Testing Strategies

Steven P. Lewis, M.S. DRC Learning Specialist CC 008 801-957-4659 lewisst@slcc.edu

How to Prepare for A Multiple Choice Exam

Studying for a multiple choice exam requires a special method of preparation distinctly different from an essay exam. Multiple choice exams ask a student to recognize a correct answer among a set of options that include 3 or 4 wrong answers (called distractors ), rather than asking the student to produce a correct answer entirely from his/her own mind.

For many reasons, students commonly consider multiple choice exams easier than essay exams. Perhaps the most obvious reasons are that

  1. The correct answer is guaranteed to be among the possible responses. A student can score points with a lucky guess.
  2. Many multiple choice exams tend to emphasize basic definitions or simple comparisons, rather than asking students to analyze new information or apply theories to new situations.
  3. Because multiple choice exams usually contain many more questions than essay exams, each question has a lower point value and thus offers less risk

Despite these factors, however, multiple choice exams can actually be very difficult. Consider that:

  1. Because multiple choice contain many questions they force students to be familiar with a much broader range of material than essay exams do.
  2. Multiple choice exams also expect students to have a greater familiararity with details such as specific dates, names, or vocabulary than most essay exams do. Students cannot easily "bluff' on a multiple choice exam.
  3. Finally, because it is much more difficult for a teacher to write good multiple choice questions than to design essay questions, students often face higher risks due to unintended ambiguity.

To prepare for a multiple choice exams consider the following steps:

  1. Begin studying early. Multiple choice exams tend to focus on details, and you cannot retain many details effectively in short-term memory. If you learn a little bit every day and allow plenty of time for repeated reviews, you will build a much more reliable long-term memory.
  2. . Make sure that you understand thoroughly everything that your instructor emphasized in class. Pay particular attention to fundamental terms and concepts that describe important events or features
  3. Concentrate on understanding multi-step processes, and on ideas, events, or objects that form natural sequence or groupings.

Answering Multiple Choice Questions

There are many strategies for maximizing your success on M-C Exams. The best way to improve your chances, of course, is to study carefully before the exam. There is no good substitute for knowing the right answer. Even a well prepared student can make silly mistakes on a M-C exam or can fall prey to distractors that look very similar to the correct answer.

Here are a few tips to help reduce these perils:

  1. Before you begin taking the exam enter all pieces of required information on your answer sheet.
    If you are so eager to start that you forget to enter your name and ID number, your results may never be scored. Remember your instructor will not be able to identify you by handwriting, or similar text clues.
  2. Always cover up the possible responses with a piece of paper or with your hand while you read the stem , or body of the question. Try to anticipate the correct response before you are distracted by seeing the options that your instructor has provided.
  3. If you see the response that you anticipated, circle it and then check to be sure that none of the other responses is better.
  4. If you do not see a response that you expected, then consider some of the following strategies to eliminate responses that are probably wrong.
    1. Responses that use absolute words such as"always" or "never" are less likely to be correct than ones that use conditional words like "usually" or "probably."
    2. "Funny" responses are usually wrong.
    3. "All of the above" is often the correct answer. If you can verify that more than one of the other responses is probably correct, then choose "all of the above."
    4. "None of above" is usually an incorrect answer but this is less reliable than the "all of the above" rule. Be very careful not to be trapped by double negatives.
    5. Look for grammatical clues. If the stem ends with the indefinite article "an" for example, the correct response probably begins with a vowel.
    6. The longest response is often the correct one because the instructor tends to load it with qualifying adjectives or phrases.
    7. Look for verbal associations. A response that repeats key words that are in the stem is likely to be correct. h. If you must guess, when you guess choose response (b or c). Many instructors subconsciously feel that the correct answer is "hidden" better by distractors. Response a) is usually least likely to be the correct one.

    **** If you cannot answer a question within a minute or less, skip it and plan to come back later (circle or highlight the question).

    **** Transfer all responses to the answer sheet at the same time, once you have answered all questions on your exam. (If you try to do several things at once, you increase the probability of making a mistake. Saving the relatively mindless task of filling in the bubbles until the last step reduces the probability of making silly errors)

  5. Be sure you have filled the appropriate bubbles in pencil.

Multiple best answer questions:

**** The best way to arrive at an answer is to change the questions to true false statements and put a + and - next to an answer indicating whether it is true or false.
If all are - then none of the above
If all are + then all of the above

Example:

The largest segment of poor people in America includes:

- a. single males
- b. single females
+ c. single mothers with children
- d. older Americans **** If you are sure of two of the answers, and only one answer can count, all of the above is usually the answer

Example:

The United States has:


+ a. One of the highest infant mortality rates in the industrialized world
+ b. The highest incarceration rate per-capita in the world
? c. One of the highest rates of illiteracy in the industrialized world
+ d. All of the above

**** If numbers are involved, usually it will be a middle number because test writers usually include a number above and below the answer.

Example:

The average IQ for the general population is:
-a. 75
-b. 80
+c. 100
-d. 110

**** Discard foolish answers

Example:

The average height for males in the U.S. is:
a. 4' 6" (discard)
b. 5' 8"
c. 5' 10"
d. 6'6" (discard)

**** Increase the chance of guessing correctly on multiple guess questions:
- If in doubt about the answer, try to narrow it down to 2 choices
- If the answer items include 2 opposite statements, often one of them is the correct answer

Example:

Lee Harvey Oswald was:
a. accused of killing JFK
b. not accused of killing JFK
c. the first man on the moon
d. the inventor of the transistor

**** If the answer items include 3 similar statements and I opposite or different statement, often the different item is the correct answer

**** Read the lead or first part of the question with each of the possible answer choices. If an answer choice doesn't make grammatical sense with lead question, it probably isn't the correct answer.

© 1999 misha@cybergal.com