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Online Instructional Resources
Assessment: Multiple-Choice Tests
Introduction
General Resources
Multiple-choice tests have a mixed reputation among faculty, many of whom believe
they do not test higher levels of student learning. Nonetheless, they are widely
used in higher education, especially in large classes. The articles and resources
below provide guidelines for designing effective multiple-choice questions.
Several of them demonstrate ways to write items that demand higher order thinking
and deeper comprehension from students. The last two links contain material
for specific disciplines and the basic and clinical sciences although the information
is also useful in all subject areas.
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“How to Prepare Better Multiple-Choice Test Items: Guidelines for University Faculty,” by Steven J. Burton, Richard R. Sudweeks, Paul F. Merrill, and Bud Wood ( Brigham Young University ).
Links to a 33-page handbook on constructing effective multiple-choice test items. Good introduction to the use of multiple-choice tests, including discussion of pros and cons, measuring higher-level objectives, varieties, and guidelines.
http://testing.byu.edu/info/handbooks/betteritems.pdf
"Improving Multiple-Choice Tests," Victoria L. Clegg
and William E. Cashin, Kansas State University. (IDEA Paper No. 16, Kansas State
University, September 1986).
Presents strengths and imitations of multiple-choice tests. Makes recommendations
for when multiple-choice items should be used, offers detailed instructions
on how to construct them, and suggests methods for organizing the entire test.
http://www.theideacenter.org/sites/default/files/Idea_Paper_16.pdf
Improving Multiple Choice Questions (University of North Carolina
at Chapel Hill, Center for Teaching and Learning, For Your Consideration #8,
November 1990).
Discusses the need to design exam items at three levels—recall, application,
and evaluation—in order to achieve validity and reliability in multiple-choice
exams that test higher order cognitive skills as well as factual information.
Offers guidelines for writing questions and analyzing the responses after the
test is given.
http://cfe.unc.edu/pdfs/FYC8.pdf
Authentic Assessment Toolbox, Jon Mueller, North Central College,
Naperville, Illinois.
A guide for constructing multiple-choice test questions. Includes terminology;
list of guidelines; and a section on creating higher-level comprehension, application,
and analysis items, all with examples.
http://jonathan.mueller.faculty.noctrl.edu/toolbox/tests.htm
Writing Multiple Choice Questions that Demand Critical Thinking
(University of Oregon, Teaching Effectiveness Program).
Many practical suggestions for writing effective items plus a detailed set of
techniques for writing several different types of multiple-choice questions
that demand higher order thinking, with examples of each.
http://tep.uoregon.edu/resources/assessment/multiplechoicequestions/mc4critthink.html
"Writing Multiple Choice Questions which Require Comprehension,"
Russell A. Dewey, Ph.D., Georgia Southern University (Emeritus).
Another guide to writing multiple-choice questions. Has useful section on ways
to defeat the "test-wise" strategies of students who don’t study.
http://www.psychwww.com/selfquiz/aboutq.htm
“Writing Good Multiple-Choice Exams” by D.M. Zimmaro ( University of Texas at Austin ).
Guidelines for writing test items, with a particular focus on items related to Bloom’s Taxonomy of Educational Objectives. Provides numerous examples.
http://www.utexas.edu/academic/mec/research/pdf/writingmcexamshandout.pdf
"Writing Multiple-Choice Test Items," Jerard Kehoe,
Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.
General how-to information on constructing multiple-choice tests.
http://ericae.net/digests/tm9503.htm
“How Can We Construct Good Multiple-Choice Items?” by Derek Cheung, Chinese University of Hong Kong and Robert Bucat, University of Western Australia.
Eight guidelines for constructing multiple-choice items, each with examples of poorly formed and well formed multiple-choice items. Although the examples are for chemistry, the 8 guidelines can apply to any discipline.
http://www3.fed.cuhk.edu.hk/chemistry/files/constructMC.pdf
"More Multiple-Choice Item Writing Do’s and Don’ts,"
Robert B. Frary, Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University. Practical
Assessment, Research & Evaluation, 4 (11).
A list of recommendations for writing multiple-choice test items. Covers content,
structure, options, and errors to avoid. Includes examples of do’s and
don’ts for each topic.
http://pareonline.net/getvn.asp?v=4&n=11
Designing and Managing MCQs (University of Cape Town).
A faculty handbook for developing multiple-choice questions. Includes examples
from first year courses in Philosophy of Education, Sociology, and Economics,
plus a section on scoring and statistics.
http://web.uct.ac.za/projects/cbe/mcqman/mcqcont.html
"Constructing Written Test Questions for the Basic and Clinical
Sciences" (National Board of Medical Examiners).
Although written for the sciences, this comprehensive manual has information
useful to those writing multiple-choice test items in all subject areas. The
complete manual is downloadable (free of charge for educational purposes) in
PDF format, available in English, Spanish, or Russian.
http://www.nbme.org/publications/item-writing-manual.html
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See also on this website Assessment, Testing and
Grading, for further information on test design.
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