-selection process. Students first select an answer, then choose the reasoning that supports it, and finally indicate how confident they are in their response. This structure allows teachers to examine correctness, reasoning, and confidence together.
34 Grade 11 STEM students took the assessment
The researchers used a descriptive mixed-method approach involving 34 Grade 11 STEM students at Buenavista National High School. The students participated through total enumeration, meaning the entire available group was included.
The researchers administered a conventional multiple-choice assessment and then introduced the three-tiered assessment one week later. The TTMCQ instrument contained 25 validated questions aligned with the General Chemistry 1 curriculum.
The quantitative results were examined using measures such as median scores, while students' written reflections and responses were analyzed thematically. The researchers also examined the instrument's validity and reliability.
Conceptual understanding remained a challenge
The conventional multiple-choice assessment showed that students' conceptual understanding had a median score of 35, classified as moderate.
Students performed relatively strongly in areas such as Limiting Reagents, Ideal Gas Law and Gas Mixtures, and Biomolecules and Organic Synthesis, although performance varied among chemistry topics.
The three-tiered assessment provided another perspective. Students' median score for conceptual understanding was 27, also classified as moderate across the assessed domains. The lower performance under the three-tiered format suggests that selecting an answer was not always accompanied by equally strong scientific reasoning.
This distinction is important for chemistry educators. Knowing the correct answer is only one part of scientific understanding; students also need to connect the answer to an appropriate scientific explanation.
Critical thinking was relatively strong, but reasoning was tested more deeply
In the conventional assessment, students recorded a median critical-thinking score of 31.25, categorized as high. Seven domains reached the complete or highest level reported by the researchers.
Under the TTMCQ format, however, critical-thinking performance had a median of 22, placing the overall result at a moderate level. Three areas Limiting Reagents, Ideal Gas Law and Gas Mixtures, and Molecular Polarity and Organic Functional Groups reached the high category, while other areas remained moderate.
The difference illustrates how adding a reasoning component can expose aspects of understanding that a conventional answer-only test may not capture.
Quantitative skills also showed room for improvement
Students achieved a median quantitative-understanding score of 18.5 on the conventional assessment, classified as high. Complete performance was reported in Mass Relationships in Reactions, Ionic and Covalent Bond Formation, and Molecular Polarity and Organic Functional Groups.
The TTMCQ results were more moderate, with a median quantitative score of 13 across the domains.
The results indicate that students could perform better when answering conventional questions than when they were required to demonstrate understanding through answer selection, reasoning, and confidence simultaneously.
Students said the format reduced guessing
Student reflections provide another important part of the findings. Among the 34 participants:
- 29 students (85.29%) said the assessment required higher-order thinking.
- 26 students (76.74%) said it reduced guessing and increased accountability for their answers.
- 24 students (70.59%) felt it revealed their actual conceptual understanding.
- 22 students (64.71%) identified misconceptions through the assessment.
- 23 students (67.65%) reported greater awareness of their own thinking and confidence.
- 25 students (73.53%) viewed the assessment as a learning tool rather than simply an examination.
Students also recognized a trade-off: 18 students (52.94%) reported increased cognitive load and time demands, while 27 students (79.41%) described the assessment as challenging but valid.
One student's reflection captured the central difference from a conventional test: “It is not just choosing an answer; you really need to explain why it is correct.” Another student observed that the format could reveal an incorrect reasoning process even when the selected answer appeared correct.
A reliable tool for chemistry assessment
The researchers reported that the 25-item instrument had moderately difficult items, excellent discrimination indices, highly functional distractors, and excellent internal consistency. Its reported Cronbach's alpha was 0.93, indicating strong internal consistency within the instrument.
For Valencia of Buenavista National High School and Cruz-Ocampo of San Beda University, the value of the three-tiered format lies in its diagnostic potential. By combining the selected answer with reasoning and confidence, teachers can identify not only incorrect responses but also possible misconceptions and gaps between students' confidence and their actual reasoning.
Implications for chemistry education
The findings suggest that TTMCQ can complement, rather than necessarily replace, conventional assessment.
Traditional multiple-choice questions can remain useful for checking foundational knowledge and broad content coverage. Three-tiered questions can add another layer when teachers need to examine conceptual understanding, reasoning, confidence, and misconceptions.
For chemistry teachers, the approach can support formative assessment by showing which concepts require additional explanation or practice. The researchers recommend strengthening conceptual learning, problem-solving, justification, and higher-order thinking while using different assessment formats for different learning purposes.
The study also points to opportunities for future research involving other subjects, grade levels, schools, and larger student populations. Researchers could also examine whether the approach improves long-term retention and academic achievement.
About the Authors
Mark Vincent S. Valencia is affiliated with Buenavista National High School, Schools Division of Marinduque. His research in this article focuses on chemistry education and assessment, particularly the use of three-tiered multiple-choice instruments to examine students' conceptual understanding, reasoning, and confidence.
Maria Eliza P. Cruz-Ocampo is affiliated with the College of Education, San Beda University, Manila. Her contribution to the article focuses on chemistry education, learning assessment, and the evaluation of students' comprehensive knowledge.
The published article does not specify the authors' academic degrees or formal fields of specialization beyond their institutional affiliations and the research focus presented in the paper.
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