Common Flaws in Multiple-Choice Tests
From Clinicaltools.com
Each course objective should have one knowledge question. This applies to regular post-tests and evaluative pre/post-tests. Remember to write questions that people probably would answer incorrectly, if they didn't take your course.
- Weak Stem: the stem should present a clearly-defined problem, usually specific enough to stand alone as a completion item.
- Heterogeneity of Options: the choices should all be of similar nature; otherwise, one or more will be implausible.
- Grammatical Cues: all options should be grammatically consistent with the stem.
- Lack of Parallelism: the logical flow of both grammatical construction and ideas should be consistent from stem to option.
- Complicated Stem: these should be avoided since stems which include several ideas can be open to different interpretations by different examinees.
- Complicated Options: these should be avoided since it is usually too difficult a task to make rapid comparisons among complex options.
- Explanatory Stems: stems which "teach" material not necessary to the question should not be included, as examinees are supposed to learn from the content of the course and not the test.
- Negatively Stated Stem: stems usually present the task of choosing the "correct" or "best" option; a change in ground rules should be avoided and, if absolutely necessary, the change should be emphasized by using bold, underline, color, etc.
- Repetition of Option Lead-ins: if all options begin with the same wording, it should be included at the end of the stem.
- Specific Determiner: words or phrases which tend to be present in only true or only false statements (i.e., always, never, etc.) should be avoided in the options.
- Choices Not at the End of the Stem: items should be written so that the natural location of the answer is at the end of the stem.
- More Than One Acceptable Answer: only one option should be best; the others should be clearly unacceptable.
- Use of "All of the Above" as an Option: this option would likely be selected when at least two of the other choices are correct, allowing an examinee to receive credit for partial knowledge.
- Clues from Other Items: no item should be answerable through use of information contained in other items.
- Pattern of Keyed Answers: the position of the keyed option should not follow any discernible rule throughout the test; the keyed position should be determined randomly or by a consistent practice such as placing all options in alphabetical or numerical order for each item.
- Oner-inclusive Options: if one or more options cover all possibilities, the choice will likely be made at the expense of other options.
- Inconsistent Lengths of Options: usually the longer option tends to be the correct one; try to make all options of similar or equal length.
Examples of Good Multiple-Choice Questions
Here are a few examples of well-written test items taken from one of the courses on GeneticSolutions.com. These serve as good models:
- 1. In cancer cells, oncogenes function to:
- ___ slow cellular growth
- ___ repair DNA more quickly
- ___ promote more rapid cellular growth
- ___ generate greater amounts of cellular energy
- ___ create greater amounts of RNA
- 2. In healthy cells, proto-oncogenes function to:
- ___ slow cellular growth
- ___ repair DNA
- ___ promote cellular growth
- ___ generate cellular energy
- ___ create RNA
- 3. Sporadic cancers tend to:
- ___ occur at younger ages than do hereditary cancers
- ___ metastasize more easily than do hereditary cancers
- ___ occur more frequently in Ashkenazi Jewish individuals
- ___ be unilateral and not bilateral
- 4. Hereditary cancers tend to:
- ___ be inherited in an autosomal recessive pattern
- ___ occur at younger ages than do sporadic cancers
- ___ be passed more frequently from mother to daughter than from father
- ___ be unilateral and not bilateral
