Parents question exam format

Questions in examination papers should be based on facts, especially if they are carried in a multiple-choice format, said Professor Utumporn Jamornmann, former director of the National Institute of Education Testing Service (NIETS).

She said two questions in |the Health Education section of |the Ordinary National Educational Test (O-Net) for Grade 12 |students were based on opinions, which would make it difficult to answer.

Some of the questions offered more than one correct choice, while in some questions, none of the options provided appeared to be correct, a teacher said on condition of anonymity.

The questions that have drawn the most criticism are: "What should you do if you feel a sexual urge?" and "What do boyfriends and girlfriends do together according to Thai tradition?" Apart from these two, many other questions included in this year's test sounded rather stupid, and some parents said that they did not think the queries were testing either their children's knowledge or their common sense.

The teacher, who asked not to be named, said these questions were meant to teach students to analyse and think carefully before answering. However, Utumporn said the answers were unclear.

"If test makers want to ask any questions based on opinions, they should offer more than one correct answer in the multiple choice, and each alternative should be given a score. An alternative that is closest to the correct answer should be given the highest score, while other alternatives could be given a lower score," she said.

Utumporn, who had faced similar criticism when she took over as NIETS chief, urged her successor to explain the questions with ambiguous answers to the public.