Multiple Choice Test ( Rules in Constructing Multiple Choice Test)

Summary

This educational video script discusses the multiple-choice test format, which presents respondents with a problem or incomplete statement and a limited list of options. It covers the skills tested, such as discrimination and analysis, and lists the advantages like objectivity and efficiency. Disadvantages include difficulty in creating plausible distractors and a focus on lower-level learning objectives. The script outlines 20 rules for constructing effective multiple-choice questions, emphasizing clarity, consistency, and avoiding complex language or negative statements.

Takeaways

• 📚 A multiple choice test is a question format where respondents choose from a limited list of options, generalizing the true/false test.
• 🎯 Each multiple choice item has two parts: the stem, which presents the problem or question, and the options, which include the key (correct) answer and distractors (incorrect answers).
• 🧠 The test evaluates skills at various learning levels, including application, synthesis, analysis, and evaluation, such as distinguishing fact from opinion and interpreting cause-effect relationships.
• 📈 Advantages of multiple choice tests include broad content coverage, objectivity in scoring, measurement of diverse learning levels, effectiveness when well-constructed, minimal writing for students, fast processing times, and the ability to ask more questions.
• 🚫 Disadvantages include difficulty in creating plausible distractors, a tendency to focus on lower-level learning objectives, time-consuming construction, and inability to measure organizational and expressive abilities.
• ✅ Key rules for constructing a multiple choice test include using familiar vocabulary, avoiding vague modifiers, ensuring plausible and attractive distractors, grammatical consistency, and avoiding complex wording or negatives.
• 🚫 To avoid in test construction: unfamiliar words, long or complex sentences in the stem, trivial statements, negatives and double negatives, and sequence items in the same order as the text.
• 📝 Do use clear, single problems in the stem, avoid copying directly from books, and ensure options are plausible, homogeneous, and of equal length.
• 🔄 When arranging options, mix up the order of correct answers, keep the number of options consistent, and avoid using 'all of the above' or 'none of the above' options.
• ✍️ Format items vertically, not horizontally, and avoid using textbook verbatim phrasing or items based on opinions or trivial materials.

Q & A

What is a multiple choice question?

A multiple choice question is a question type where the respondent is asked to choose one or more items from a limited list of choices, offering more than two options per item.

What are the two main parts of a multiple choice test item?

Each item in a multiple choice test consists of two parts: the stem, which presents the problem or question, and the options, which are the possible answers including the key (correct answer) and distractors (incorrect answers).

What cognitive skills are assessed in a multiple choice test?

Multiple choice tests assess skills at the application, synthesis, analysis, and evaluation levels of learning, such as discrimination between fact and opinion, interpretation of cause and effect relationships, and making inferences from data.

List some advantages of using multiple choice tests.

Advantages include covering a broad range of content, objectivity due to easy scoring, measuring various learning levels, effectiveness when well-constructed, minimal writing for students, fast processing times, and the ability to ask more questions in less time.

What are the disadvantages of multiple choice tests?

Disadvantages include difficulty in creating plausible distractors, a tendency to focus on low-level learning objectives, time-consuming construction of good items, and the inability to measure the ability to organize and express ideas.

What is the first rule for constructing a multiple choice test?

The first rule is to avoid using unfamiliar words, terms, and phrases, ensuring vocabulary is consistent with the examinee's level of understanding.

Why should distractors in a multiple choice test be equally plausible?

Distractors should be equally plausible to ensure the test's validity and to prevent test-takers from easily identifying the correct answer based on the implausibility of the other options.

How should the options in a multiple choice test be formatted?

Options should be grammatically consistent with the stem, avoid complex or awkward word arrangements, and not use negatives in the stem to prevent unnecessary comprehension difficulties.

What should be avoided when creating the stem of a multiple choice question?

Avoid long or complex sentences, trivial statements, negatives and double negatives, indefinite terms, raw generalizations, extraneous material, and item characteristics that provide a clue to the answer.

How should the correct answer options be arranged in a multiple choice test?

The correct answer options should be mixed up and not follow the order of the text or any predictable pattern to ensure fairness and prevent test-takers from guessing based on answer placement.

What is the significance of using 'all of the above' or 'none of the above' options in a multiple choice test?

Using 'all of the above' or 'none of the above' options should be avoided as they can be confusing and may not accurately test the knowledge or comprehension intended.