Multiple Choice Items
The Item: A multiple choice test item contains two major parts. One is the stem which presents
the problem. The stem may be a direct question or it may be an incomplete sentence.
The second part of a multiple choice test item is composed of the several alternatives or options
which are presented as possible solutions to the problem presented in the stem. Among these
options are the correct answer and several incorrect answers (i.e., foils, options or distractors).
The number of options in this part of the item may vary, but experience suggests that four
options work effectively in most testing situations.
Examples of the two forms for a multiple choice test item follow.
Question Form
Which of the following cities is the capitol of Louisiana?
A) Alexandria (foil)
B) Baton Rouge (correct)
C) New Orleans (foil)
D) Shreveport (foil)
Completion Form
The capitol of Louisiana is
.
A) Alexandria (foil)
B) Baton Rouge (correct)
C) New Orleans (foil)
D) Shreveport (foil)
Multiple choice items can consist of options containing a correct or best answer. Examples of
these two types follow.
Correct Option
Gasoline trucks have chains that are dragged on the ground to
A) prevent static electricity from striking the truck
B) give the truck an electric charge
C) carry electricity to the ground
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?
Best Option
Why does the planet Mercury have a year of 88 Earth days?
A) Mercury’s year is shorter than Earth’s.
B) Mercury’s orbit is closer to the sun than is Earth’s.
C) Mercury’s small size and elliptical orbit make it travel faster than Earth.
In the first example, the student must locate the one correct answer. All of the distracters except
A are definitely incorrect. In the second example, Option A is true, but it is not the best
alternative because it fails to answer the question posed by the item. Option C is true in part, but
does not explain the orbital speed as well as Option B.
The Item Stem. The purpose of the stem is to present a clear and concise problem to the student
being tested. After reading the stem, the student should know what is expected. In order to
improve the writing of the stems, five suggestions are offered.
1.
The problem should be described in the stem rather than in the options.
Poor
Stem
Water
.
A) freezes at 32 degrees Celsius at sea level
B) freezes at 32 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level
C) freezes at 0 degrees Fahrenheit at sea level
D) freezes at minus 100 degrees Kelvin at sea level
Better
Stem
At sea level, the freezing point of water is
.
A) 32 degrees Celsius
B) 32 degrees Fahrenheit
C) 0 degrees Fahrenheit
D) minus 100 degrees Kelvin
2.
The stem should identify the frame of reference the student is to use in answering the
question.
Poor
Stem
Which of the following countries is the largest?
A) Australia
B) New Zealand
C) Japan
D) Thailand
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Better
Stem
Which of the following countries is the largest?
A) Australia
B) New Zealand
C) Japan
D) Thailand
3.
The stem should be free from irrelevant information and material.
Poor Stem
If an energetic boy is swimming two miles an hour down a river that is
polluted and contains no fish and the river is flowing at the rate of three
per hour in the same direction as the boy is swimming, how far will
the boy travel in two hours.
A) four miles
B) six miles
C) ten miles
D) twelve miles
Better Stem
If a boy is swimming two miles per hour down a river that is
flowing at the rate of three miles per hour, how far will the boy
travel in two hours?
A) four miles
B) six miles
C) ten miles
D) twelve miles
4.
When the incomplete sentence rather than the question format is used in writing the stem,
the part to be filled in by that student should come at the end of the incomplete sentence.
Poor
Stem
President
was known especially for his honesty.
A) Washington
B) Lincoln
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) Wilson
Better
Stem
The president who was known especially for his honesty was
A) Washington
B) Lincoln
C) Lyndon Johnson
D) Wilson
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.
5.
When the incomplete sentence rather than the question format is used in writing the stem,
each of the options must be grammatically correct when added to the stem.
Poor
Stem
The animal listed below that must be in motion to breathe is a
.
A) octopus
B) ape
C) elephant
D) shark
Better
Stem
The animal listed below that must be in motion to breathe is a(n)
.
