Test construction multiple-choice items

The test comprises 80 multiple-choice items and two (2) open-response items. The multiple-choice section will account for 75 percent of the points available and the constructed-response section will account for 25 percent of the points available. 

The most common format of achievement test items is the multiple-choice question. This is certainly true of commercially developed tests and is becoming true of more and more classroom tests, especially at the college level. Multiple-choice items certainly have a number of limitations, and there is no doubt that students have more freedom of expression on open-ended questions. It is well understood that items requiring generation and construction of responses by students usually produce richer data than simple recall and recognition items. However, multiple-choice tests can be effective if they are carefully developed, and they may be especially... 

In general, the structure itself of the multiple-choice item should not be blamed for a test s deficiencies rather, the way in which the item content is derived, the manner by which items are aggregated, and the theory under which test results are interpreted cause much of the difficulty. As most testing specialists know, it is possible to construct good multiple-choice items that do require a student to demonstrate an understanding of the subject matter. These items are not easy to develop. Their content is usually complex, and their response options are carefully crafted to glean information about the student s knowledge. 

Guidelines for Constructing Multiple-Choice Test Items ... 

While constructing multiple choice test items following guidelines be followed ... 

Osterlind, S.J., Constructing Test Items Multiple-Choice, Constructed-Response, Performance, and Other Formats. 2nd ed. Evaluation in Education and Human Services, Kluwer Academic Publishers Boston, MA, 1998. 

Merchant et al. (2012) investigated the impact of a 3D desktop virtual reality environment on the learning of the valence shell electron pair repulsion (VSEPR) theory in an introductory chemistry class. Their sample consisted of 204 undergraduates enrolled in a chemistry course at a university in the USA. They used 11 -multiple-choice questions to assess the students understanding of molecular angles, molecular geometry, and species identifications. They also constructed 15 items to measure the students self-efficacy for learning VSEPR theory. The students self-efficacy was found to positively relate to their scores on the multiple-choice test. 

---