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Validity is the degree to which a test measures the learning outcomes it purports to measure. Because students can typically answer a multiple choice item much more quickly than an essay question, tests based on multiple choice items can typically focus on a relatively broad representation of course material, thus increasing the validity of the assessment. The key to taking advantage of these strengths, however, is construction of good multiple choice items.
A multiple choice item consists of a problem, known as the stem, and a list of suggested solutions, known as alternatives.
The alternatives consist of one correct or best alternative, which is the answer, and incorrect or inferior alternatives, known as distractors. The stem should be meaningful by itself and should present a definite problem.
A stem that presents a definite problem allows a focus on the learning outcome. The stem should not contain irrelevant material , which can decrease the reliability and the validity of the test scores Haldyna and Downing The stem should be negatively stated only when significant learning outcomes require it.
The options are the possible answers that the examinee can choose from, with the correct answer called the key and the incorrect answers called distractors. Hi Ranjini, Yes, there are many other guidelines too. Because multiple choice exams contain many questions, they force students to be familiar with a much broader range of material than essay exams do. Most instructors will rephrase things in their own words as they write exam questions, so you must be sure that you really know what the definitions mean. This entry was posted in Blog Posts. This is a back-to-basics article about the undervalued and little-discussed multiple choice question. This page was last edited on 23 November , at
Students often have difficulty understanding items with negative phrasing Rodriguez If a significant learning outcome requires negative phrasing, such as identification of dangerous laboratory or clinical practices, the negative element should be emphasized with italics or capitalization. The stem should be a question or a partial sentence. A question stem is preferable because it allows the student to focus on answering the question rather than holding the partial sentence in working memory and sequentially completing it with each alternative Statman The cognitive load is increased when the stem is constructed with an initial or interior blank, so this construction should be avoided.
All alternatives should be plausible. The function of the incorrect alternatives is to serve as distractors,which should be selected by students who did not achieve the learning outcome but ignored by students who did achieve the learning outcome. Common student errors provide the best source of distractors.
Alternatives should be stated clearly and concisely. A response that repeats key words that are in the stem is likely to be correct. If all else fails, choose response b or c.
Many instructors subconsciously feel that the correct answer is "hidden" better if it is surrounded by distracters. Response a is usually least likely to be the correct one. If you cannot answer a question within a minute or less, skip it and plan to come back later. Transfer all responses to the answer sheet at the same time, once you have marked all questions on your exam. If you try to do several things at once, you increase the probability of making a mistake.
Saving the relatively mindless job of filling in bubbles until the last step reduces the probability of making silly errors. Erase any accidental marks completely. Take the time to check your work before you hand in the answer sheet. Unlike an essay exam, on which you may later appeal a grade on the grounds that the instructor misunderstood your response, a multiple choice exam offers you no opportunity for "partial credit.
On a world scale, livestock perform many functions.
Identify the least important one. If you are enrolled in Geography , Human Geography, you will have read a chapter about livestock in India which we also discussed in one class period. Answers A , B , and C are obviously correct. You have reduced the five possible answers to two: Even without knowing the correct answer, you can pick the correct answer.
Now you are left with building materials E -- stuff used to construct shelter -- a rather limited use of livestock, given that trees, mud, and stones are far more effective ways of building shelter. The least important use of livestock is, therefore, building materials E! Congratulations, you have thought through the correct answer. An example from Geography , Cultural Landscapes, on how to figure out the correct answer: Institutions have geographical manifestations, which include all but one of the following: Determining the appropriate answer: If you are enrolled in Geography , Cultural Landscapes, we discussed this material in class.
Geography is about space and the material content of places.
Answers A and D are obviously correct. If the total grade is negative then the total grade for this question will be zero. The 'penalty factor' only applies when the question is used in a quiz using adaptive mode - i. If the penalty factor is more than 0, then the student will lose that proportion of the maximum grade upon each successive attempt.
For example, if the default question grade is 10, and the penalty factor is 0.
General feedback is some text that gets shown to the student after they have attempted the question. Unlike feedback, which depends on the question type and what response the student gave, the same general feedback text is shown to all students. You can control when general feedback is shown to students using the "Students may review: You can use the general feedback to give students some background to what knowledge the question was testing. Or to give them a link to more information they can use if they did not understand the questions.
So, when the student submits the question, they will see the answer-specific feedback next to the option s they selected, the overall feedback in a box below the options, and if applicable, the general feedback underneath everything else. An administrator can specify the defaults for multiple choice settings via the settings link in 'Manage question types' in the Site administration. This page was created for the Quiz module.