A) octopus
B) ape
C) elephant
D) shark
The Item Options: The purpose of the options in a multiple choice test item is to offer the student
several alternatives. From these alternatives, the student must choose the correct solution to the
problem presented in the stem. In order to improve the writing of options or alternatives, the
following recommendations are offered.
1.
All options should be members of the same category.
Which of the following is highest in Vitamin C?
Poor
Options
A) apples
B) oranges
C) peaches
D) carrots
Which of the following is highest in Vitamin C?
Better
Options
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A) apples
B) oranges
C) peaches
D) pears
2.
All options should be believable.
The major cause of death in the United States is
Poor
Options
A) heart disease
B) cancer
C) accidents
D) sunburn
The major cause of death in the United States is
Better
Options
3.
.
.
A) heart disease
B) cancer
C) accidents
D) birth defects
All options should be approximately the same length, that is, do not make the correct
answer consistently longer or shorter than the distractor.
Which of the following can be used to modify a noun?
Poor
Options
A) verb
B) adverb
C) adjective or adjective phrase
D) conjunction
Which of the following can be used to modify a noun?
Better
Options
4.
A) verb
B) adverb
C) adjective
D) conjunction
All options should have the same grammatical structure (e.g., nouns, clauses, sentences,
etc.)
What was the chief indicator of a country’s military power during the
sixteenth century?
Poor
Options
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A) armies that she could raise was a chief indicator
B) the number of fighting ships she had patrolling
C) monetary resources
D) by alliances she had made with other countries
What was the chief indicator of a country’s military power during the
sixteenth century?
Better
Options
5.
A) size of armies
B) number of ships
C) amount of wealth
D) number and types of alliances
All options should have the same style of language or terminology (e.g., all standard
English, all technical, all slang, etc.)
Which type of animal listed below is most dangerous to humans?
Poor
Options
A) equus caballus
B) cow
C) tiger
D) caracharias
Which type of animal listed below is most dangerous to humans?
Better
Options
6.
A) horse
B) cow
C) tiger
D) shark
When possible, arrange options in a logical or sequential order. If there is no appropriate
order evident, position the options alphabetically.
In which year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
Poor
Options
A) 1778
B) 1774
C) 1776
D) 1775
In which year was the Declaration of Independence signed?
Better
Options
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A) 1774
B) 1775
C) 1776
D) 1778
7.
Options should not overlap.
If a magnet were cut in half, what would happen to the north and south
poles?
Poor
Options
A) Both halves would have north and south poles.
B) Each half would have the opposite polarity from the other.
C) Each half would have either a north or south pole.
D) One half of the magnet would be completely north and the other half
completely south.
Note: Options B, C, and D say essentially the same thing.
If a magnet were cut in half, what would happen to the north and south
poles?
Better
Options
8.
A) Each half would have both a north and south pole.
B) Each half would have only a north OR south pole.
C) Polarity would be lost on both halves.
When options refer to units of measure, the unit should be indicated.
If bricks that are six inches long are set end-to-end, how long a row of
bricks can be built with twelve bricks?
Poor
Options
A) 6
B) 12
C) 36
D) 72
Note: If the answer is in feet, option A is correct; if the answer is in inches,
option D is correct.
If bricks that are six inches long are set end-to-end, how long a row of
bricks can be built with twelve bricks?
Better
Options
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A) 6 feet
B) 12 feet
C) 36 feet
D) 72 feet
9.
Avoid the repetition of words and phrases in each of the options by placing the words or
phrases in the stem.
With respect to order among the presidents, Abraham Lincoln
Poor
Options
.
A) was the president that succeeded Pierce.
B) was the president that preceded Grant.
C) was the president that succeeded Taylor.
D) was the president that preceded Hayes.
With respect to order among the presidents, Abraham Lincoln was the
president that
.
Better
Options
A) succeeded Pierce.
B) preceded Grant
C) succeeded Taylor
D) preceded Hayes
10. Avoid the use of the option “none of the above” unless there is an absolutely right answer.
A film depicting the life of Albert Einstein is most comparable to
Poor
Options
A) an article.
