1. Writing Selection Items Multiple Choice

2. Reference: Assessment of Student Achievement, 10th edition
By C.Keith Waugh and Norman E. Gronlund

3. Chapter 6 – Writing Selection Items (Multiple Choice)
Studying this chapter should enable you to:
Describe the characteristics of multiple-choice items
Describe the strengths and limitations of multiple-choice items
Distinguish between well-stated and poorly stated multiple-choice items

4. Chapter 6 – Writing Selection Items (Multiple Choice)
Studying this chapter should enable you to (continued):
Identify and correct faults in poorly stated multiple-choice items
Match multiple-choice items to intended learning outcomes
Construct multiple-choice items that are well stated, relevant to important learning outcomes, and free of defects

5. Nature of Multiple-Choice Items
Parts of an Item:
Stem - the question or incomplete sentence.
Alternatives - the choices
Distracters - the incorrect choices

6. Uses Of Multiple-Choice Items
Remember Items (DOK 1)
Measures the degree to which material is remembered
Understand Items (DOK 2)
Measures the degree to which material is remembered and understood
Application Items (DOK 3)
Measures the degree to which material is remembered, understood, and can be applied

7. Writing Multiple-Choice Items
General Rules
Nothing in the item should prevent an informed student from answering correctly
Nothing in the item should increase the probability that an uninformed student will answer correctly

8. Writing Multiple-Choice Items
Guidelines when writing items
Design each item to measure a learning outcome
Present a single clearly formulated problem in the stem
State the stem in simple, clear language
Put as much wording as possible in the stem
State the stem in positive form, wherever possible

9. Writing Multiple-Choice Items
Guidelines when writing items
Emphasize negative wording whenever it is used in the stem (e.g., bold letters)
Make certain that the intended answer is correct and clearly best
Make all alternatives grammatically consistent with the stem and parallel in form
Avoid verbal clues that might enable students to select the correct answer or to eliminate an incorrect alternative

10. Writing Multiple-Choice Items
Guidelines when writing items
Make the distracters plausible and attractive to the uninformed
Vary the relative length of the correct answer to eliminate length as a clue
Avoid using the alternative “all of the above” and use “none of the above” with caution
Vary the position of the correct answer in a random manner

11. Writing Multiple-Choice Items
Guidelines when writing items
Control the difficulty of the item either by varying the problem in the stem or by changing the alternatives
Make certain each item is independent of the other items in the test
Use an efficient item format
Follow the normal rules of grammar
Break (or bend) any of these rules if necessary to improve item effectiveness