Talk:Multiple choice

The content of Single Best Answer was merged into Multiple choice on 19 October 2024. The former page's history now serves to provide attribution for that content in the latter page, and it must not be deleted as long as the latter page exists. For the discussion at that location, see its talk page.

formatting

I hate the way standard wiki deals with picture placement and flow of text so I just made a very terrible line to separate the illustrations from the rest of the text (because text was commin up all over the place where I didn't want it to be.

(do you seriously have to make tables to make images with captions come up on a line and other text to come up before and after it?)

MrMambo 23:24, 25 Apr 2004 (UTC)

This page needs some sprucing up. The example question in particular, seeing as how the answer given is incorrect (2 * .5 = .25. The correct answer would be 1, which isn't an option - which illustrates another negative for these sorts of tests). I think the guarantee that one of the answers listed is correct, and the ability to ferret out incorrect answers should probably be listed in the benefits/negatives section, probably as a negative. For example, the Nation Latin Exams use multiple choice tests, and I consistently managed to achieve a 90-somethingth percentile when taking it for this reason, despite having barely passed the course. Hardly an accurate reflection of what I'd learned. I suppose there's an argument to be made for it as a benefit, but I'm not the one to do so. --Xanzzibar 18:03, 12 Aug 2004 (UTC)

Ummm...2x + 3 = 4, hmmm... 2x = 1, x = .5 (divide both sides by two). Do you know how to do math?--naryathegreat 22:32, Aug 19, 2004 (UTC)

You're correct, I was squaring for some reason. I was obviously having a brain fart day. No need to be insulting. --Xanzzibar 06:17, 20 Aug 2004 (UTC)

merging

This really needs to be considered merging with multiple choice question. They cover different aspects of the same thing, and they really aren't separate concepts. -- Natalinasmpf 04:43, 11 October 2005 (UTC)[reply]

Structure?

I was asked about the "stem" of a multiple choice question. I don't know the answer and looked it up here, and I am chagrined not to find it. I assume the stem is the actual question, not the answer choices. Could someone who knows add this information to the article? Thanks.

Have added short part on the struture of an MCQ: stem, question, answer options. Yeknodd 09:38, 3 August 2006 (UTC)[reply]

badly written multichoice

something should be said about badly written, multichoice (eg those provided by teachers, who have no trainging in the makeing of multichoice questions) which are as involved as longer written (read: short answer or calculation) but are not worth as many marks, and don't provide working space. Oxinabox1 13:12, 31 May 2007 (UTC)[reply]

Electronic Marking

There should at least be some mention of this - perhaps under the "advantages" heading. No other type of test done on paper can be marked without human involvement. 121.44.51.193 (talk) 06:42, 16 November 2008 (UTC)[reply]

Its Not All About Assessment

This document seems only to consider the use of MCQ as an assessment aid. What about its use in surveys and evaluative research? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Scottie UK (talk • contribs) 11:39, 18 August 2010 (UTC)[reply]

Title of the page

Hey guys,

I think that MCQ stands for "Multiple Choice Questions"; shouldn't it be said in the first line of the definition (since MCQ redirects here)?

If we go further, shouldn't "Multiple Choice Questions" be title of the page? — Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.156.211.154 (talk) 07:52, 5 August 2011 (UTC)[reply]

Thorndike and Kelly

I don't understand the ultimate conclusion(s) of the second paragraph in the article:

Although E. L. Thorndike developed an early multiple choice test, Frederick J. Kelly was the first to use such items as part of a large scale assessment.[2] While Director of the Training School at Kansas State Normal School (now Emporia State University) in 1915, he developed and administered the Kansas Silent Reading Test. Soon after, Kelly became the third Dean of the College of Education at the University of Kansas. The first all multiple choice, large scale assessment was the Army Alpha, used to assess the intelligence of World War I military recruits.

After dismissing Thorndike's "early" test, we are told that Kelly was the first to use multiple choice for "large scale assessment". At the paragraph's end we are then told the Army Alpha test was the first "large scale assessment"; which, it turns out, was created by Thorndike. I can't find a date for Thorndike's test, but America entered WWI in 1917, so presumably Kelly was first, but followed very closely by Thorndike. The paragraph should be rewritten for clarity. 184.77.159.253 (talk) 00:16, 21 November 2011 (UTC)[reply]

"All of the above" discussion

As the vast majority of multiple choice tests instruct the test taker to "choose the best answer," the article's statement about the invalidity of the "all of the above" answer choice is false. If one selected A,B, or C and the answer was D (all of the above), then one would be wrong, since A, B, or C would not be the best answer. I propose that the sentence about "all of the above" answers be deleted or clarified. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.211.137.244 (talk) 04:48, 26 November 2015 (UTC)[reply]

External links modified

Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified one external link on Multiple choice. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:

Added archive https://web.archive.org/web/20110721041317/http://www.ncme.org/pubs/items/ITEMS_Mod_4.pdf to http://www.ncme.org/pubs/items/ITEMS_Mod_4.pdf

When you have finished reviewing my changes, you may follow the instructions on the template below to fix any issues with the URLs.

This message was posted before February 2018. After February 2018, "External links modified" talk page sections are no longer generated or monitored by InternetArchiveBot. No special action is required regarding these talk page notices, other than regular verification using the archive tool instructions below. Editors have permission to delete these "External links modified" talk page sections if they want to de-clutter talk pages, but see the RfC before doing mass systematic removals. This message is updated dynamically through the template {{source check}} (last update: 5 June 2024).

If you have discovered URLs which were erroneously considered dead by the bot, you can report them with this tool.
If you found an error with any archives or the URLs themselves, you can fix them with this tool.