B) a biography.
C) an essay
D) none of the above.
Note: The stem implies that students are to find the best alternative. If they select
D it may be that they can think of a more appropriate answer than the options
provided.
x² times x³ =
Better
Options
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A) x
B) x5
C) x6
D) none of the above
11. Avoid the use of “all of the above” as an option. It is inappropriate for items requiring
a “best” answer since clearly all options cannot be best. Even when the answer is true, it is
weak because the student simply has to find two defensible options to realize that “all of the
above” must be correct.
The Item and Stem Options. Three recommendations are offered concerning the relationship
between the stem and the options of multiple choice test items.
1.
There should be no verbal association or clues between the stem and the options.
Which of the following is most likely to be found on a sandy beach?
Poor
Options
A) viper
B) sand crab
C) ferret
D) otter
Which of the following is most likely to be found on a beach?
Better
Options
2.
A) viper
B) crab
C) ferret
D) otter
Make sure that there is one option that is clearly correct or clearly most correct.
Poor
Item
The major cause of the Civil War was
?
A) slavery
B) the State Rights issue
C) economic considerations
D) Northern aggression
Note: Depending on the emphasis given in class or in the student’s textbook, any
one of the above options may be correct.
3.
Stems and options should be stated positively whenever possible.
Poor
Item
Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of gifted children?
A) They are emotionally stable.
B) They are not awkward.
C) They are not as old as their classmates.
D) They are friendly.
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Better
Item
Which of the following is a characteristic of gifted children?
A) They tend to have many emotional problems.
B) They are awkward.
C) They are younger than their classmates.
D) They are friendly
Suggestions for Measuring Complex Objectives Using Multiple Choice Items. Multiple choice
items can be written at any level of cognitive skill. The following suggestions are offered to help
you write questions that measure complex skills. Remember, however, that a “higher order”
question should be used only when such skills are appropriate to the instructional objective.
1.
Construct items in a form different from that originally presented. For example, suppose
students have been taught to recognize several paintings by Picasso. Having them select
those paintings from among those of other artists requires little understanding, but showing
them a series of paintings that they have never seen and asking them to select those by
Picasso provides better evidence of comprehension.
2.
Use analogies to measure relationships. If students are able to derive relationships that have
not been taught directly, they are giving evidence of understanding course content. Most
analogies take the form A:B as C:, where D is the missing part. When writing analogy
problems, it is important that all distracters for D be closely related to the counterpart C in
the question.
Iguana is to lizard as box terrier is to
Poor
Options
A) cat
B) dog
C) elephant
D) pig
Governors are to states as presidents are to
Better
Options
3.
.
.
A) their cabinets
B) the electoral college
C) the Senate
D) the United States
E) their vice-presidents
Have students identify assumptions and analyze criteria.
A textbook could divide Colonial America into New England, the South, the middle states,
and the frontier. Assuming that the assumption was not stated explicitly in the text, the
following item helps measure the students’ understanding of the content.
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What criterion was used to divide the colonial period into New England,
the South, the middle states, and the frontier?
A) Economic
B) Political
C) Religious
D) Social
4.
Have students discover relationships among similar topics by noting similarities and
differences among various topics studied. The following test item is appropriate for
students who have studied different woodwind instruments.
Woodwind instruments are similar in that they all are
A) conical bodies.
B) reeds.
C) register keys.
D) tone holes.
5.
Have students select examples of principles or concepts.
“And, spite of pride, in erring reason’s sprite, One truth is clear: Whatever
IS, is RIGHT.”
This passage is a typical example of which of the following poetic styles?
A) Classical
B) Modern
C) Romantic
D) Victorian
6.
Provide for a condition contrary to fact.
If Robert Gray had not discovered the Columbia River in 1792, what
country would have profited the most at that time?
A) England
B) France
C) Russia
D) Spain
7.
Use charts and tables.
