How to Write Exam Questions Right – Part 1 of 3

Very often, an organization wants to demonstrate the effectiveness of its training by administering some type of test at the end of the training. Unfortunately, most trainers are not adept at writing test questions. It is much more than simply writing 20 questions about content. You can skew the test results (and therefore get inaccurate feedback on the effectiveness of the training) if the test questions are not designed correctly.

In this first of three articles on designing appropriate test questions, we’ll discuss multiple-choice questions and the best way to design them.

Generally, when someone does not have the ability to write multiple-choice questions, the correct answer will always be the longest; try to be aware of this and keep your answers to the same length.

It is MUCH easier to offer 3 alternatives than 4. Don’t make it difficult for them. Your answers should include a correct answer and an incorrect but plausible answer.

One of the ways to ensure you have plausible, but incorrect, answers is to make sure that each of your options is logically consistent.

Check all the answers that are primary colors:

Right

Red

Blue

White

Orange

Incorrect

Red

Blue

White

Ponies

Your plausible but wrong answers don’t have to be terribly difficult; Please note that you are testing people who have new knowledge and limited skills / experience; do not present answers that would stump you, come up with answers that will stun the unqualified person. Likewise, the correct answer shouldn’t stand out on the list.

If your answer begins with a vowel, the question above must end with “a (n)”; if it ends with year – which is grammatically correct – the question itself automatically triggers the student to choose the answer that begins with the vowel.

Example: Example: The Interstate is also known as:

Highway

Highway

Road

Do you see / hear how to end the question with year forces you to choose Expressway?

All options should start with phrases or similar sentence structures.

For instance:

Right

The time to cross the street is:

A. When the light turns green

B. After looking both ways

C. If the path is clear

Incorrect

The best time to fly fishing is:

One morning

B. Afternoon

C. April to May; after the ice pack has melted

Careful with All of the above. If you are providing “all of the above” (or “none of the above”) as one of your options, you must include it in EVERYBODY options. If you have 15 multiple choice questions and only 1 or 2 have a “none of the above” option, it is a clear sign that the correct answer is none of the above.

These guidelines for developing well-written multiple-choice test questions should help you ensure that you can accurately measure your student’s level of learning.