Multiple Choice Tests

TEST TAKING STRATEGIES

Multiple choice questions usually include a phrase or stem followed by three to five options.

TEST STRATEGIES:

q Read the directions carefully

q Know if each question has one or more correct options

q Know if you are penalized for guessing

q Answer easy questions first

ANSWERING OPTIONS:
Improve your odds by thinking critically!

q Cover the options, read the stem, and try to answer

Select the option that most closely matches your answer

q Read the stem with each option

Treat each option as a true-false question, and choose the “most true”

STRATEGIES TO ANSWER DIFFICULT QUESTIONS:

q Eliminate options you know to be incorrect

q Question options that grammatically don’t fit with the stem

q Question options that are totally unfamiliar to you

q Question options that contain negative or absolute words

Try substituting a qualified term for the absolute one, like frequently for always; or typical for every to see if you can eliminate it

q “All of the above:”

If you know two of the three options seem correct, “all of the above” is a strong possibility

q Number Answers:

Toss out the high and low and consider the middle range numbers

q Look Alike Options:

Probably one is correct; choose the best, but eliminate choices that mean basically the same thing and thus cancel each other out

q Echo Options:

If two options are opposite each other, chances are one of them is correct

q Favor Options that contain qualifiers:

The result is longer, more inclusive items that better fill the role of the answer

q If two alternatives seem correct,

Compare them for differences, then refer to the stem to find your BEST answer

GUESSING:

q Always guess when there is no penalty for guessing.

q Don’t change your answers unless you are sure of the correction.

q Use hints from answers that you know to answer questions you do not know.