What should happen when a student submits an online course quiz? They receive a score, see which questions they missed, and move on to the next lesson—or should they be shown the correct answers?
Although it appears to be a minor design choice, the manner in which the results of the quiz are presented can have a great impact on the students’ learning process. This is because seeing the correct answer right away might help students learn from their mistakes. Nevertheless, presenting answer choices without clarifying their meaning and giving students the chance to memorize them might hinder the efficacy of future evaluations.
All courses adhere to a single basic principle. The aims of this principle set forth what sort of assessment tool should be employed, the nature of knowledge being assessed, and the actions students will be expected to take after having gone through it.
A Quiz Should Be More Than a Score
A quiz can serve two very different purposes. It can measure what students already know, or it can help them learn.
If the only goal is assessment, revealing the correct answers may not always be appropriate. An instructor may want to know whether students can independently recall and apply the material, particularly when the same knowledge will be tested again later.
The majority of tests conducted in online learning setups are not very serious. Their function is supplementary because they assist in better-saturating the information to the student. In the current case, it is the feedback that should be valued rather than the grades.
Once students learn about their errors in a quiz as well as why their choice was incorrect, the quiz becomes a learning tool rather than a judgment tool.
Why Showing Correct Answers Can Help
When students receive instant feedback, they'll have the opportunity to correct their errors or misconceptions while the information is still fresh in their minds.
As an example, if a learner provides an incorrect answer about a strategic business decision and the system indicates “wrong” as a response, the learner will become confused yet respond incorrectly to another question in a blind manner.
Providing the student with the correct answer, as well as a few sentences discussing why the answer is right, is an even better learning experience. By comparing the reasoning behind the incorrect answer, the student will learn from their mistakes.
This method proves to be especially useful when the training is self-paced. This is especially true without the help of a teacher to clarify what went wrong. Thus, knowing the right answers can provide useful information and correct gaps in knowledge.
Explanations Matter More Than the Answer
Simply providing the correct answer typically does not give enough feedback.
When a student finds out that their answer “B” was the correct one but does not receive an explanation, they would, at best, remember the answer but probably lack knowledge of what the answer means.
It is much better to show why the answer is right, and why other options are not, if appropriate.
For instance, instead of presenting:
Correct answer: B
the course would mention that answer B is correct because the answer pertains to the problem discussed in the example, while answer A refers to another phase of the process.
This is what turns the correct answer into a learning opportunity for the student.
The more significant the idea, the more beneficial the feedback will be.
When Showing the Answer Immediately May Not Be Ideal
In certain instances, showing the right answers immediately defeats the whole point of the test.
Consider the situation when the pupils take graduation tests or certification tests or any test performed in order to find out the mastery of skills. If students can see the answers to the test questions all at once, they will memorize the answers instead of making the effort to understand the questions.
This issue emerges due to the fact that identical questions are asked again and again.
If students realize that by revealing the test, they can obtain the information about the answers, students may memorize the answers or record them so that they are able to cheat in the following attempts.
In the case of larger tests, the designers do not normally give much information to the test-takers during the test; they only provide the information about the score after the test has been completed.
Use Feedback to Encourage Another Attempt
Allowing students to retake a quiz can also be a great way of providing feedback.
When a student misses an answer, the software clarifies relevant concepts. Students will then be encouraged to consult related learning material before retaking the quiz. This way, the students will put feedback into good use rather than just reading it.
A correct response after several attempts doesn’t guarantee that a student understands the concept.
One solution is to change the questions every time the quiz is retaken or create multiple quizzes. Another option is to require the students to learn the relevant material before they can try the quiz again.
The purpose here is improvement rather than passing marks.
Consider Revealing Answers Selectively
Course developers can choose whether to reveal the solutions to all tests or conceal all the solutions altogether.
The better approach is to provide feedback according to the needs of the situation.
In the case of low-stakes evaluations, students receive responses and explanations straightaway.
On the contrary, when the assessments are more important, students only receive grades, and afterward they find out what topics need studying.
Some courses also the delayed feedback. After completing the test, the students receive the explanation after submitting it entirely. In this case, assessment is still preserved, but it gives the students a chance to learn from their mistakes.
The feedback mechanism should correspond to the role of the assessment itself.
Use Incorrect Answers as Learning Signals
Incorrect answers can provide students and instructors with useful information.
In particular, a wrong answer lets the learner know that they did not grasp the concept. For course designers, it may reveal weaknesses in the learning process.
If many students provided the same incorrect answer, the problem may not lie with inattentiveness, but with inaccuracy of the lesson, the necessity of another example of the concept, or ambiguity of the question.
This makes the feedback obtained through quizzes useful not only for individual learners. Those creating the curriculum can see which questions cause difficulties and introduce necessary changes in the explanation/sample/activities or the course itself.
Thus, a quiz can serve the function of an assessment tool and a diagnostic one at the same time.
Avoid Turning Feedback Into Information Overload
More feedback is not always better feedback.
A student who makes a mistake does not always need extensive, multi-paragraph feedback meant to cover every angle of the topic. Excessive feedback can derail the learning process and turn what could be a simple error into something much more confusing than it needs to be.
Good-quality feedback must be appropriate to the task at hand.
For straightforward factual questions, a couple of sentences may be enough. But for more difficult questions involving a situation, you may need more feedback.
The most important thing is to draw attention to the specific misunderstanding that made the answer wrong and provide enough information for the learner to understand how the correct answer is derived.
Common Mistakes When Designing Quiz Feedback
One mistake teachers make, sometimes unknowingly, is only showing students the correct answer. They show students the result without explaining how to obtain it.
Another common issue is providing grades without considering the needs of the students. Differences in the assessment context lead to differences in the way feedback is given.
Designers also often fail to realize that it is unwise to repeat questions after students have answered them. If students know the question, every attempt to pass the assessment becomes a memory test.
Finally, one more mistake that educators commit, is treating every one wrong answer as a similar mistake. It is important to understand that wrong answers differ from one another, and each one reveals a different misconception.
Conclusion
Should pupils be made aware of their correct responses after answering a quiz online?
In most quizzes that have little impact on learning, the answer is in the affirmative, but understanding the reasons for the response may, in fact, be of more importance than knowing the answer. Having immediate and meaningful feedback provides students with the knowledge of their errors and misconceptions.
Nevertheless, it doesn't happen very often to unveil every detail of the test. Specifically, when it comes to delayed feedback, this can be advantageous for exams which will be used again or when testing independence.
This goes for various cases but quizzes need to be treated differently. The objective of the test determines its usage. In case the purpose of the test is to carry out teaching, mistakes have to be seen as promise for improvement. When the goal is assessment, the quality of the testing has to be preserved.
