The Use of Literal and Applied Test Questions to Assess Understanding of Concepts

This research demonstrates that a procedure known to increase understanding of concepts does not increase performance on literal test questions. A total of 128 college students studied one of two versions of a passage that explained several concepts. One version included both definitions of concepts and several examples, whereas the other included definitions only. Following study, students received fill-in-the-blank tests consisting of 10 literal and 10 applied questions. A major finding was that the increased performance of subjects who received examples was obtained on applied questions but not on literal questions. Also, applied questions were more difficult than literal questions when passages did not have examples, whereas applied questions were easier when examples were present. It was suggested that we use questions that assess understanding, questions such as the application questions in this article, if we expect our tests to be accurate reflections of a student's grasp of concepts.