CONSTRUCTING

MULTIPLE-CHOICE
QUESTIONS
“To question well is to teach well. In
the skillful use of questions, more than
anything else, lies the fine art of
teaching.”

-Earnst Sachs
Objectives
• Evaluate existing multiple-choice items by using
commonly-accepted criteria to identify specific
flaws in the items.
• Improve poorly-written multiple-choice items by
correcting the flaws they contain.
• Construct well-written multiple-choice items that
measure given objectives.
What is a
Multiple-Choice Type of Test?
Is a form of assessment which requires the students to
select the given option that will make the item complete
or correct.
It is frequently used in educational testing, in market,
and in elections.
What is a
Multiple-Choice Type of Test?
Oftentimes, includes a stimulus material where the item
or question is drawn.
stimulus material (introductory material), is added
information in the form of chart, graph, stanza of a
poem, or novel pictorial.
 F A
E O
T UR
U C L E -
ST R T IP
U L T E M
M E I
O IC
CH
STRUCTURE OF A MULTIPLE-
CHOICE ITEM
identifies the
question or
problem

response
alternatives/
suggested solutions
 STRUCTURE OF A MULTIPLE-
CHOICE
Stem - the beginning part of the item
ITEM
• a problem to be solved
• a question asked of the respondent
• or an incomplete statement to be completed

The purpose of the distractors is to appear as plausible solutions to the

problem for those students who have not achieved the objective being
measured by the test item.
 O F
IE S
IE T E -
R
VA LTIPL
M S
M U E I TE
O IC
CH
 SINGLE CORRECT ANSWER
1
In items of the single-correct-answer variety, all but one of
the alternatives are incorrect; the remaining alternative is the
correct answer. The student is directed to identify the correct
answer.
Example:

A market clearing price is a price at which:

a. Demand exceeds supply.
*b. Supply equals demand.
c. Supply exceeds demand.
2 BEST ANSWER
In items of the best-answer variety, the alternatives differ in
their degree of correctness. Some may be completely
incorrect and some correct, but one is clearly more correct
than the others.
Example:
Monopolies cause problems in a market system because
they:
a. Create external costs and imperfect information.
*b. Lead to higher prices and under production.
c. Make such large profits.
d. Manufacture products of poor quality.
3 NEGATIVE
In items of the negative variety, the student is directed to
identify either the alternative that is an incorrect answer, or
the alternative that is the worst answer.
Example:
Which of the following is NOT true of George Washington?
a. He served only two terms as president.
b. He was an experienced military officer
before the Revolutionary War.
c. He was born in 1732.
*d. He was one of the signers of the Declaration of Independence.
3 NEGATIVE
The negative word should be placed in the stem,
not in the alternatives, and should be emphasized
by using:
 underlining
 Italics
 bold face, or
 CAPITALS
In addition, each of the alternatives should be
phrased positively to avoid forming a confusing
double negative with the stem.
3 NEGATIVE
POOR EXAMPLE
All of the following are correct procedures for putting out a fire
in a pan on the stove except:
a. Do not move the pan.
*b. Pour water into the pan.
c. Slide a fitted lid onto the pan.
d. Turn off the burner controls.
BETTER EXAMPLE
All of the following are correct procedures for putting out a fire
in a pan on the stove except:
a. Leave the pan where it is.
*b. Pour water into the pan.
c. Slide a fitted lid onto the pan.
d. Turn off the burner controls.
4 MULTIPLE RESPONSE
In items of multiple response variety, two or more of the
alternatives are keyed as correct answers; the remaining
alternatives serve as distractors. The student is directed to
identify each correct answer.
Example:
Which of the following is a characteristic of a virus?
*a. It can cause disease.
b. It can reproduce by itself.
c. It is composed of large living cells.
*d. It lives in plant and animal cells.
 MULTIPLE TRUE-FALSE
5
Research. In a survey of 46 authoritative references in the field of educational
measurement, 32 of the 35 authors that discussed how many correct answers to
include in an item recommend using only one (Haladyna & Downing, 1989a). In
addition, items of the multiple-response variety have been found to be lower in
reliability, higher in difficulty, and equal in validity when compared with similar multiple
true-false items (Frisbie, 1990).

