Home › MCQs › Education › Question #6782
Back to Questions
Education QUESTION #6782
Question 1
A test developer notices that one MCQ option is consistently longer and more qualified than the other three options, and it is also the correct answer. What test construction error has occurred and how should it be corrected?
  • The stem does not present a definite problem; rewrite the stem to be a direct question
  • The relative length of the correct answer provides an unintentional clue; revise distractors to be approximately equal in length to the correct answer by adding qualifying phrases✔️
  • There are too few distractors; add a fifth option
  • The item uses a negative stem; convert to a positive format
Correct Answer Explanation
Suggestion 8 in MCQ construction states: the relative length of alternatives should not provide a clue to the answer. Correct answers tend to require qualification to be unambiguously true, making them longer. The fix is to deliberately add similar qualifying phrases to the distractors to equalize length, removing the length clue while preserving plausibility.