The advantage of these items is that they can be scored rapidly, providing quick feedback to students and enabling efficient ways to assess large numbers of students over a broad range of content. One drawback is that constructing good multiple-choice items takes time, especially if you are writing questions to test higher order thinking.

Best Practices

To create valid multiple-choice items, make sure you can answer Yes to these questions:

• Is it reasonable to expect that the students have the prior knowledge needed to respond to the item?
• Does the item address an important concept that students should have learned from instruction?
• Is the item stated clearly, using the appropriate vocabulary for the students?
• Is the level of thinking addressed by the item appropriate for the:
  • content addressed?
  • level of the student on the novice to expert continuum?
  • learning outcomes of the course?

The following tips can help you create multiple-choice items that most effectively measure student learning.

General Suggestions

• Write the prompt first, then the correct answer, then the distractors (incorrect options)
• Make sure distractors match the correct answer in terms of length, complexity, phrasing,  style
• Base each item on a learning outcome for the course
• Ask a peer to review items if possible
• Allow time for editing and revising
• Minimize the amount of reading required for each item
• Be sensitive to cultural and gender issues
• Keep vocabulary consistent with student level of understanding
• Avoid convoluted stems and options
• Avoid language in the options and stems that clues the correct answer
• Write a few items each day, and then assemble them just before the test.

Tips for Writing Multiple-Choice Item Stems

• Use a single, clearly-stated problem or question.
• Describe the problem fully and avoid irrelevant information.
• Include most information in the stem so that the options can be short.
• State the stem as a question, or as an incomplete statement if needed to avoid awkward wording.
• Be as brief as possible and avoid undue complexity.
• Avoid negatives when possible, as well as idioms (e.g., “toss-up” or “nest-egg”), passive voice, and absolutes (e.g., always, never, all, etc.).
• When making the stem an incomplete statement, make sure the options follow the stem in a grammatically correct manner.

Tips for Writing Multiple-Choice Answer Options

• Include a total of 3 to 5 options.
• Make options similar in grammar, length, complexity, and style.
• Move repeated text to the stem if possible.
• Write the correct answer first, and then write the incorrect options in a parallel style.
• Make all options plausible to students who do not know the correct answer.
• Decrease the possibility of students guessing by avoiding options such as “all of the above” or “both A and B.”
• Use “none of the above” with caution, and only when there are absolutely correct answers to the question so that none of the available options are partially correct.
• Vary the positions of the correct options.
• Make sure there is only one best or correct answer.