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CHECKLIST FOR MULITPLE CHOICE ITEMS
The questions that follow may provide a useful checklist for multiple choice test items.
1. Does the stem introduce what is expected of the student?
2. Is the stem free from irrelevant material?
3. Are all of the options plausible and homogeneous?
4. Are all of the options grammatically consistent with the stem?
5. Have verbal associations between the stem and the correct answer been eliminated?
6. Have you avoided repeating words or phrases in the options?
7. Have overlapping options been eliminated?
8. Are all options approximately the same length?
9. Where the incomplete statement format is used, does the blank come at the end of the
statement?
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SHORT ANSWER ITEMS
The Item Format: The short answer item, sometimes called a completion or supply item, is the
only objective item format that requires the student to supply rather than to select the correct
answer. The short answer format is very similar to the stem of the multiple choice item in that it
may be a question students must answer or an incomplete sentence which students must
complete. If options were included, then the short answer format would become the multiple
choice/format.
When writing short answer items, the teacher should first write the item in question form. Direct
questions are easier to write and to read. The question can then be changed to the incomplete
sentence format if greater conciseness can be achieved by doing so.
Examples of the two forms of the short answer test item follow.
Question
Form
What is the capital city of Louisiana?
Completion
Form
The capital city of Louisiana is
.
Recommendations: In order to improve the writing of short answer-test items, nine suggestions
or recommendations are offered.
1.
2.
3.
Write the item so that a single, brief answer is possible.
Poor
Scurvy is
.
Better
A disease caused by a lack of fresh fruit is
What disease is cased by a lack of fresh fruits?
.
.
The word to be supplied by the student should relate to the main point of the statement or
question.
Poor
For water, 212 degrees F. is the usual boiling
.
Better
The usual boiling point for water is
degrees F.
OR
What is the usual boiling point of water in degrees Fahrenheit?
Use only one blank per item for completion items.
Poor
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President
was assassinated in the city of
.
Note: There is more than one set of correct answers to this item.
Better
4.
.
In completion items, place the blank at or near the end of the statement.
Poor
Better
5.
President Kennedy was assassinated in the city of
OR
Dallas was the city in which the assassination of President
happened.
was the president of the Confederacy
The president of the Confederacy was
.
Be certain that there is only one correct answer for any blank.
Poor
Lincoln was nominated for president in
Note: Either the year or the place of the nomination would have to be
considered a correct response.
Better
6.
7.
President Lincoln was nominated for president in the year
OR
President Lincoln was nominated for president in the city of
.
.
For items requiring numerical answers, indicate the degree of precision required.
Poor
If bricks are six inches long, how many bricks will be needed to build a
row of bricks 10 ¼ feet long?
Better
If bricks are six inches long, how many bricks, to the nearest tenth, will be
needed to build a row of bricks 10 ¼ feet long?
For items requiring numerical answers, indicate the unit of measure in which the answer is
to be expressed.
Poor
The daily diet for an adult should include
of whole milk.
Better
The daily diet for an adult should include
pints of whole milk.
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8.
The blanks for all items in a test should be about the same length so that the length of a
given blank does not suggest a short or long answer to the student.
9.
In most cases, avoid lifting statements directly from textbooks and other sources for use as
completion items. Exceptions to this recommendation occur when a student’s memory of an
important question of definition is being tested.
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CHECKLIST FOR COMPLETION ITEMS
The questions that follow may provide a useful checklist for short answer items.
1. Is the item written so that the required answer is definite and brief?
2. Are irrelevant clues eliminated (grammatical clues, verbal associations, specific
determiners, etc.)?
3. For the incomplete statement format, is there only one blank per item?
4. For the incomplete statement format, are the only important words omitted?
5. For the incomplete statement format, does the blank occur near the end of the
sentence?
6. For the incomplete statement format, are the blanks approximately equal in length?
7. If the problem is computational in nature, is the unit of measure and degree of
precision specified?
