Prev: BBC - Why can't people with dyslexia do multiple choice?
From: Silverfin on 3 Aug 2008 20:17
I find this an odd claim. I'm not dyslexic myself, but have
specialised in teaching students with dyslexia. I have never noticed a
particular difficulty with multiple choice tests; in average, my
students have tended to do somewhat better on them. Obviously if
reading is a problem, the test will be hard, but then this will be a
problem with all kinds of test papers, not just MC ones.

Perhaps what the person in the article is actually comparing tests
which have many short questions (lots of reading, little writing) with
tests which have only a few long questions (little reading, lots of
writing)? This is not quite the same thing as criticising the format.
It seems quite possible that some people with dyslexia find MC tests
particularly hard, but I don't think it's likely that the majority do.

The article also mentions several other things. The 25% extra time is
a good thing because it relieves the stress of time pressure, and the
need to rush to finish. The black/white issue is IME often worked
around by printing tests on coloured paper, and if this is not
possible, using a gel overlay. Small print should not be a problem,
because it should be possible for anyone sitting a test to request a
large-print version (as do many with visual impairments).

If students with dyslexia have difficulty in holding all the different
answers in their heads at once, this is not really a surprise, because
so do an awful lot of people. I generally suggest that they first read
through each answer separately and discard any that are obviously
incorrect. Of the remaining, they compare answers two at a time, and
decide which is the better/worse option.

I would be interested to hear if anyone disagrees with my comments
above, and/or can help improve my understanding of these issues.

Silverfin



On Jul 29, 7:01 pm, NickTheBatMan <nickw7...(a)gmail.com> wrote:
> A medical student with dyslexia claims multiple choice exams
> discriminate against people with the condition and is taking legal
> action to prevent their use. But why do people with dyslexia find
> multiple choice difficult?
>
> More athttp://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7531132.stm
>
> Now being a Dyslexic I find multiple choice massively easier than
> having to write at all ! But that's because I don't have to think what
> I'm going to have to write and don't have to write anything just tick
> or circle... I can read reasonably well and can type massively better
> than I can write and my memory's all but useless... all dyslexics are
> different thankfully :)

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