Berikut ini kita akan membahas tatacara dan aturan penulisan soal pilihan ganda (Multiple Choice Questions). Setelah serangkaian peraturan dijelaskan. Setelah itu Anda akan diberi contoh soal untuk didiskusikan. Diskusi mencakup apakah sebuah butir soal sudah memenuhi syarat sebagai soal yang ’baik’ ataukah masih diperlukan revisi.
About Multiple Choice Questions:
- A multiple choice question is most suitable for assessing learning outcomes at the recall and comprehension levels.
- A multiple choice question does not allow test takers to construct, organize, and present their own answers.
- A multiple choice question enables the test takers to arrive at a correct answer simply by guessing.
Basic Rules
1. Design each item to measure a specific objective.
2. State the stem and options as simple and directly as possible.
3. Be sure that there is only one correct answer.
4. Do not provide clues to the correct answer.
5. Each item should measure a specific aspect of language learning.
6. Each must be independent.
7. Do not provide an answer to an item in a stem of another item.
Components of a Multiple Choice item:
- Stem (presents a stimulus)
- Options, usually 3 - 5 (give alternatives to choose from), one is the key, the others are distractors.
The Stem:
A stem can be:
1. A complete statement (test takers choose the best response)
2. A complete question with wh-questions (test takers choose the best answer).
3. An incomplete sentence (test takers choose the correct form).
The Options:
- Must be in an equal form and, if possible, length.
- Must be correct by itself
- Must contain only one correct answer. (It becomes `correct` only after it is used in the stem or to respond to it.
- Use uppercase A, B, C, D, E instead of lowercase a, b, c, d
Rules for Constructing Multiple Choice Items
- The stem should contain the central problem and all qualifications, including words that would otherwise be repeated in each alternative. For example, if the incomplete statement form is used, it must clearly imply a specific question. The pupil should not be required to construct his own ques tion by consulting the options.
- Each item should be as short as possible, consistent with clarity. Otherwise, it may be more a test of reading ability than is desirable, or, at least, require too much valuable testing time.
- Try to avoid negatively-stated stems, but if the negative form is used, emphasize the fact by underlining or using italics. Negative items increase testing opportunities, but it is well to group them together and to underscore such words as 'not,' 'never,' and 'least.'
- The stem should, without aid from other items, state the problem of the question fully. Items should be largely independent of each other whenever possible, though several of them may refer to a common passage; for instance, four or five questions can be based on the same paragraph to be read.
- Ask for the best answer or use terms such as "most" and "primary" if more than one answer is at least partially correct. One alternative should clearly be best. For example, "The one factor generally considered most important in causing the United States to enter World War 11 at the time that it did was ...."
- The omissions in incomplete statements should usually not occur early in the stem. This might lead to confusion and necessitate excessive rereading of the stem. There are instances in which exceptions to this and other rules should be made.
- The linguistic difficulty of items should be low. The incidental vocabulary and phrasings used in items should not be above the general level, nor should technical terms which have not been studied be used.
- Try to test a different point with each item. A long test may actually cover only a few points if it repeatedly tests the same point with slightly different items. Many aspects can usually be tested if some care is taken; consequently there is better sampling of instructional objectives.
- When there is a logical sequence in which alternatives can occur (as in order of magnitude, temporal sequence, and so on), use it, but be sure that in the test as a whole each option occurs as the keyed response approximately as frequently as any other option. Avoid regularly recurring patterns of correct responses, for pupils are likely to detect them.
- Distractors must be plausible and attractive if the item is to measure real understanding. Distractors (foils, decoys) are the incorrect options. They must be prepared at least as carefully as is the keyed option, or they will not elicit responses from the unknowledgeable. For ideal discrimination among pupils a five-option item should be of 50 percent difficulty when corrected for chance. Therefore, it should be answered correctly by about 60 percent of the students who mark it. Devising excellent multiplechoice items is a highly creative process, particularly in the preparation of distractors.
- Make all optional responses grammatically consistent with the stem. Inconsistent articles, changes in tense, and the like may nullify otherwise excellent distracters.
- The length, explicitness, or degree of technicality of alternatives should not vary with correctness. A highly qualified, cautiously worded option is likely to be both long and correct. A strange technical word in an option often signifies a distracter, for if a reasonably competent student cannot recall having ever seen it before, the chances are good that it is not the keyed answer. Inexperienced item writers and item writers who are not completely familiar with the topic being tested are prone to use such options.
- Alternatives should be rather homogeneous in subject content, form, and grammatical structure.
