Presented by:

Mary Anne A. Portuguez, RPm

Master in Psychology specialiazed in Industrial

Edward Lee Thorndike was the first to develop anearly multiple choice test and it was Frederick J. Kellywho first use such items as part of a large scaleassessment.

The multiple-choice test is a very flexible assessmentformat that can be used to measure knowledge, skills,abilities, values, thinking skills, etc.

Source: http://www.flaguide.org/cat/mutiplechoicetest/multiple_choice_test2.php

This type of question makes up most of the exam. The words in thestem provide you with the information you need to answer thequestion. Each covers a distinct topic, with easy, medium, and hardquestions scattered throughout (Hakala, 2011).

Example:

A graphical representation of correlational data is called a

A. Bell curve

B. Chi Square

C. Scatterplot

D. Bimodal distribution

E. Skewed distribution

Answer: C

Grouped questions provide with a stimulus (sentences or agraph, for instance) that helps to answer a set of questions. Toattack these questions correctly, there is a need to understandstem and then attack the easiest questions first (Hakala, 2011).

Examples:

A research is interested in determining if the amount of caffeinestudents consume influences the number of hours they study.To do this, he varies the amount of caffeine among threegroups of students: group 1 drinks 0 servings of caffeine;group2 drinks 3 servings; and group 3 drinks 8 servings.Student keep a log tracking how long they study each day.After the study is over, the researcher collects the logs andobtains an average number of hours studied per group.

In this experiment, _______ is the independent variable.

A. Group 1

B. Group 3

C. Number of hours studied

D. Amount of caffeine consumed

E. Number of students per group

In this experiment, _______ is the dependent variable.

A. Group 1

B. Group 3

C. Number of hours studied

D. Amount of caffeine consumed

E. Number of students per group

Answers: D and C respectively.

Read the statements carefully before you answer.

However, if it is a type 2 question (Grouped questions), readfirst the choices to save your time before reading the longparagraph.

Eliminate the choices that you know aren’t right.

Positive choice is more likely to be the answer.

Usually, the choice with most information is the correct answer.

Be sure you filled the right bubble in the answer sheet.Sometimes, there are doubled bubbles in one number. Pleasecheck!

Re-check your answers before you hand it to the proctor.

Warning: (For Test Machines)Do not forget to shade theanswers on each item. If you leave a number with unshadedbubble, you will automatically fail the test.

Before you begin taking the exam, enter all pieces ofrequired information on your answer sheet.

Always cover up the possible responses with a piece ofpaper or with your hand while you read the stem, or bodyof the question.

If you see the response that you anticipated, circle it and then check to be sure that none of the other responses is better.

If you do not see a response that you expected, then consider some of the following strategies to eliminate responses that are probably wrong.

Responses that use absolute words, such as "always" or "never" are lesslikely to be correct than ones that use conditional words like "usually" or"probably."

"Funny" responses are usually wrong.

"All of the above" is often a correct response. If you can verify that morethan one of the other responses is probably correct, then choose "all of theabove."

"None of the above" is usually an incorrect response, but this is less reliablethan the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not to be trapped by doublenegatives.

Look for grammatical clues. If the stem ends with the indefinite article"an," for example, then the correct response probably begins with a vowel.

The longest response is often the correct one, because the instructor tendsto load it with qualifying adjectives or phrases.

Look for verbal associations. A response that repeats key words that are inthe stem is likely to be correct.

If all else fails, choose response (b) or (c). Many instructors subconsciouslyfeel that the correct answer is "hidden" better if it is surrounded bydistracters. Response (a) is usually least likely to be the correct one.

Hakala, Chris. (2011). AP Psychology. Kaplan Publishing: New York.

Parkes, J. Multiple Choice Test. Retrived from http://www.flaguide.org/cat/mutiplechoicetest/multiple_choice_test1.php as of January 9, 2015.

Taking Multiple Choice Exam. Retrieved from http://people.uwec.edu/ivogeler/multiple.htm as of January 9, 2014.