Developing Effective Multiple Choice Items
Welcome
Welcome to Developing Effective Multiple Choice Items
This course focuses on developing participants' understanding of the elements of quality multiple-choice items. Essential questions that guide study in this course include:
- What are item validity and item reliability, and why are they important?
- What are some common item-writing flaws and how do you avoid them?
- How do you assess high order learning objectives (e.g. analysis, evaluation) with multiple choice items?
In answering these questions, participants will develop their understanding of how to better use multiple-choice items in their daily practice.
Course Structure
The three units of this course correspond to the essential questions listed above. Each unit is self-contained and, although the concepts do overlap in places, no unit is a prerequisite for any others.
Unit 1 - Validity and Reliability
Validity and Reliability: Lesson 1 - Participants will review the anatomy of a multiple choice item.
Validity and Reliability: Lesson 2 - Participants will explore the definitions and significance of assessment validity and reliability with regard to multiple choice questions.
Validity and Reliability: Lesson 3 - Participants will apply their knowledge from Lesson 1 to determine the validity and reliability of given multiple choice items.
Unit 2 - Item-Writing Flaws
Item-Writing Flaws: Lesson 1 - Participants will learn how to identify and correct stem format errors.
Item-Writing Flaws: Lesson 2 - Participants will learn how to identify and correct alternative format errors.
Item-Writing Flaws: Lesson 3 - Participants will learn how to identify and correct other miscellaneous errors.
Unit 3 - Assessing High Order Objectives
Assessing High Order Objectives: Lesson 1 - Participants will review behaviors associated with demonstrating high order thinking using the format of Bloom's Taxonomy.
Assessing High Order Objectives: Lesson 2 - Participants will apply their knowledge from Lesson 1 to develop strategies for writing items that assess higher order thinking.
End of Course Page
References
- Course wide icon images by Freepik via flaticon.com licensed under CC BY 2.0