Example:
A virus:
*T F Can cause disease.
T *F Can reproduce by itself.
T *F Is composed of large living cells.
*T F Lives in plant and animal cells.
6 COMBINED RESPONSE
In items of the combined-response variety, one or more of the
alternatives are correct answers; the remaining alternatives serve as
distractors. The student is directed to identify the correct answer or
answers by selecting one of a set of letters, each of which represent a
combination of alternatives.
Example:
The fluid imbalance known as edema The correct answer is:
is commonly associated with: a. 1, 2, and 3.
1. Allergic reactions. b. 1 and 3.
2. Congestive heart failure. c. 2 and 4.
3. Extensive burns. d. 4 only.
*e. 1, 2, 3, and 4.
4. Protein deficiency.
 F OR
NE S
EL I IN G
I D C T E
GU STRU O I C
O N - CH
C P L E
LT I S
U M
M ITE
1
Construct each item to assess a single
written objective.

Items that are not written with a specific objective

in mind often end up measuring lower-level
objectives exclusively, or covering trivial material that
is of little educational worth.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

2
Base each item on a specific problem
stated clearly in the stem.
Poor Example Better Example
California: What is the main reason so many
a. Contains the tallest mountain in people moved to California in 1849?
the United States a. Contains the tallest mountain in
b. Has an eagle on its state flag. the United States
c. Is the second largest state in b. Has an eagle on its state flag.
terms of area. c. Is the second largest state in
*d. Was the location of the Gold terms of area.
Rush of 1849. *d. Was the location of the Gold
Rush of 1849.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

2
Base each item on a specific problem
stated clearly in the stem.
Direct Question Example Incomplete Sentence Example
Which of the following was the The principal keyboard
principal keyboard instrument in instrument in 16th century
16th century Europe? Europe was the:
a. Clavichord. a. Clavichord.
*b. Harpsichord. *b. Harpsichord.
c. Organ. c. Organ.
d. Pianoforte. d. Pianoforte.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

3 Include as much of the item as possible in the
stem, but do not include irrelevant material.

Poor Example Better Example

If the pressure of a certain amount of gas If you increase the volume of a certain
is held constant, what will happen if its amount of gas while holding its pressure
volume is increased? constant, its temperature will:
a. The temperature of the gas will decrease. a. Decrease.
*b. The temperature of the gas will increase. *b. Increase.
c. The temperature of the gas will remain the
same.
c. Remain the same.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

3 Include as much of the item as possible in the
stem, but do not include irrelevant material.

Poor Example

Suppose you are a mathematics professor who wants to determine whether or not your
teaching of the unit on probability has had a significant effect on your students. You decide
to analyze their scores from a test they took before the instruction and their scores from
another exam taken after the instruction. Which of the following t-tests is appropriate to use
in this situation?

*a. Dependent samples

b. Heterogeneous samples
c. Homogeneous samples
d. Independent samples

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

Better Example

When analyzing your students’ pretest and posttest scores to determine if

your teaching has had a significant effect, an appropriate statistic to use is
the t-test for:

*a. Dependent samples

b. Heterogeneous samples
c. Homogeneous samples
d. Independent samples
4
State the stem in positive form (in
general).
Negatively-worded items are those in which the student is
instructed to identify the exception, the incorrect answer, or the
least correct answer. Such items are frequently used, because
they are relatively easy to construct.

The teacher writing the item need only come up with one
distractor, rather than the two to four required for a positively-
worded item.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

5
Word the alternatives clearly and
concisely.

Poor Example

The term hypothesis, as used in research, is defined as:

a. A conception or proposition formed by speculation or deduction or by abstraction and
generalization from facts, explaining or relating an observed set of facts, given
probability by experimental evidence or by factual or conceptual analysis but not conclusively
established or accepted.
b. A statement of an order or relation of phenomena that so far as is known is invariable under the
given conditions, formulated on the basis of conclusive evidence or tests
and universally accepted, that has been tested and proven to conform to facts.
*c. A proposition tentatively assumed in order to draw out its logical or empirical consequences and
so test its accord with facts that are known or may be determined, of such a nature as to be either
proved or disproved by comparison with observed facts.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

5
Word the alternatives clearly and
concisely.

Better Example

The term hypothesis, as used in research, is defined as:

a. An assertion explaining an observed set of facts that has not been
conclusively established.
b. A universally accepted assertion explaining an observed set of facts.
*c. A tentative assertion that is either proved or disproved by comparison
with an observed set of facts.
 6 Keep the alternatives mutually exclusive.

