Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes

The purpose of this article is to examine whether legal reasoning skills can be appropriately assessed in a law degree, using multiple-choice question assessment. The use of multiple-choice assessment in university law schools is common, although not universally accepted as an effective pedagogical...

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Main Authors: Danielle Bozin, Felicity Deane, James Duffy
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Bond University 2021-04-01
Series:Legal Education Review
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.23484
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author Danielle Bozin
Felicity Deane
James Duffy
author_facet Danielle Bozin
Felicity Deane
James Duffy
author_sort Danielle Bozin
collection DOAJ
description The purpose of this article is to examine whether legal reasoning skills can be appropriately assessed in a law degree, using multiple-choice question assessment. The use of multiple-choice assessment in university law schools is common, although not universally accepted as an effective pedagogical tool. In this article, both quantitative and qualitative empirical research methods have been adopted to examine whether the unique skill of legal reasoning is amenable to being tested through multiple-choice assessment. The position argued is that multiple-choice assessment, when properly constructed using identified guiding principles, is an efficient and effective way to assess legal reasoning abilities.
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spelling doaj-art-6f004fce042c4c23b3e9f62c6b048cf12025-08-20T03:22:29ZengBond UniversityLegal Education Review1033-28391839-37132021-04-0130110.53300/001c.23484Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and AttitudesDanielle BozinFelicity DeaneJames DuffyThe purpose of this article is to examine whether legal reasoning skills can be appropriately assessed in a law degree, using multiple-choice question assessment. The use of multiple-choice assessment in university law schools is common, although not universally accepted as an effective pedagogical tool. In this article, both quantitative and qualitative empirical research methods have been adopted to examine whether the unique skill of legal reasoning is amenable to being tested through multiple-choice assessment. The position argued is that multiple-choice assessment, when properly constructed using identified guiding principles, is an efficient and effective way to assess legal reasoning abilities.https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.23484
spellingShingle Danielle Bozin
Felicity Deane
James Duffy
Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes
Legal Education Review
title Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes
title_full Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes
title_fullStr Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes
title_full_unstemmed Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes
title_short Can Multiple Choice Exams Be Used to Assess Legal Reasoning? An Empirical Study of Law Student Performance and Attitudes
title_sort can multiple choice exams be used to assess legal reasoning an empirical study of law student performance and attitudes
url https://doi.org/10.53300/001c.23484
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AT felicitydeane canmultiplechoiceexamsbeusedtoassesslegalreasoninganempiricalstudyoflawstudentperformanceandattitudes
AT jamesduffy canmultiplechoiceexamsbeusedtoassesslegalreasoninganempiricalstudyoflawstudentperformanceandattitudes