Assessment
Writing Effective Multiple Choice Questions
Description:
Multiple choice tests are to easy to administer, but good and effective questions can be a challenge to develop. This workshop provides strategies, resources, and practice for designing questions that are fair, unambiguous, and appropriate.
Learning Goals:
After successfully completing this workshop you will be able to:
- Describe advantages/disadvantages of using MCQs
- Identify components of an MCQ
- Contrast properties of good vs poor M/C test items
- Recognize clues used by test-wise students
- Draft both lower and higher order MCQs relevant to your discipline
Workshop Resources:
Handouts:
- Fa19 Creating Effective Multiple Choice Questions Handout
- Example Questions from McGill University Workshop: “Designing Effective Multiple‐Choice Questions”
- Bloom Krathwall Fink Cognitive Learning Taxonomies
In the Library:
- N/A
Online Resources:
- Youtube video – Writing Multiple Choice Test Questions
- IDEA Paper 16: Improving Multiple-Choice Tests. Victoria Clegg and William Cashin. 1986. Kansas State University Center for Faculty Evaluation and Development.
- More Multiple-Choice Item Writing Do’s and Don’ts. Robert B. Frary. 1997. ERIC Digest.
- Writing Multiple-Choice Questions that Demand Critical Thinking. Georgeanne Cooper, University of Oregon. 2007
Certificates:
Can apply toward these graduate student/postdoc certificates: