Using Multiple-Choice Questions for assessment

Multiple-choice questions is one of the technique used for assessments in which the students select the best answer, from the choice of options given.

The anatomy of MCQ is as follows:

The stem, which is the introductory question, or an incomplete statement;
The options, consisting of the correct answer,
The incorrect answers (distractors).

The questions are framed with a number of multiple-choice options and grouped together to form a test.

How to use this type of assessment:

They can be used to assess students' ability to in all subjects on the basis of the following:

recall information;
interpret graphs and diagrams;
understand concepts;
discriminate between fact and opinion;
make inferences from data; and
solve problems.

The above criteria should be kept in mind to assess the students' ability to recognize a correct answer, rather than to construct an answer.

The strategy to make MCQs

The options should provide plausible alternatives to the correct answer..

Well-designed distractors provide alternatives that identify particular misconceptions. Providing a number of alternatives will enable scaffolding the students' thinking.

Advantages of this strategy are:

Writing is not a barrier;
It is quick and easy to administer and mark;
Marking is objective;
Inter-marker reliability is maximized;
It allows assessment to cover a broad range of concepts;
Well-constructed items can be used for determining misconceptions.

What to do

Identify the objective of the assessment. If the response is better measured by the student doing something, choose a different assessment strategy.
Write the stem, either as a question or an incomplete statement. It should be written clearly and concisely, and contain as much of the relevant information as possible.
Include any language in the stem that you would have to repeat in each answer option.
Write distractors that are credible. It is better to provide less options than have obviously wrong alternatives. Providing they are credible, the more distractors, the less likely students can guess the correct answer.
Make sure that the options are grammatically consistent with the stem.
Check that there are no clues to the right answer.
Avoid using keywords in the options.
Avoid the use of words such as never, always, all, and only.
Check only one correct answer is provided.
Set out neatly. Put each option on a separate line.
Make sure the correct answer is randomly placed. Some people tend to place the correct answer in the middle.
Keep vocabulary and sentence construction as simple as possible.
Avoid double negatives.

Limitations

Writing effective multiple-choice questions is difficult and time-consuming.
The amount of reading required may be a barrier for some students.
Vocabulary and sentence structure can be a barrier, particularly to ESOL students.
Multiple-choice questions do not give information about why a particular response has been selected.
Multiple-choice questions do not evaluate performance.

Adapt a traditional multiple-choice question to a Predict, Observe, Explain (POE) or Using concept cartoons for assessment or a group discussion.

17th August, 2021

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