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Multiple choice questions
Multiple-choice
questions provide a number of options from which students
select the best answer. The format of a multiple-choice
question consists of two parts:
-
The stem, which is the introductory question, or an
incomplete statement;
-
The options, consisting of the correct answer, and
the incorrect answers (distractors).
Often
a number of multiple-choice questions are grouped together
to form a test.
When
to use
They
can be used to assess students' ability to:
- recall
information;
-
interpret graphs and diagrams;
-
understand concepts;
-
discriminate between fact and opinion;
- make
inferences from data; and
- solve
problems.
They
assess students' ability to recognise a correct answer,
rather than to construct an answer.
The
theory
The
options should provide plausible alternatives to the
correct answer. Research into students' commonly held
alternative understandings or responses provides a starting
point for designing relevant distractors.
How
the strategy works
Well-designed
distractors provide alternatives that identify particular
misconceptions. Providing a number of alternatives may
scaffold the students' thinking.
Advantages
of this strategy are:
- Writing
is not a barrier;
-
It is quick and easy to administer and mark;
-
Marking is objective;
-
Inter-marker reliability is maximised;
-
It allows assessment to cover a broad range of concepts;
-
Well-constructed items can be used for determining
misconceptions.
What
to do
-
Identify the objective of the assessment. If the response
is better measured by the student doing something,
choose a different assessment strategy.
-
Write the stem, either as a question or an incomplete
statement. It should be written clearly and concisely,
and contain as much of the relevant information as
possible.
-
Include any language in the stem that you would have
to repeat in each answer option.
-
Write distractors that are credible. It is better
to provide less options than have obviously wrong
alternatives. Providing they are credible, the more
distractors, the less likely students can guess the
correct answer.
-
Make sure that the options are grammatically consistent
with the stem.
-
Check that there are no clues to the right answer.
-
Avoid using keywords in the options.
-
Avoid the use of words such as never, always, all,
and only.
-
Check only one correct answer is provided.
-
Set out neatly. Put each option on a separate line.
-
Make sure the correct answer is randomly placed. Some
people tend to place the correct answer in the middle.
-
Keep vocabulary and sentence construction as simple
as possible.
-
Avoid double negatives.
Limitations
-
Writing effective multiple-choice questions is difficult
and time-consuming.
-
The amount of reading required may be a barrier for
some students.
-
Vocabulary and sentence structure can be a barrier,
particularly to ESOL students.
-
Multiple-choice questions do not give information
about why a particular response has
been selected.
-
Multiple-choice questions do not evaluate performance.
Adapting
the strategy
If
you want to find out more about what students are thinking:
- Ask
students to tell you why they chose that answer;
-
Have students work in small groups to decide on the
best answer, and justify their decision;
-
Adapt a traditional multiple-choice question to a
POE or Concept
Cartoon or a group discussion.
Examples
of multiple-choice ARB resources
There
are many multiple-choice questions available. On the
classification search pages in each bank:
- Click
on the drop down menu, "Resource type";
-
Select "Selected response".
Reference
Burton,
S., Sudweeks, R., Merrill, P., and Wood, B. (1991).
How
to prepare better multiple-choice test items: Guidelines
for university faculty. Brigham Young University
Testing Services and the Department of Instructional
Science.
Assessment
strategies | ARB
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