Measuring higher-order cognitive skills with multiple choice questions –potentials and pitfalls of Finnish teacher education entrance

This mixed methods study examines the structure of the multiple-choice exam for student selection in Finnish teacher education. Through qualitative content analysis, we categorized multiple-choice questions into items that assessed lower- and higher-order cognitive processes based on the Revised Bloom's Taxonomy. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses yielded four factors that represented lower- and higher-order cognitive processing skills and comprehension of empirical and theoretical items. These were associated with matriculation examination grades, especially with the average grade and the mother tongue grade. When developing future multiple-choice exams for admissions, we recommend emphasizing higher-order processing skills and the role of source materials. •The entrance exam for Finnish teacher education measured the applicants' lower and higher-order cognitive processing.•Theoretical items were difficult and items requiring lower-order cognitive processing relatively easy to the applicants.•The factor structure of the exam yielded four factors including 38 items in total.•The entrance exam correlated with and predicted matriculation exam grades moderately.•Educational faculties should reflect on the level of cognitive skills measured in entrance exams.