Poor Example Better Example

How long does an annual plant How long does an annual plant
generally live? generally live?
*a. It dies after the first year. *a. Only one year.
b. It lives for many years. b. Only two years.
c. It lives for more than one year. c. Several years.
*d. It needs to be replanted each year.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

7 Keep the alternatives homogeneous
in content.
Poor Example Better Example
Idaho is widely known as: Idaho is widely known for its:
*a. The largest producer of potatoes a. Apples.
in the United States. b. Corn.
b. The location of the tallest *c. Potatoes.
mountain in the United States. d. Wheat.
c. The state with a beaver on its flag.
d. The “Treasure State.”

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8 Keep the alternatives free from clues
as to which response is correct.

Poorly-written items often contain clues that help

students who do not know the correct answer
eliminate incorrect alternatives and increase their
chance of guessing correctly.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8.1 Keep the grammar of each
alternative consistent with the stem.
Poor Example Better Example
A word used to describe A word used to describe
a noun is called an: a noun is called:
*a. Adjective. *a. An adjective.
b. Conjunction. b. A conjunction.
c. Pronoun. c. A pronoun.
d. Verb. d. A verb.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8.2 Keep the alternatives parallel in form.
Poor Example
You have just spent ten minutes trying to teach one of your new employees how to
change a typewriter ribbon. The employee is still having a great deal of difficulty
changing the ribbon, even though you have always found it simple to do. At this
point, you should:

a. Tell the employee to ask an experienced employee working nearby to change the
ribbon in the future.
b. Tell the employee that you never found this difficult, and ask what he or she finds
difficult about it.
*c. Review each of the steps you have already explained, and determine whether the
employee understands them.
d. Tell the employee that you will continue teaching him or her later, because you are
becoming irritable.
Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items
Better Example
You have just spent ten minutes trying to teach one of your new
employees how to change a typewriter ribbon. The employee is still
having a great deal of difficulty changing the ribbon, even though you
have always found it simple to do. At this point, you should:

a. Ask an experienced employee working nearby to change the ribbon in

the future.
b. Mention that you never found this difficult, and ask what he or she
finds difficult about it.
*c. Review each of the steps you have already explained, and determine
whether the employee understands them.
d. Tell the employee that you will continue teaching him or her later
because you are becoming irritable.
8.3 Keep the alternatives similar in length.
Poor Example
Which of the following is the best indication of high morale in a supervisor’s unit?

a. The employees are rarely required to work overtime.

*b. The employees are willing to give first priority to attaining group objectives,
subordinating any personal desires they may have.
c. The supervisor enjoys staying late to plan the next day.
d. The unit gives expensive birthday presents to each other .

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8.3 Keep the alternatives similar in length.
Better Example

Which of the following is the best indication of high morale in a supervisor’s unit?

a. The employees are rarely required to work overtime.

*b. The employees willingly give first priority to attaining group objectives.
c. The supervisor enjoys staying late to plan for the next day.
d. The unit members give expensive birthday presents to each other.
8.4 Avoid textbook, verbatim phrasing.
Poor Example

The term operant conditioning refers to the learning situation in which:

a. A familiar response is associated with a new stimulus.

b. Individual associations are linked together in sequence.
*c. A response of the learner is instrumental in leading to a subsequent reinforcing
event.
d. Verbal responses are made to verbal stimuli.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8.4 Avoid textbook, verbatim phrasing.

