Questions about Exam Questions: What are Students Asking?

Faculty may be confronted with student questions during test-taking and not know how to respond to individual questions. During Spring 2013 and Fall 2013 semesters, faculty in two junior-level courses (Introduction to Professional Practice and Pharmacology) in a baccalaureate nursing program, collected data on the number of students who asked questions as well as the types of questions asked.  In lieu of verbally asking questions, students were directed to write the test question number and their specific question onto an anonymous data collection form.  Narrative data was transcribed verbatim from the data collection form into a word document; no identifying student information was retained.  A retrospective audit and content analysis were used to categorize and classify common themes, resulting in four categories.  Findings revealed that 48 of 160 students (30%) asked questions.  Fifty-four percent (54%) of student questions were categorized as “fishing for advice and seeking hints”.  Thirty-eight percent (38%) of questions were about “unfamiliar vocabulary in the test question”.  Twenty-eight percent (28%) of questions were categorized as “struggling to choose between two good answers”.  Finally, fourteen percent (14%) of questions were categorized as “adding language and reading too much into the question”.   Study findings support nursing education recommendations aimed at teaching students problem solving strategies that will help them independently apply critical reasoning and priority setting principles during testing situations.  Recommendations for further research include understanding faculty beliefs and institutional policies about fair testing practices.