Test Blueprinting:
How to Build a Good Multiple
Choice Test Item
Presented by
Amy Thibaut
Director of Social Studies
Spring Branch ISD
World History 2nd six weeks
26 Instructional days/50 question test
Topic
Early India,
China and
Africa
completed
Suggested
Timeframe
1 day
% of Six
# of Test
Weeks
Items
3.8%
2
Byzantine and
Islamic
Civilizations
10 days
38%
19
Middle Ages
15 days
57.6%
29
•% of days spent on a topic makes up what % of six weeks?
•% of test questions should match % of six weeks spent on topic. How do we
figure this?
• # of days taught ÷ # of instructional days = % of six weeks spent on topic
•Total # of items x % of weeks = # of topic items to be included on test
Parts of a test item:
The Stimulus
•Any item that is
used to answer the
question
•Not required of
every question
The stem
•Poses the
question
The Distracter
• Answer Choices
Linking Items to Objective
Items must measure what
they purport to measure.
• Use the objective as the
guide to write the item
• Use the objective to
evaluate the item
• Use content-specific
terminology appropriate
for the targeted grade
level
8.20 Citizenship. The student understands the rights and
responsibilities of citizens of the United States. The student is
expected to :
(B) summarize rights guaranteed in the Bill of Rights;
Among the rights guaranteed by the First Amendment
is the right to
A. the free exercise of religion
B. keep and bear arms
C. due process of law
D. a speedy and public trial
Is this question aligned to the TEKS?
Checking for Alignment
• Get into groups by content
group
• Using the handout with 15
TAKS items and TEKS
Correlations, read each
question and determine if it
is aligned to the TEKS listed
at the end of the question.
• How could the question be
changed to make it more
aligned to the TEKS?
Qualities of a Good
Multiple-Choice Item
• Measures the skill for which it is written
• Present the problem or question as
clearly as possible
• Has only one best and correct answer
• Is as straightforward and concise as
possible
• Has four choices that are parallel in
structure and logical
• Contains option that are plausible,
but incorrect
• Is written in such a way that it is
grade-appropriate
So you’re the little woman who wrote the book
that made this great war!
Abraham Lincoln to Harriet Beecher Stowe, 1862
To which book is President Lincoln
referring in the excerpt above?
A. Uncle Tom’s Cabin
B. The Wealth of Nations
C. Democracy in America
D. McGuffey’s Eclectic Reader
Qualities of a Bad
Multiple-Choice Item
• Tests trivial information
• Contains unnecessary/confusing
information in the stem or options
• Is tricky or cute
• Gives clues (cues) to the correct
answer (Clang associations)
• Poses a question for which many
defensible answers are possible
• Contains a bias toward or against
a group of individuals
Which of the following kings of England was so
bad that no king of England will name his
son in honor of him?
A. King William the Conqueror
B. King Henry VIII
C. King Charles II
D. King John
Critique the question
Is there a Clang Association?
Is it trivia?
Effective Stems are…
•focused on one idea
•clear and concise
•phrased as a direct
question
•phrased positively
Writing Convincing Response
Options
• Use only one best,
clearly correct answer
• Develop plausible
distracters
• Use homogeneous
answer choices
• Avoid clues
• Be efficient
Use only one best, clearly
correct answer
• Avoid answer choices
that overlap.
• Avoid answer choices
that are subsets of
another option.
• Avoid answer choices
that could be
defended as equally
correct.
Develop plausible distracters
Plausible distracters include…
• common misconceptions.
• statements that sound logical
but that are not based on the
material given in the stimulus
and question.
• common or familiar phrases.
• statements that are true but
that do not answer the
question.
Use homogeneous answer
choices
Answer choices should be
parallel in terms of content,
structure, and length.
• Distracters should be in
the same form as the
key.
• No answer option
should stand out.
Be Efficient
Answer choices should be brief.
No longer than a sentence
Repeated phrases should be placed into the
stem
• During the mid-1800s the expanding U.S. economy
required better methods of communication.
Communications were improved significantly by
Samuel Morse’s invention of the
A. Typewriter
B. Telephone
C. Telegraph
D. phonograph
Answer choices should be organized.
• Alphabetical
• Ascending or
descending order
• Shortest to longest
• Same order as
presented in stimulus
Speaker 1: The government must give accused persons the right to a
quick and public trial.
Speaker 2: The government should not force citizens to house soldiers
in their homes.
Speaker 3: People should be allowed to peacefully protest actions of the
government.
Speaker 4: People should not be deprived of their property without fair
payment.
