Take-Home Tests in Economics

The assessment of large classes in economics can be facilitated by the provision of on-campus multiple choice tests where breaches of test security can be minimised through invigilation by university staff. However, such tests are difficult when the students are geographically scattered, as is the case for Open Learning and other distance education courses that involve relatively large numbers of students. Invigilation is administratively difficult as well as costly for students. This paper describes the rationale, construction and administration of a novel form of multiple-choice test where each question requires students to identify the largest number of true statements from a list of permutations. This ensures that students cover their work thoroughly before they make their choices. Meaningful guessing is difficult and the geographical dispersion of distance students allows for a relatively long period of time for students to complete the test without invigilation. Marking is swift and feedback can be extensive and targeted. The paper also reports on some preliminary results from entry-level student intakes.