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GENERAL GUIDELINES FOR OBJECTIVE ITEMS
The preceding sections offer specific recommendations and suggestions for improving the
writing of four types of objective test questions. In addition to these specific recommendations,
there are some general guidelines which teachers may find useful in preparing any type of
objective test item. These guidelines may not apply in all cases, but they have been found to be
useful to many people writing and reviewing objective tests. These guidelines are enumerated
below.
1.
Design each item to measure an important leading outcome as defined by course objectives.
2.
Include only one central idea in each test item.
3.
Write the stem and options for each test in simple, clear language that students can
comprehend easily unless the test is of reading comprehension.
4.
Do not make items more difficult through use of “tricks” or ambiguity. Increase the
difficulty level by changing the stems or options.
5.
Make sure that each test item is independent of all other items on the test.
6.
Whenever possible, avoid the use of negatives in questions. An exception is in true-false
items where negatives are sometimes necessary.
7.
Never use double negatives. If negatives are used, the negative should be emphasized by
capitalization, boldface, underlining., italics, etc. (e.g., NO, NONE, NEVER)
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ASSEMBLING THE TEST
The preceding sections have provided some information on the specifics of writing
objective test items. The following discussion provides some guidelines on assembling the total
test.
1.
Begin the test with one or two easy items. Student anxiety about the test can interfere with
the individual’s performance on the test. In order to maximize the student’s opportunity to
demonstrate his/her knowledge, the first test items should not be the most difficult. Initial
items that are very difficult may confuse the student and unduly raise the anxiety level thus
it will be more difficult for the student to perform well on the remainder of the test.
2.
Group similar items together on a test. If the test includes more than one type of item, the
test should be arranged by type. That is, all of the true-false should be grouped together, all
of the short answer should be in one group, etc. Switching from one type of question to
another throughout the test can lead to chance errors by the student that are unrelated to the
student’s actual knowledge.
3.
Place computational or other items at the end of the test. Examples include maps, charts,
and bar graphs about which students are to answer several questions. Such involved
questions, if placed early in the test might prevent students from getting to some of the test
items. If placed at the end of the test, complex items can be dealt with by the student after
other items have been attempted.
4.
Proofread the test carefully for typographical errors. Such errors can make the question
difficult or impossible to answer.
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POSTTEST
Analyze each of the sample test questions as follows. In the “Analysis” column, indicate whether
the item is “well-written” or “poorly-written.” For the item that you indicate as “poorly-written,”
describe the error. Then in the Rewrite column, provide a corrected version. See the sample truefalse item below.
Item
T/F
Communication
has prevented the
ownership of
property
ITEM
1. The need for vitamins
2.
is the color
formed by combining
red and blue.
3. Germs are responsible
for
.
4. Penicillin is
a
.
from
5. T/F George Washington was
not the father of his country.
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ANALYSIS
Analysis
Poorlywritten
Includes
the
giveaway
clue
“always.”
Rewrite
T/F
The principles
of Communism
expressly
forbid the
private
ownership of
property
REWRITE
6. Which of the following is a
geometric figure:
A) square
B) line
C) point
D) none of the above
7. George Washington
A) lived most of his life in
Pennsylvania
B) was a native of
Massachusetts
C) is a famous Virginian
D) was born in Georgia
8. The “father of his country”
refers to
A) Abraham Lincoln
B) Thomas Jefferson
C) John Adams
D) George Washington, the
first president
9. Which of the following is
not a primary color?
A) red
B) blue
C) green
10) The famous family home
of George Washington is
A) Monticello
B) Campobello
C) Mount Vernon
D) The Hermitage
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11) John’s grandfather was a
who lived
in a small house with his dogs
and cats.
A) cowboy
B) banker
C) farmer
D) miner
12) How fast can
hummingbirds fly?
A) faster than light
B) faster than an airplane
C) faster tan 50 miles an hr
D) faster than 80 miles an
hour
13) If a box is marked fragile it
A) should not be dropped
B) is very sturdy
C) is hard to break
D) is easy to break
14) Synonyms are words that
.
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