Which speaker is voicing a right guaranteed by the First
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution?
A. Speaker 1
B. Speaker 2
C. Speaker 3
D. Speaker 4
Writing Convincing Response
Options:
Additional Considerations
• Avoid use of “none of the
above,” “all of the
above,” or “I don’t know”
• Avoid use of negative
words in the answer
options
• Balance the keys
Sensitivity
Be aware of issues that are
emotionally upsetting or
distracting to an examinee
• Death or severe illness
• Extremes in socioeconomic
conditions
• Unfair representation of
groups
• Controversial topics
Fairness
Provide an equal opportunity
for success
• Item measures the
intended objective
• Content, context, and
vocabulary are age and
grade-level appropriate
• Groups treated with dignity
and respect
Use homogeneous answer choices
Distracter Guidelines
If the key contains:
Then distracters should
NOT contain:
A long phrase or sentence Short phrases or sentences
A general rule
Specific instances
A complete statement
Incomplete statements
A means to an end
End product
Simple, common language Professional jargon
Unqualified words or
Qualifying words
statements
Negative descriptions
Positive descriptions
Use a variety of stimuli
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Textbox of primary source material
Graphs and Charts
Pictures or illustrations
Spoke Diagrams
Multiple visuals: comparison maps,
charts
Political Cartoons
Time lines
Flow Charts
Graphic designs
Headlines
Speaker Questions
You Analyze the Question:
• Using the handout
provided, identify
the problems, if any,
you see with the test
design of each
question.
Which of the following was not a
characteristic of Greek art?
A. It symbolized the pride of
the people in their citystate.
B. It expressed Greek love for
harmony, balance, order,
and moderation.
C. It combined beauty and
usefulness.
D. It stressed the importance
of the gods and the
unimportance of humans.
Rousseau: Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains. The
government is created by a contract among the people and receives
its powers from them. The government exits to serve the people, and
when it no longer does so, the people may change it.
Locke: All men have certain natural rights; the right to life, liberty, and
property. The purpose of government is to protect these rights. If it
fails to do so, the people may set up a new government.
Voltaire: It is to him who masters our minds by the force of truth, not
to those who enslave men by violence…that we owe our reverence.
Popular government is in itself, therefore, less (unjust), less (hated)
then despotic power.
Montesquieu: There is no liberty if the judicial power is not separated
from the legislative and executive branches.
According to the theories of Locke and Rousseau, how did
government originate?
A. A social contract – an agreement among people.
B. By God’s command
C. By royal decree
D. By elections held among the upper classes
Rousseau: Man is born free, yet everywhere he is in chains. The
government is created by a contract among the people and receives its
powers from them. The government exits to serve the people, and when it
no longer does so, the people may change it.
Locke: All men have certain natural rights; the right to life, liberty, and
property. The purpose of government is to protect these rights. If it fails to
do so, the people may set up a new government.
Voltaire: It is to him who masters our minds by the force of truth, not to
those who enslave men by violence…that we owe our reverence. Popular
government is in itself, therefore, less (unjust), less (hated) then despotic
power.
Montesquieu: There is no liberty if the judicial power is not separated from
the legislative and executive branches.
What was Montesquieu’s opinion of the French system of
government before the revolution?
A. It was perfect just the way it was.
B. There was no liberty because there was no separation of
powers
C. The legislative branch was fine but the executive branch was
weak.
D. The executive branch was fine but the legislative branch was
Which of the following is a
definition of technology?
A. the application of
knowledge for practical
ends
B. the investigation of natural
phenomena
C. items created by artisans
D. none of the above
Which of the following is an
example of technology?
A. irrigation canals
B. stone ax
C.computers
D. all of the above
Karl Marx believed
A. socialism could be achieved by
peaceful progress
B. socialism was inevitable
because capitalism would selfdestruct
C. socialism should reward the
economic skills of the upper
class
D. socialism was an impossible
solution to difficult times
The leader of the Bolsheviks who
successfully led the communist
take-over of Russia was
A. Vittorio Orlando
B. Nicolai Lenin
C.Leo Tolstoy
D. James Joyce
What is considered the first act of
military aggression in World War II?
A. The invasion of Ethiopia
by Italy
B. The invasion of China
by Japan
C. The invasion of Russia
by Germany
D. The attack of Pearl
Harbor
The Truman Doctrine said that the U.S.
would help any country fighting
against communism. This idea was
popular because it would “bottle
up” the communists. Therefore, it
introduced the concept of
A. appeasement
B. isolationism
C.containment
D. imperialism