6 Ways To Make Multiple-Choice Questions More Challenging For Students

How Can You Make Multiple-Choice Questions More Challenging For Students?

There are a number of ways in which you can make multiple-choice questions more challenging for students. Below are six specific ways in which this can be achieved.

Plausibility of options
Proximity of options
Number of options
Multiple correct options
Application of knowledge
Open-ended questions

We will now look individually at each of these six different ways to make multiple-choice questions more challenging for students.

What Are Multiple-Choice Questions?

Let’s first clarify what we mean by multiple-choice questions.

Multiple-choice questions are used to give students options when answering a question.

They will typically be lower order questions with one correct answer amongst a set of incorrect answers.

However, variations can be used, for example, where students are required to identify more than one correct response from a list or to identify the odd one out.

Providing options for students through multiple-choice questions makes this type of question highly accessible for students and makes it easy for every student to respond.

Find out more about types of questions teachers can ask in lessons.

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1. Plausibility of Options

The more plausible each of the options are, the more challenging the multiple-choice question will be for the student.

If the incorrect options are not plausible then the correct option will be much easier for the student to identify.

Similarly, this will mean the student is able to dismiss the incorrect options much more easily.

Therefore, when aiming to increase the level of challenge of the multiple-choice question, it is important to ensure that all options are plausible.

Below are three examples of multiple-choice questions which increase in challenge to the student based on the plausibility of the different options.

Example 1 (Easy)

Which country share a boarder with Germany?
(a) Brazil
(b) Canada
(c) Australia
(d) Poland

This example would be considered easy for most students to answer correctly as only one of the options is plausible (Poland).

Poland is plausible as it is in Europe but the other three countries are not plausible as they are not located in Europe.

Even if the student answering this multiple-choice question did not know that Poland bordered Germany, they could easily work out that Poland is the correct answer by simply dismissing the other options as implausible.

If this multiple-choice questions was re-written using four plausible options it would make the question more challenging for students.

Example 2 (Moderate)

Which country shares a boarder with Germany?
(a) Portugal
(b) Romania
(c) Spain
(d) Poland

By using four European countries as the four options, all the options become potentially plausible and this makes the multiple-choice question more challenging for students to answer correctly.

However, if the student is familiar with European geography they would know that Portugal, Romania and Spain are geographically near Germany.

Therefore, we could make this question even more challenging by using even more plausible options, such as European countries which are more closely situated to Germany.

Example 3 (Difficult)

Which country shares a boarder with Germany?
(a) Slovakia
(b) Slovenia
(c) Hungary
(d) Poland

This example is the most difficult to answer as the options are all highly plausible due to the the four countries being geographically close to Germany.

You can see from the three examples above that by increasing the plausibility of the options, the multiple-choice questions becomes more challenging for students to answer.

2. Proximity of Options

The closer the proximity of the options, the more challenging the multiple-choice question will be.

In other words, if the incorrect options are in close proximity to the correct option the student will find it more challenging to identify the correct option.

There are some similarities between proximity of options and plausibility of options.

However, proximity of options relates more to numerical options or options on a continuous scale, e.g. dates, times, amounts, etc.

The closer the proximity of the options, the more challenging the multiple-choice question will be.

In other words, if the incorrect options are in close proximity to the correct option the student will find it more challenging to identify the correct option.

Proximity of options is quite similar to plausibility of options but it would relate more to numerical options or options on a continuous scale, e.g. dates, times, amounts, etc.

Below are three examples of multiple-choice questions which increase in challenge to the student based on the plausibility of the different options.

Example 1 (Easy)

In which year was the microwave first used in a commercial kitchen?
(a) 1790
(b) 1820
(c) 1947
(d) 2020

This example is considered easy for most students to answer.

It is likely the student would have a rough idea as to when the microwave may have been invented: perhaps in the 1940s or 1950s the student may think, initially.

The options provided are not in close proximity to each other and span hundreds of years.

It would therefore be easy for the student to dismiss three of the options and identify ‘1947’ as the correct option.

In order to make this multiple-choice question more challenging you would need to bring the four options into closer proximity.

Example 2 (Moderate)

In which year was the microwave first used in a commercial kitchen?
(a) 1938
(b) 1947
(c) 1955
(d) 1962

This multiple-choice question is more challenging than the previous example because the options are in closer proximity to each other.

This makes the question harder for the student to answer as the incorrect options are not as easy to dismiss.

Let’s say the student starts with the same initial assumption, that the microwave was invented in the 1940s or 1950s, the student would have to think more carefully before opting for the correct answer (1947).

This type of multiple-choice question can me even more challenging if the the proximity of the options was reduced even further.

Example 3 (Difficult)

In which year was the microwave first used in a commercial kitchen?
(a) 1941
(b) 1944
(c) 1947
(d) 1949

This example is the most difficult to answer as the options are in very close proximity to each other.

