5.3 Pros and Cons and Advice

Pros

The Multiple choice question type can be used with all subject areas.
And as the musical score example shows it can be used imaginatively to test higher order skills.
Common errors can be exposed by suitable distractors and feedback specific to that misunderstanding can be provided.

The student is provided with the correct answer as one of the choices.
Choosing the answer by recognising it is not the same as constructing the answer.
There is a probability of guessing the correct answer. If there are four choices the probability is 25%. To discourage guessing various penalty mechanisms have been suggested and implemented. Moodle allows the author to attach negative marks to options and also includes the ability to use Certainty Based Marking. However most authors use neither of these facilities and score the correct choice at 100% and incorrect choices at 0%.
It is not necessarily easy to provide plausible distractors. At least three are required and implausible distractors are better omitted. The skill in writing multiple choice questions is in providing questions that expose misunderstanding of the materials under test such that suitable distractors can be written. The response to the distractors can then be used to provide remedial feedback to help students overcome their misunderstanding. But writing good distractors is difficult. Not only is it difficult but it deflects the author and the student from learning about the correct answer and why it is correct. The result is often a set of distractors that are provided solely to comply with the style of the question rather than to test the students knowledge of the subject.

Provide a sufficient number of distractors.
Distractors based on common student errors are very effective.
Correct statements that do not answer the question are often strong distractors.
Do not create distractors that are so close to the correct answer that they may confuse students who really know the answer to the question.
Avoid resorting to using complex wording in distractors otherwise your test may become a test of reading comprehension rather than an assessment of whether the student knows the subject matter.
Be especially aware of ambiguity. Ask a colleague to review your questions.
Avoid making the correct answer longer than the rest. This happens because the author wants to get the shades of meaning exactly right. Students know this and act on it.
Be careful in your use of grammar. For example the correct answer to An animal with a trunk is an [dog / elephant / frog]. is given away by the 'an'.
And finally ensure that there is only one correct response

5.2 Create, Preview, Edit

6 Writing your first Description