Multiple Choice Questions

A historical and still existing example of didactic pedagogy is multiple choice reading comprehension questions. In multiple-choice reading comprehension questions, there is only one correct answer choice. If the student doesn’t select that answer, they are deemed to have not understood the question or what the writer of the question has identified as correct information or the correct inference from the passage. Multiple-choice questions are still used as a primary method to assess the comprehension of written passages. For example, the GRE (Graduate Records Exam) continues to use multiple-choice questions to measure the test takers ability to analyze and evaluate passages, which includes author’s intent and the relationships among words and concepts. (1)

If literacy is defined as how people make meaning of the world, it is possible that people can make many various meanings due to many factors including culture, language, socio-economic background, and more. A limitation of multiple-choice questions is that they only have one correct answer, and there is a right answer and a wrong answer, regardless of why or how a test-taker came to choose the wrong answer. An additional limitation is that multiple-choice questions may also ask readers to answer questions about small components from the passage that are not engaging or important, because the correct answer can be implicitly located in the text. Due to the limitations of the multiple-choice format, multiple-choice questions limit interpretation of a text and may not engage students.

In addition to the limitations of this multiple-choice question format, advice and instruction for students on how to succeed when answering multiple-choice questions is also presented in a didactic format. For example, in an language arts book Enjoying English students are instructed to read the passage twice, before reading any of the questions. (2) They are given a total of six very explicit instructions that must be followed in order. These instructions do not allow for variety in interacting with the passage, the questions or the possible answers.

Some advantages of multiple-choice questions can include a shorter amount of time for test-scorers to grade the test and the content or knowledge covered on the test can be wide ranging. However, given the limitations of multiple-choice questions test designers should carefully consider the question and the possible answers.

As teachers we should try to use multiple choice questions in coordination with essay questions. Essay questions make students try the language and get confidence.