Cheers.—InternetArchiveBot (Report bug) 19:34, 22 December 2017 (UTC)[reply]

A Commons file used on this page has been nominated for speedy deletion

The following Wikimedia Commons file used on this page has been nominated for speedy deletion:

Synap-web-spaced-repetition-quiz.png

You can see the reason for deletion at the file description page linked above. —Community Tech bot (talk) 06:25, 23 March 2019 (UTC)[reply]

Merge proposal

Single Best Answer (SBA) is a long-standing stub with a single source, best merged for context into the this broader Multiple choice page. The SBA nomenclature seems popular in UK medical training, but is a synonym best integrated here. Klbrain (talk) 14:33, 11 May 2024 (UTC)[reply]

Merge completed Klbrain (talk) 09:18, 19 October 2024 (UTC)[reply]

MCQ

I've been asked (by User:Itsmejames) for some reliable sources that use MCQ as an abbreviation, regarding the question of whether this should be included in the lede and included as part of the relevant DAB at MCQ. Here are a few:

Coughlin, P.A.; Featherstone, C.R. (November 2017). "How to Write a High Quality Multiple Choice Question (MCQ): A Guide for Clinicians". European Journal of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery. 54 (5): 654–658. doi:10.1016/j.ejvs.2017.07.012.
HWANG, ROBERT; PALEY, MAX; BULL, DAVID; OMRANI, OSAMA; VERGARA-JALANDONI, DIEGO; EGBURY, GERALD (October 2025). "A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis on the Impact of Peer-Made MCQ Question-Bank Usage on Summative Assessments in Medical Education". Journal of Advances in Medical Education and Professionalism. 13 (4). doi:10.30476/jamp.2025.104780.2084.
Tweed, Mike; Willink, Robin; Wilkinson, Tim J. (May 2024). "Using MCQ response certainty to determine how aspects of self‐monitoring develop through a medical course". Medical Education. 58 (5): 535–543. doi:10.1111/medu.15253.
Panchbudhe, Sanjyoti; Shaikh, Simran; Swami, Hanmant; Kadam, Charushila Y.; Padalkar, Ramchandra; Shivkar, Rajni R.; Gulavani, Gouri; Gulajkar, Supriya; Gawade, Shubhangi; Mujawar, Farheen (March 2024). "Efficacy of Google Form–based MCQ tests for formative assessment in medical biochemistry education". Journal of Education and Health Promotion. 13 (1). doi:10.4103/jehp.jehp_981_23.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
Bennett, J (December 1995). "How to handle the new-look MCQ". The Practitioner. 239 (1557): 713–5. PMID 8871479.

Removal of MCQ as an acronym

I propose adjusting how “MCQ” is presented in this article. Per MOS:ACRO and MOS:JARGON, Wikipedia generally prefers plain-English terms over acronyms unless the acronym is the dominant/common name in reliable sources and broadly familiar to general readers.

“Multiple-choice question” is the standard term in a large body of educational measurement and classroom assessment literature, and the acronym is not required to discuss or define the concept. For example, the following books discuss multiple-choice/selected-response items without framing the term around “MCQ”:

Marzano, Robert J.; Norford, Jennifer S.; Ruyle, Mike (2018). The New Art and Science of Classroom Assessment. Solution Tree Press. ISBN 978-1945349157.

Gerberich, Joseph Raymond (1956). Specimen Objective Test Items: A Guide to Achievement Test Construction. Longmans, Green.

Stiggins, Richard J. (1994). Student-Centered Classroom Assessment. Merrill. ISBN 978-0024173508.

Haladyna, Thomas M.; Rodriguez, Michael C. (May 17, 2013). Developing and Validating Test Items (1st ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0415876056.

Haladyna, Thomas M. (April 21, 2004). Developing and Validating Multiple-Choice Test Items (3rd ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0805846614.

I’m not disputing that “MCQ” appears in some contexts (especially in certain professional or regional usage). My concern is with giving it undue prominence as a “known acronym” in the general definition. If others disagree, please provide reliable sources showing that “MCQ” is the predominant/common term in general English usage (not limited to a narrow subfield), consistent with WP:COMMONNAME and WP:WEIGHT. Itsmejames (talk) 19:22, 13 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

Thanks for bringing this to the talk page, although it's generally best to continue discussion in a section that's already been created rather than to start your own section. As you've seen in the preceding section, I've already given examples from different reliable sources, in sources spanning decades, its use in titles - this suggests that it is so widely accepted by a range of source that they allow it to be used without definition. I therefore argue that it should by used in the list of known synonyms in the lede. Nothing in MOS:ACRO or MOS:JARGON precludes this. Klbrain (talk) 19:51, 16 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]

MOS:ACRO (first line: “Use sourceable abbreviations”) and MOS:JARGON, Wikipedia shouldn’t introduce or normalize abbreviations unless they are genuinely established in independent reliable sources as the common way to refer to the concept for a general audience.

Here, the article can be written perfectly clearly as “multiple-choice question” throughout. Keeping “MCQ” adds jargon and gives it legitimacy/weight that isn’t necessary for comprehension (WP:WEIGHT, WP:LEAD). I’m also concerned about WP:CIRCULAR: once Wikipedia foregrounds “MCQ,” downstream materials can repeat it while effectively relying on Wikipedia’s framing.

Given that “MCQ” was first added to this article in 2020, sources published after 2020 are not persuasive for establishing independent usage here, because they may simply be reflecting Wikipedia’s wording (WP:CIRCULAR). To justify retaining “MCQ,” we would need independent, high-quality sources (pre-2020) showing it is a broadly common general-English term for this concept, not primarily regional/exam-prep shorthand; otherwise it should be removed. Itsmejames (talk) 19:23, 24 January 2026 (UTC)[reply]