Writing Multiple Choice Test Questions

Summary

This webinar teaches the art of crafting effective multiple-choice questions for high-stakes educational assessments. It emphasizes the importance of creating stems that allow students with mastery to easily identify correct answers and the selection of distractors that challenge those with partial knowledge. The webinar also covers categorizing questions using Bloom's taxonomy to ensure a balanced test, from simple recall to complex analysis and creation.

Takeaways

• 📝 Writing multiple-choice questions requires skill to minimize guessing and accurately assess student knowledge.
• 🌟 A well-constructed question stem should lead to a correct answer for students who have mastered the content.
• 🍃 Example: A question about photosynthesis with 'chlorophyll' as a distractor tests students' mastery of the subject.
• 📚 Distractors should be closely related to the content to ensure only those with a clear understanding select the correct answer.
• 📊 Questions can be categorized by content level and Bloom's taxonomy to assess different cognitive levels.
• 🧠 Higher levels of Bloom's taxonomy, such as analyzing and creating, are more challenging to assess with multiple-choice questions.
• 🌐 Including visuals can be helpful, especially for higher levels of assessment, but the correct answer should be clear from the stem alone.
• ❌ Trick questions that attempt to stump students are not effective for accurately assessing content mastery.
• 🔑 The 'greatness test' for stems includes being narrowly focused, posing one problem, standing alone, and being written positively.
• 🚫 Avoid using 'all of the above' or 'none of the above' options as they can reduce the accuracy of the test.
• 📊 When designing options, ensure they are believable and do not give away the answer through repetition or association with the stem.

Q & A

What is the key to successful multiple-choice item design?

The key to successful multiple-choice item design is minimizing the amount of guessing that is possible.

What is the first part of a multiple-choice question called?

The first part of a multiple-choice question is called the stem.

What should a well-constructed stem do for students who have mastered the content?

A well-constructed stem should allow students who have mastered the content to know the answer after reading it.

What is the term for the correct answer in a multiple-choice question?

The correct answer in a multiple-choice question is also known as the keyed response.

Why should distractors be selected thoughtfully?

Distractors should be selected thoughtfully to distract students who have some level of knowledge but have not mastered the content.

How can the likelihood of only students with a clear understanding of the content selecting the correct answer be increased?

The likelihood can be increased by making all distractors closely related to the content.

What are the components of a multiple-choice question?

The components of a multiple-choice question are the stem, keyed response, and distractors.

How can multiple-choice questions be categorized in terms of content level?

Multiple-choice questions can be categorized by their content level and Bloom's taxonomy.

What are the three categorizations of Bloom's taxonomy that should be considered when writing questions?

The three categorizations of Bloom's taxonomy to consider are remembering, understanding, and applying.

Why is it difficult to construct multiple-choice questions at the upper level of Bloom's taxonomy?

It is difficult because they often require students to remember content that was taught, rather than applying or analyzing knowledge.

What should be avoided when writing multiple-choice questions?

Avoid trick questions and questions that require students to work through negatives to determine the correct answer.