Crafting Effective Multiple Choice Questions

A Professional Development Tutorial for Faculty and T.A.’s

Common Pitfalls Associated with Multiple Choice Tests

Ability to guess answerswithout knowing content

Myth that it tests only lowerlevel thinking skills

Takes a long time to crafteffective questions

Difficult to phrase questionsDenies ability for student

demonstration of knowledge beyond option ranges

Stressful for some students

Takes more time to readand answer.

Open to misinterpretation as students can read into questions

Cheating

Common Pitfalls

So Why Use Multiple Choice Then?

Allows for effectivepost-test discussion

on why questions are rightand why distracters are wrong

Tests a more comprehensive sample

of content material

More questions can be asked then can inessay structured tests

Easy to administer and score

Illustrates immediatelythe questions mostmissed by students

Tests all levels oflearning if constructed

well

Grading time drasticallyreduced

Advantages of Multiple Choice Tests

Use Multiple Choice Questions to…

Test range of learning and content Test the variety levels of learning in regards to

Bloom’s Taxonomy. When you have large class sizes to cater to. When you have ample time to craft a test. When you have little time to grade a test. If it is appropriate that students do not need to

formulate their own answer to a question.

Before Crafting a Multiple Choice Exam Think About…

Language

Audience

Objectives

Content

Know your students’ strengths, weaknesses, and learning styles.

Make sure you are an expert on the subject matter of the test. Are you aware of all facts and common fallacies?

Use words your students are familiar with.

Develop your objectives. Determine the concepts to be tested. Make sure your test reflects the amount of time you spent covering each concept.

Keep in Mind…

Successful teachers plan their curriculum in ways that strike balances between objectives and the different levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

The key to a good test are questions that accurately discriminate between those who know the material, and those who do not.

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