Better Example:

The term operant conditioning refers to the learning situations in

which:
a. A familiar response is associated with a new stimulus.
b. Individual associations are linked together in sequence.
*c. The learner’s response leads to reinforcement.
d. Verbal responses are made to verbal stimuli.
8.5 Avoid the use of specific determiners.
Poor Example

To avoid infection after receiving a puncture wound to the hand, you should:

a. Always go to the immunization center to receive a tetanus shot.

b. Be treated with an antibiotic only if the wound is painful.
*c. Ensure that no foreign object has been left in the wound.
d. Never wipe the wound with alcohol unless it is still bleeding.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8.5 Avoid the use of specific determiners.

Better Example

To avoid infection after receiving a puncture wound to the hand, you should
always:

a. Go to the immunization center to receive a tetanus shot.

b. Be treated with an antibiotic if the wound is painful.
*c. Ensure that no foreign object has been left in the wound.
d. Wipe the wound with alcohol unless it is still bleeding.
 Avoid including keywords in the
8.6 alternatives.
Poor Example

When conducting library research in education, which of the following is the best
source to use for identifying pertinent journal articles?

a. A Guide to Sources of Educational Information.

*b. Current Index to Journals in Education.
c. Resources in Education
d. The International Encyclopedia of Education.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

8.7 Use plausible distractors.
Poor Example Better Example
Which of the following artists is known for Which of the following artists is known for
painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel? painting the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
a. Warhol a. Botticelli
b. Flintstone b. da Vinci
*c. Michelangelo *c. Michelangelo
d. Santa Claus d. Raphael
The implausible distractors in the poor example have been replaced by more plausible distractors in the better example.
Plausible distractors may be created in several ways, a few of which are listed below:

• Use common student misconceptions as distractors. The incorrect answers supplied by students to a short answer version
of the same item are a good source of material to use in constructing distractors for a multiple-choice item.

• Develop your own distractors, using words that “ring a bell” or that “sound official.” Your distractors should be plausible
enough to keep the student who has not achieved the objective from detecting them, but not so subtle that they mislead the
student who has achieved the objective.
Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items
9 Avoid the alternatives “all of the above”
and “none of the above” (in general)

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

10 Use as many functional distractors as
are feasible.
Functional distractors are those chosen by students that have not achieved
the objective and are ignored by students that have achieved the objective.
In other words, they have positive discrimination. The following table
categorizes distractors according to functionality:

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

10 Use as many functional distractors as
are feasible.
Poor Example Better Example
Obsidian is an example of which of Obsidian is an example of
the following types of rocks? which of the following types of
*a. Igneous rocks?
b. Metamorphic *a. Igneous
c. Sedimentary b. Metamorphic
d. Transparent c. Sedimentary
e. None of the above

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

11 Include one and only one correct or
clearly best answer in each item.
Poor Example Better Example
The United States should adopt a According to Alfred T. Mahan, the United
foreign policy based on: States should adopt a foreign policy
based on:
a. A strong army and control of the
a. A strong army and control of the North
North American continent. American continent.
b. Achieving the best interest of all b. Achieving the best interest of all
nations. nations.
c. Isolation from international affairs. c. Isolation from international affairs.
*d. Naval supremacy and undisputed *d. Naval supremacy and undisputed
control of the world’s sea lanes.
control of the world’s sea lanes.
Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items
 Present the answer in each of the alternative
12 positions approximately an equal number of
times, in a random order.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

13 Lay out the items in a clear and consistent
manner.

• Provide clear directions at the beginning of each section of the test

• Use a vertical format for presenting alternatives.

• Avoid changing pages in the middle of an item.

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Items

 Use proper grammar, punctuation, and
14 spelling.

This guideline should be self-evident.

Adherence to it reduces ambiguity in
the item and encourages students to
take your test more seriously.
 Avoid using unnecessarily difficult
15 vocabulary.

Use difficult and technical vocabulary

only when essential for measuring
the objective.
16 Analyze the effectiveness of each item
after each administration of the test.

Item analysis is an excellent way to periodically check

the effectiveness of your test items. It identifies items
that are not functioning well, thus enabling you to
revise the items, remove them from your test, or revise
your instruction, whichever is appropriate .
The art and science of asking questions
is the source of all knowledge

--Thomas Berger