Medical education
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To compare outcomes when answers to objective type problem-solving questions are marked with and without consideration of students' explanations of their answers. ⋯ The data suggest that when students arrived at the correct answers, their information and reasons were usually correct and that answers alone discriminate adequately among students with different levels of knowledge and ability. By dispensing with the requirement for explanations, we would be able to ask more questions and mark objectively, so competent students should not be disadvantaged by the lack of opportunity to explain their reasoning.