When it comes to the format of final exams, students and professors find advantages to both Scantron and essay-based tests.

Scantrons are better because it’s easier to take a test for a class rather than work on a paper or project for weeks, freshman biochemistry major Seth Lamb said. Lamb said he likes that most Scantron exams are graded on a curve.

“I have a feeling that students like Scantrons best because they believe they can guess the answer when they don’t know it,” said Gulsat Aygen, an assistant professor of linguistics in the English department. “I don’t agree, though. The computer marks an answer as correct or incorrect, whereas in written exams, the professor may give you credit for effort or partial response.”

Exams are supposed to evaluate what students have learned over the semester, said Chris Hubbard, an associate professor of biological sciences.

Essays and short answers give the professor much better insight into what the student is thinking and allows the teacher to award partial credit for an answer, Hubbard said.

“This issue is not whether students ‘like’ a particular type of exam so much as whether it fairly evaluates what they know,” he said. “I don’t really think [multiple choice] truly tests the students’ knowledge. You can misinterpret the question, choose the wrong answer and the whole question is wrong.”

But freshman finance major Nathan Glunz said multiple choice tests can give more clues as to what the answer is if students don’t know the material.

“You can usually rule a couple of the answers out no matter how much you know,” Glunz said.

Although students seem to prefer Scantrons, they may not always score higher on them.

“Most students score better on essays than multiple choice, but the essay type is likely more intimidating,” said Douglas Clinton, an associate professor in the accountancy department. Clinton often uses essays in his upper level and graduate classes.

While some professors say students do better on essays, some find Scantrons easier to grade.

“For lower level classes, I use mostly multiple choice since they can be quickly graded,” Clinton said. “This ensures the grades are turned in on a timely basis.”

Accountancy instructor Tamara Phelan uses multiple choice exams, but does not have the answers recorded on a Scantron.

“All the answers are recorded on a separate answer sheet, not a Scantron,” she said. “I use a separate answer sheet so that I can quickly grade the exam, like in 30 seconds.”

Phelan also grades the exams as soon as they are turned in.

“About half my students elect to stay for their exam to be graded immediately,” she said. “Students who anticipate higher grades tend to stay there until I grade their exam.”

Sometimes, students get angry with the results, Phelan said.

“I know they are angry with themselves, but that doesn’t make the situation any more pleasant,” she said.