Continuous assessment through customized multiple choice tests in statistics

Abstract

The purpose of the present paper is multifold. In the first place, a simple method enabling teachers to create multiple choice exams using Microsoft Excel is presented. The multiple choice questions are created making use of Excel functions and RExcel, a free addin for Excel that allows access to the statistics package R (one of the most powerful and the fastest-growing statistics program) from within Excel. Thus, if one runs the R code associated with the questions then the values and options of those multiple choice questions will change properly. This allows teachers to get recalculated questions for each new exam. In the second place, when the questions have been developed, a simple R program reads the multiple choice questions from Excel and also creates a LaTeX document which makes use of the EqExam package. The different options of this package are explained. Several examples which illustrate the potential of this method for making dynamics multiple choices tests are presented.