A Reflective study on the use of CAA to test knowledge and understanding of mineralogy

Use of multiple choice question based computer aided assessment to assess level-one (first year) mineralogy produced a reliable assessment, though with rather poor scores. The use of negative marking contributed to this, and also drew negative comment from the student cohort. Reflection on these outcomes led to the use of multiple response questions, which performed better and did not encourage negative student feedback. CAA performance does not equate very well with practical coursework assessment. However, these two assessments are addressing different learning outcomes and so this disparity is not surprising. Statistical analysis suggests that these two forms of assessment give a truer indication of a student’s ability when they are combined. It enforces the conclusion that appropriate assessment tools should be used for stated learning outcomes and that multimodal assessment is best.