Even if the student was confident that the microwave was invented in the 1940s, the student would still need to think very carefully about the exact date.

You can see from these three examples that the level of challenge provided by the multiple-choice question is increased by bringing the different options into closer proximity.

3. Number of Options

A multiple-choice question will be more challenging for students to answer if it contains more options to choose from.

This is really just common-sense.

When three or four options are provided it is easier for the student to identify the correct option or eliminate the incorrect options to make an informed guess.

With more options, the student will need to assess more potential answers and explore their knowledge of the topic in greater depths/breadth before they are able to select the correct option.

Example 1 (Easy)

Which of these snakes are poisonous?
(a) Anaconda
(b) Bull Snake
(c) Banded Krait
(d) Milk Snake

This multiple-choice question example contains four options for students to choose from.

If the student is unsure of the correct answer they will be able to make an educated guess more easily with only four options.

It is also easier for the student to dismiss and eliminate incorrect options.

Whereas, the example below contains eleven options which makes it more challenging for the student to make an educated guess and eliminate all incorrect options.

Example 2 (Difficult)

In which year was the microwave first used in a commercial kitchen?
(a) Northern Water Snake
(b) Four-Lined Snake
(c) Eastern Garter Snake
(d) Emerald Tree Boa
(e) Rough Green Snake
(f) Bull Snake
(g) Black Rat Snake
(h) Milk Snake
(i) Python
(j) Anaconda
(k) Banded Krait

It is more challenging for students to manage this number options.

It challenges their working memory and requires them to assess and evaluate more options.

(By the way, the correct answer is the Banded Krait).

4. Multiple Correct Options

Using multiple-choice questions which have more than one correct option will make the question more difficult for students to answer.

Rather than the student knowing that only one option is correct, they will be faced with the uncertainty of not knowing how many options are correct.

This uncertainty creates greater challenge.

It could be all options, some options or no options.

If a student is not certain of the correct option they will typically work through a process of elimination.

By having multiple potential correct options it reduces the chance of a correct guess and makes the elimination of incorrect options more challenging.

Example 1 (Single Correct Option)

Finish this sentence: A ligament…
(a) connects bone to bone
(b) connects bone to muscle
(c) connects muscle to muscle
(d) connects bones to nerves

In this example there is only one correct option (a).

In order to answer correctly, the student only has to know this single piece of information.

If more of the options provided were also correct the student would need to understand additional pieces of information and evaluate each option in greater detail.

Example 2 (Multiple Correct Options)

Finish this sentence: A ligament…
(a) connects bone to bone
(b) stabilises joints
(c) connects bone to muscle
(d) is an organ

In this example there are two correct answers (a and b) and the student will have to consider each option in greater detail to arrive at this correct conclusion.

If you are interested in exploring the most appropriate number of options to provide in a multiple-choice question, it was explored in a journal paper by Vyas and Supe (2008).

However, there is one thing I would like to stress here – do not use ‘all/none or the above’ as an option.

Firstly, there is simply no need to use it as an option.

If all the above are correct then the student can just select all the options above. Similarly, if none of the above are correct then they can simply not select any of the options above. So it’s use is largely pointless.

Also, this option is usually added when all/none of the above ‘is’ the correct option and students tend to know this and will select it when they see it.

Similarly, if it is used and it is not the correct option, then it can act as a red herring. As teachers we are not trying to trick or catch students out when asking questions so this is not really a good outcome.

Mainly, and most importantly, if a student selects the ‘all/none of the above’ option you can never be completely certain, as the teacher, that the student actually knows the correct answer. This makes checking learning very difficult.

5. Application of Knowledge

Asking students to ‘apply’ their knowledge with the use of ‘application questions‘ will increase the complexity of the multiple-choice question.

Application questions require students to think about how they would apply their newly acquired knowledge in real-world situations and scenarios.

This type of question will challenge students to think more deeply.

When learning new information in lessons, students can find is challenging to understand how the information relates to the real world around them and application questions create a bridge for this gap.

Rather than asking a student to provide a discrete answer to a question, such as ‘which year…’, or ‘what is the name of…’, the student should be asked to apply that information in a practical context.

These application questions often begin with ‘how’, ‘when’ and ‘why’.

Below are two examples, the first is a straight multiple-choice question which does not consider application and the second example is multiple-choice question which does consider application of knowledge.

Example 1 (No Application of Knowledge)

Which of the following symbols is an exclamation mark?
(a) :
(b) ;
(c) !
(d) ?

The answer is obviously (c), but for a child leaning these new symbols this is a valid question.

However, the student is only required to recognise the symbol as being an exclamation mark.

The student does not need to know how an exclamation mark it is used or why it is required. However, this knowledge can be assessed by using an application question.

The two examples below aims to demonstrate this.

