1. Georgetown University
Center for New Designs in Learning & Scholarship and Office of Faculty and Academic Affairs Writing Multiple Choice Questions
Aviad Haramati, PhD
Peggy A. Weissinger, EdD
Georgetown University
School of Medicine
9/14/2011
CNDLS & OFAA
Georgetown University

2. Congruence! Objectives Activities Assessment
Adapted from Felder & Brent ( 1991)

3. TLISI - Georgetown University
What am I testing?
Core Principles:
Decide exactly what you want to test.
Eliminate as many ambiguities as possible.
Create distractors based firmly on what you want to test.
After it is over, use it as a learning opportunity!
Give feedback for your distracters which explains why they’re wrong.
Give feedback for the correct answer explaining why it’s right.
Adapted from
TLISI - Georgetown University

4. TLISI - Georgetown University
Technical Flaws
Issues Related to Irrelevant Difficulty
Options long, complicated, or double
Numeric data not stated consistently
Terms in options are vague
Language in options not parallel
Options in non-logical order
Stems are tricky or unnecessarily complicated
Reference: Case & Swanson (NBME) Constructing Written Test Questions
TLISI - Georgetown University

5. TLISI - Georgetown University
Item Shape
Appropriately Shaped Item
Long Stem a. b. c. d. e.
Poorly Shaped Item
Short Stem a. b. c. d.
5/21/08
TLISI - Georgetown University e.

6. TLISI - Georgetown University
When Writing Options...
…make sure that they are:
Homogenous in content
Incorrect or inferior to the correct answer
Plausible and attractive to the uninformed
Similar to the correct answer in construction
Grammatically consistent and logically compatible with the stem
Reference: Case & Swanson (NBME) Constructing Written Test Questions
TLISI - Georgetown University

7. TLISI - Georgetown University
General Guidelines
Bulk of question in the stem.
Try “cover-the-options” test.
Avoid superfluous information.
Avoid “tricky” and overly complex items.
Write grammatically consistent options.
Avoid absolutes! (e.g. always, never, all)
And most important: Focus on important concepts. Don’t waste time testing trivial facts.
Reference: Case & Swanson (NBME) Constructing Written Test Questions
TLISI - Georgetown University

8. Pulling it together! Summary: Decide what you want to test.
Well-written objectives make the job easier.
Use guidelines for writing quality MCQ.
Local resources here to help!

9. Georgetown University
Contact information
Aviad Haramati
Peg Weissinger
9/14/2011
CNDLS & OFAA
Georgetown University