- Avoid unintentionally allowing the correct response to occur appreciably more often in one option position than in another. This is the reverse of the logical-sequence suggestion in rule 9, above, and was covered there. Having precisely the right number of options correct in each position might help the best students, who know most of the answers, to infer answers to items about which they are uncertain.
- Have at least four options per item unless doing so requires using implausible options. Five alternatives per item are optimal for many situations, but sometimes six or more excellent options may be available. For certain materials, as few as two options per item may be best. The number of options from item to item may even be varied.
- Avoid poetic repetition of sounds or repetition of words or phrases between the stem and the correct answer. It is legitimate, even desirable, to incorporate in the incorrect responses phrasing, which would be weaknesses in the correct response.
- Avoid textbook wording or stereotyped phraseology.
- Avoid stems that reveal to another item. One item should not help the students answer another item that is meant to be independent of it.
- Alternatives should not overlap, include, or be synonymous with one another,especially within a given item.
- Avoid specific determiners such as "always" and "never," except occasionally to foil test-wise examinees who know about specific determiner; students know that few things are always true or never true.
- In testing the understanding of a term or concept, one should usually present the term first, followed by a series of definitions or descriptions from win the choice is to he made. If the order is reversed, so the one that best fits the definition or descriptive statement is chosen from a series of terms.
How to Start Writing a Multiple Choice Test
Example:
Text 1.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Sleek®
Toilet Cleaner
Kill germs while leaving Pleasant Fragrance
- Effectively kills germ.
- Suitable for floors and bathrooms.
- Leaves a refreshing fragrance
- Eliminates unpleasant bathroom, toilet, drain and waste odors.
Directions:
- Pour contents of refill pouch into empty bottle of Sleek Toilet Cleaner.
- For mopping floors, add 1 bottle cap of Sleek Toilet for every liter of water.
- To eliminate unpleasant odors such as those emanating from drains or waste bins, pour directly on the source of these odors.
Caution:
- Replace bottle cap immediately after use.
- Keep out of children’s reach.
- Do not swallow and avoid contact with eyes.
Sleek® the best product for you.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
First, decide what to ask. Refer to the blueprint or test specification. e.g. a question about the topic, a stated detail, implied information, and a word meaning.
Then, start to write the stem.
For example,
- What does the text tell you about?
- What is the above product effective for?
- The caution shows that the product is … for children.
- What does the word “eliminate” in “To eliminate unpleasant odors…” mean?
The next step (if possible) is to give those open ended questions to a group of learners. Use their responds as a precious source for writing your options. If not possible, think of another 2 or 3 (wrong) answers very similar to your key answer (i.e., similar in forms and length, and, most importantly, all should be mentioned somewhere in the given text).
Finally, write your multiple choice questions.
For example,
1. What does the text tell you about?
a. Toilet
b. Sleek
c. Fragrance
d. Odor
2. What is the above product effective for?
a. To kill germs in the toilet.
b. To replace the waste bins.
c. To avoid children from waste.
d. To decrease certain fragrance.
3. The caution shows that the product is … for children.
a. good
b. nice
c. dangerous
d. useful
4. “To eliminate unpleasant odors…”
What does the word “eliminate” mean?
a. Remove
b. Increase
c. Ensure
d. Disappear
Task 1. Discussion
(Discuss in small groups: Is each of the following items a good or questionable one? Why? Then compare the answers to other groups’ answers. Suggest a revision.)
(A text about figures is given.)
1. According to the text above, a figure that has eight sides is called an:
A. pentagon
B. quadrilateral
C. octagon
D. ogive
Good or bad? ................................................
Why? .................. ...........................................
Revision (if needed) ............................................................................................
.................................................................................................. ............................
............................................................................................................................. .
2. As compared to autos of the 60s, autos in the 80s ....
A. travelling slower
B. bigger interiors
C. to use less fuel
D. was less constructed in foreign countries
E. contain more safety features
Good or bad? ................................................
Why? .............................................................
Revision (if needed) ...................... ......................................................................
............................................................................................................................. .
.......................................................... ....................................................................
3. According to the text, Germany ....
A. is located in Asia
B. produces large quantities of gold
C. has no direct access to the ocean
D. is a flat arid plain
Good or bad? ............. ...................................
Why? .............................................................
Revision (if needed) ............................................................................................
............................................................................................................................. .
............................................................................................................................. .
That's all my explanation about "Cara membuat Multiple Choice Questions". Pelajari dengan teliti. Semoga bermanfaat.