How to Write Multiple Choice Questions

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I wish writing tests and quizzes had been an entire class in graduate school, or at least a unit in a class. 

I don't know if it was just assumed someone else would teach me or if the powers that be figure there are enough test banks and teachers' guides available these days that writing my own assessments wasn't necessary, but I was totally unprepared for writing my first quiz.

I thought it would be easy - how on Earth could writing 10 multiple choice questions be hard? After battling my way through a few drafts, I presented the result to my cooperating teacher. His immediate response was "They didn't teach you how to write questions, did they? They never actually teach you about writing questions in teacher school."

I admitted I'd never been taught what to do and that it was way more difficult than I'd expected, so he told me to pull up a chair and see what hard-won wisdom he could impart.

It took much more than one discussion with my cooperating teacher to finally 'get' writing structured response questions, but I came to understand how to write questions that truly tested comprehension and weren't unfair to the students.

It's a difficult task, but here are five tips to set you on the right path when writing multiple choice questions.

How to write multiple choice questions

1. Write questions in the positive. I've taken so many tests with negative questions, and they're much easier to write, but my cooperating teacher finally convinced me that they're not fair assessments of student knowledge and that you don't want students fanatically memorizing which things are not true.

Poor example: Which of the following was not a member of the Axis powers in World War II?
A. Germany
B. Italy
C. Japan
D. South Africa

Better example: Which of the following countries was a member of the Axis powers in World War II?
A. France
B. United States
C. Italy
D. Great Britain

2. Avoid silly, throw-away responses. I have encountered this one a lot in my academic career, and it's just a waste of space that doesn't assess student learning. If an answer is obviously false, or, worse, if several answers are absurd, students can easily guess the correct answer simply by ignoring the silly choices without actually knowing the correct answer.

Poor example: Which man was a leader in the Jamestown colony?
A. Captain Jack Sparrow
B. Captain Hook
C. Captain Smith
D. Captain Kirk

Better example: The leader left in charge of the Jamestown colony was
A. John Smith
B. Pocahontas
C. Chief Powhatan
D. Walter Raleigh

The first example is poor because any student even vaguely familiar with popular culture would probably realize that A, B, and D are not the correct answer, so s/he could safely answer C without actually knowing who was a leader in Jamestown.

3. Avoid questions with vague generalities. Make sure your questions are specific and testing for the knowledge you want to assess.

Poor example: Which country is the largest?
A. China
B. Russia
C. United States
D. India

Better example: Which country has the largest population?
A. China
B. Russia
C. United States
D. India

The first example is a poor question because China has the largest population but Russia has more area. The second, specific question asks students to remember which country has the most people.

4. Write questions that assess essential knowledge, not trivia. There are, of course, times when students need to know specific details, but there are other times when a broader understanding is more appropriate.

Poor example: The United States signed the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo on
A. February 2, 1848
B. July 4, 1848
C. December 31, 1847
D. March 10, 1848

Better example: Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended
A. The Spanish-American War
B. The Texas Revolution
C. The Mexican-American War
D. The War of Spanish Succession

The poor example tests trivia - selecting the initial signing date out of a pool of numbers, several of which do relate to the mentioned treaty. The second example tests whether students actually know what conflict the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo ended, which is of much more enduring importance.

5. Write concise questions and responses. Additionally, the responses should be as equal in length as possible.

Poor example: In the 1954 Supreme Court ruling in Brown v the Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas, the decision stated that
A. Students must recite the Pledge of Allegiance
B. Girls can play sports
C. Teachers must be certified
D. Segregation in the public schools was "inherently unequal" and schools should integrate "with all deliberate speed"

Better example: In 1954, the Supreme Court ruled in Brown v Board of Education that
A. Students must recite the Pledge of Allegiance
B. Segregation by race was illegal
C. Teachers must be certified in the subject they teach
D. Girls must have equal access to sports

There are many other things to consider when you write multiple choice questions, but I wish someone had told me these five essential things before I reached the classroom for my student teaching.

These tips address the five question-writing errors I've seen most often in my academic career and that I was most tempted to emulate in my own question writing.

It can be really tricky to avoid negative questions and silly responses, and paring down questions to test for specific knowledge without getting bogged down with too many words is equally difficult.

By taking the time to write meaningful assessments, you can test your students fairly and accurately gauge their comprehension. Plus, you can help them gain valuable practice with structured response questions similar to those they'll face on end of course exams and standardized tests.

If this is your first visit to my blog, I invite you to check out my other student teaching tips and to return soon for more! In my next education-related post, I will discuss key tips for writing appropriate free response questions. I hope to see you then!