Example 2a (Application of Knowledge)

Why would an exclamation mark be used in a sentence?
(a) To express a strong emotion, such as surprise, anger or fear.
(b) To indicate to the reader that a question has been asked.
(c) To connect two independent clauses.
(d) To identify when someone is speaking.

Example 2b (Application of Knowledge)

Where in a sentence would you place an exclamation mark?
(a) At the beginning.
(b) At the end.
(c) When a character is speaking.
(d) In the middle to separate two independent clauses.

It is clear for these two examples that by using application questions for the multiple-choice question that the teacher is able to challenge the student more to think about how they would use an exclamation mark and where it should be positioned.

This is a significant move away from the first example which only required the student to identify the exclamation mark.

This is deliberately quite a simplistic example, used to demonstrate the point, but the same principle applies to any topic.

The teacher can use application questions through multiple-choice questions to challenge students to think more about the application of knowledge.

To find out more about application question I recommend that you read the following article:

How To Ask Application Questions in Lessons

6. Open-Ended Questions

Multiple-choice questions are almost always phrased as closed questions.

This is typical as the purpose of multiple-choice questions is usually to check student understanding on a given topic.

Multiple-choice questions are also commonly used in exams and tests for this very purpose.

But teachers should also consider using multiple-choice questions which are framed as open questions.

An open question will have no single correct option and will instead typically have all options as being potentially correct – as long as the student is able to justify why they selected it.

So the purpose of asking open-ended multiple-choice questions is not to check student understanding, or whether they can select the correct option(s) or not, the purpose of asking open-ended multiple-choice questions is to promote new thinking and learning.

This in turn will lead to opportunities for discussion and debate and the use of higher order thinking skills as students attempt to explain, justify and argue their selected answer.

This type of multiple-choice question therefore moves students from a state of lower order thinking, such as knowledge, comprehension and retrieval of information (closed questions), to a state of higher order thinking, such as justification, analysis and synthesis of ideas (open questions).

The two examples below demonstrate how a closed question and an open question on the same topic can generate different modes of thinking and challenge students in a different way.

Example 1 (Closed Question)

What are Lewin’s (1939) three leadership styles?
(a) Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-Faire
(b) Coaching, Mentoring and Training
(c) Task, Team and Individual
(d) Relationship-orientated, Task-orientated and Bureaucratic

Like most multiple-choice questions, this example simply requires students to recall what they already know about Lewin’s leadership styles.

The correct answer is (a) Autocratic, Democratic and Laissez-Faire.

Once the student has answered this question correctly they are not required to think any further about this topic.

However, if this multiple-choice question was phrased as an open question the teacher can challenge the student to think more critically about the option they select.

The example below aims to demonstrate this.

Example 2 (Open Question)

Context: You are responsible for leading a complex project and have a project team made up of varying competence levels and motivation levels.

Considering Lewin’s (1939) leadership styles, which approach would you take to managing the team?
(a) Adopt an autocratic style to ensure those who are not competent or motivated are managed effectively.
(b) Adopt a democratic style as everyone has something valuable to contribute regardless of their level of competence or motivation.
(c) Begin with a laissez-faire style to allow the staff to demonstrate their levels of competence and motivation and once this is known adopt an autocratic or democratic style in response.
(d) Begin with an autocratic style to ensure everyone is managed closely and once staff prove they are competent and motivated adopt a laissez-faire style.

This example of an open multiple-choice question demonstrates how all four options can be potentially appropriate strategies to adopt.

Rather than simply recalling information (as in the closed question example above) students will be required to assess and evaluate each option and make an informed decision as to which leadership approach would be best suited.

All options could be selected and justified by the student as being the best approach to take.

Students should be encouraged to explain and justify their examples by using evidence and examples to support their thinking.

In the discussions that follow, specific questioning techniques could be used to facilitate discussion and debate. I recommend you read the following article to explore some of these questioning techniques for the classroom.

My Top 5 Questioning Techniques to Generate More Discussion and Debate in Lessons

Using These Techniques In Combination

We have explored six different ways to make multiple-choice questions more challenging for students to answer.

But teachers should not just consider these techniques in isolation – they can also be combined to increase challenge.

For example, the options provided for a multiple-choice question could be both plausible and consist of multiple correct answers.

Similarly, there could be multiple correct answers and a larger number of options.

Another example could include the use of an open-ended question which has four options in very close proximity to each other. Due to the narrow room for differentiation between options, students will have to think very critically and analytically when justifying their selected option.

I could obviously provide many examples to demonstrate how these six techniques could be used in combination to make multiple-choice questions more challenging of students, however I will refrain from further examples as I feel these three simple examples have made the point sufficiently.

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Author: Jonathan Sandling

Jonathan Sandling

I have an interest in humour and how it can enhance teaching, learning and leadership. I am a senior leader within the higher education sector in the UK and an EdD candidate at the University of Cambridge.