D.4 Multiple-Choice Test Items cont'd

DOE-HDBK-1204-97

Is the test item or problem defined in the stem?

Are tricky or irrelevant test items avoided?

Are the answer options homogeneous, highly plausible, and comparable length?

Are "none of the above" and "all of the above" avoided?

Is one response clearly the correct or best answer accompanied by three or four

distractors?

Is each test item stated positively, unless the intent is to test knowledge of what not

to do?

Is the test item free of "specific determiners" (e.g., logical or grammatical

inconsistencies, incorrect answers which are consistently different, verbal

associations between the stem and the answer options)?

Are common misconceptions used as distractors?

Are the answer options of the test items ordered sequentially?

Is the test item free of trivial distractors? Does the stem include irrelevant, trivial

detail or instructive information?

Are the references, attachments, and data included in the stem or identified following

the stem? The drawings accompanying the stem may proceed, be to the right of, or

below responses or distractors as space permits.

Are the correct responses varied from test item to test item in a random fashion?

Are there equivalent and/or synonymous options that rule out both options for a

trainee who recognizes the equivalence.

D-7