By Delmar Cariño
Inquirer Northern Luzon
To be able to radically change the types of tests given in the bar exams, the Supreme Court intends to create a data bank or central repository of multiple choice questions (MCQs) for the 2011 exams.
Supreme Court Associate Justice Roberto Abad, chairman of next year’s bar exams, said at least 1,000 MCQs would be collected for each test subject to be whittled down to at least 100 that will appear in the exams.
Abad met here Saturday with judges and lawyers who teach in the various law schools in northern Luzon to tell them about the changes in the bar exams.
He said multiple choice questions will replace the traditional problem-solving or essay questions that have dominated the tests since 1901.
The MCQs, he said, are meant to address
the flaws of the essay-type questions which do not necessarily guarantee the makings of a good practicing lawyer.
He said the essay questions suffered from defects. The questions followed the classroom model which could not cover a wide section of the other laws. Sometimes,
incorrect answers merited high marks since these were eloquently presented, he added.
He said other defects were
inconsistency in correcting the tests due to the mood of the examiners and the tendency of examinees to forget the basic laws.
“Uniformity and fairness in correcting the papers were not assured since about 6,000 notebooks had to be checked in five months,†he said.
On Saturday, more than 100 law teachers joined a workshop on formulating MCQs so these could be adopted in their law school exams this year.
Some of those present found the task difficult and time-consuming, but most said they welcomed the change.
Linkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=31387.0