by Valerie Erde

One of the things that distinguishes our VeridianPrep team from others is that we approach our work holistically. We work with an eye toward the end product of improved test scores and/or grades, of course, but we know that this outcome depends on more than just drilling subject matter. There’s a whole host of other factors that affect students’ ability to succeed, including psychosocial elements and current events (pandemic, anyone?).

Interestingly, the test instrument itself - how questions are written, for example - can affect a student’s performance. In the case of the ACT, SAT, AP exams, as well as so many regular high school classroom quizzes and tests, helping your student means really understanding the ins and outs of multiple choice tests (MCTs for short). Cracking the MCT code has big benefits because, like it or not, MCT is everywhere, and it doesn’t end in high school once that last final or AP exam is complete. It’s one of the most widely used assessment tools that your child will encounter - even in college.

You’ll Encounter Multiple Choice Testing Beyond High School

As you already know, multiple choice questions are widely used in K-12 classroom exams and quizzes, so getting a handle on the type of thinking required to solve these problems will help boost grades and reduce stress for students at all levels.  

But you (and your child) may be surprised to discover that colleges use MCT — a lot. In fact, all the colleges I researched for this post have guides for professors about designing MCTs as well as guides for students on taking them. Here’s an example from Duke University. If you thought that colleges were somehow beyond the basics of multiple choice, think again!

Just as colleges may require standardized tests for admission, so, too, do graduate schools. The GMAT, GRE, LSAT, and MCAT all have multiple choice sections to conquer. Continued academic studies requires continued multiple choice proficiency.

Beyond academia, MCTs are used in many other areas:  According to a great blog post from Washington University in St. Louis, these include workplace hiring, career advancement, and online dating. Work, school, and even romance? That’s a pretty big chunk of your life that’s affected by MCTs!

Why Are Multiple Choice Tests Challenging?

One big issue with multiple choice questions is that they are often poorly written. While AP/ACT/SAT questions do go through rigorous testing for academic level as well as gender and racial biases, the truth is that they don’t all follow test design “best practices.” 

For example, according to Yale’s Poorvu Center for Teaching and Learning, well-designed MCT questions avoid negative framing. This means that they introduce that main idea clearly up front and avoid using words like “not” and “except” to set up the questions.

Unfortunately, the ACT and SAT often break this basic test-design rule. Below are a few examples.

Breaking Multiple Choice Rules: ACT Reading

“According to the passage, which of the following is a theory about the evolution of brain size in primates that is supported by some scientists but NOT by Dunbar?”

This is a classic example of negative framing. The “not” placed near the very end of the question forces students to do a 180 on their thinking and go back to re-read to ensure they understand the question.

Breaking question design Rules: SAT Reading

The ACT/SAT test design can also trip up students when the test writers frame passage and question content in reverse.  See this example:

Breaking question & Answer design Rules: SAT Math

This question is doubly bad: it has negative framing in the questions and in one of the answer options, forcing several rounds of mental gymnastics to decipher what is being asked and to get to the correct response.

Distractor Answer Choices Are Designed To….Distract

We’ve seen how the wording of questions can be confusing, but multiple choice questions also include answers that are called “distractors.” These incorrect answer choices target common misconceptions by seeming plausible at first. In order to weed out distractors, you need to not only read carefully, but you also need to develop skills in order to discern almost plausible answers from the correct answer.

Multiple Choice Testing Gender Gap

In addition to assessment design affecting test performance, research suggests that gender also plays a role in multiple choice testing. Even though girls, on average, are outpacing boys in terms of GPA and college attainment, they tend to under perform on multiple choice tests (vs. how girls do on open ended questions or tests that include a mix). There are theories about why this occurs, including girls maybe harboring more of an aversion to guessing, but the research to date is inconclusive. 

Good News! You Can Improve Your MCT Skills

Like anything else, getting better at multiple choice questions takes practice. That’s why we recommend regular practice before sitting for the SAT or ACT. While nothing can take the place of that level of effort, you can also go into any test with more confidence knowing the tips:

1. Know the Test:  Section Timing and Question Formats

• Start by dividing the total minutes you are allocated by the number of passages or problems.  For example: 

SAT Reading: You have 65 minutes to read 5 passages and answer 52 questions. That means 13 minutes per passage, or 75 seconds per question.

ACT Reading: You have 35 minutes to read 4 passages and answer 40 questions. That means 8.75 minutes per passage, or 53 seconds per question.

• Use a watch/clock on your practice tests to get the timing down until you become familiar with the pacing.

• Both ACT and SAT math problems get progressively more difficult as you go, so you’ll want to work more quickly in the beginning to leave some additional time for the more challenging questions.

2. Be Flexible With Passage Order and Question Order

• If you need to skip a question that’s taking a really long time, bubble in a guess, flag it, and move on.  

• Mark any questions you are unsure of with a star or question mark to remind you to return to them later.

• Sometimes later questions will assist you in answering previous questions.

3. Try to Determine the Correct Answer Before Reading the Choices 

• Do not allow the answer choices to affect your reading of the question.

• Remember, if four answer choices are presented, three of them are incorrect. They are called distractors for good reason: they are written to appear correct at first glance.

4. Read the Question Carefully to Determine Exactly What It’s Asking

• Focus on and mark key words.

• Be especially careful to note “NOT” or “EXCEPT” questions. 

• For math, mark units or signs. Students often calculate the correct numeric answer, but still get the question wrong because they put the wrong sign (positive vs. negative or vice versa) or incorrect units (e.g. cents vs. dollars).

5. Read the Answer Choices Carefully

• Treat each answer choice as a true-false question as you analyze it. Sometimes a distractor will have some correct information in it, but all parts of a statement need to be true in order for the whole answer to be true. Mark a “T” or “F” next to each answer to help you keep track.

• Answers with strong language are usually incorrect: always, never, all, must, etc.

6. Try Not to Second-Guess Yourself 

• If you’ve narrowed things down to two choices and still feel uncertain, guess intelligently. Often, your first guess is the most intuitive.

• Avoid changing your answers. It wastes time and can lead to you talking yourself out of a correct choice.

Want Help Improving Your Test Taking Skills?

When you work with me, or any of our tutors, we help you not only with content mastery, but also with test-taking skills and strategies.  Get in touch if your student needs more help mastering the ins and outs of multiple choice tests.

If you need more help mastering the ins and outs of multiple choice tests, we’re here to help!