A good test paper should be reliable, accurate, clear, and aligned with the purpose of conducting the test. Here, we’ll discuss how to write good test questions and explore a few examples for creating different types of questions.
Tests, quizzes, and exams are conducted to evaluate the participants based on the knowledge they gained, their recollection abilities, and critical thinking skills. It helps teachers, trainers, and HRs assess the participants for a pre-defined purpose. The marketing teams also use quizzes and questions to get feedback from customers.
It’s no surprise that the questions you create determine the results. If you want valid information from respondents, you need to provide them with accurate questions. This makes writing test questions an important part of the process. The right question will elicit the expected response from the person.
So, how to write good test questions that serve your purpose? How can you ensure your questions are accurate, reliable, and fair?
Let’s find out in this blog, along with some good examples.
How to Write Questions for a Test?
Before you write the questions for a test or quiz, it is important to understand the five-point checklist. Make sure your test paper aligns with the below elements.
Purpose
The first factor to consider when creating test questions is the purpose. Why are you conducting this test? What do you want to achieve from this?
Impact
The next element is impact. How high or low are the stakes for you and the participants? How will the results impact both parties?
Validation
The intent of conducting a test is to gather data for assessments and to arrive at a decision. So, which types of questions will give you the right result? How should you validate the answers?
Reliability
The test results should be based on the real knowledge of participants and not due to cheating or dishonesty. How can you ensure the questions will measure responders’ knowledge accurately?
Efficiency
Is the test paper (questions, difficulty level, duration, marking, etc.) realistic enough to give a proper result? Does it create a level playing field for the participants?
8 Tips for Writing Effective Test Questions
What is the best way to write a test? Here are a few useful tips to follow when creating a test paper.
1. Be Fair and Unbiased
The test questions should be relevant to the chosen topic and should not give some participants an advantage over others due to external factors.
2. Aim for Accuracy
Prepare the test questions yourself, if it is your domain. Don’t use existing test papers without checking them thoroughly and making the necessary changes.
3. Use an AI Test Generator
Save time by using an AI question generator for teachers like PrepAI. This is a comprehensive test maker for teachers, students, trainers, etc., and can convert different types of input content into MCQs, true/ false, fillups, and descriptive questions. It is built on Bloom’s Taxonomy framework to generate questions that test higher-order thinking skills and abilities.
4. Mix Question Types
Mixing question types is useful when done correctly. How to create test questions of different types? You can use an AI quiz generator for this. Make sure questions of each time are clubbed together to make the test paper uniform and better structured.
5. Avoid Grammatical Errors
Triple check the questions to ensure there are no typos or grammatical errors. This can lead to confusion and other issues. Students may be disappointed or protest about unfairness.
6. Don’t Use Double Negatives
Double negatives make a positive. However, it is not always straightforward. Avoid complicated questions. Instead of saying ‘why should you not avoid anti-tetanus injections’, simply say ‘why get a tetanus vaccine’.
7. Stick to One Idea Per Question
Don’t combine different ideas or topics in the same question, even if they are related. Separate them into two or more questions. Make sure each question has a single focus area.
8. Provide Clear Instructions
The question should give all the instructions to students in clear words. Don’t assume they will interpret vague statements. Use words like ‘what, when, why, how, discuss, explain’ to state what you want them to do. If there are any additional instructions, mention them below the question (for example- include a diagram, write the formula, etc.).
How to Structure Test Questions?
The structuring process depends on the type of test questions you use. For example, multiple choice questions are framed differently from true or false questions or descriptive questions.
Moreover, the overall structuring or formatting of the test paper should also be considered. It is recommended to be clear, transparent, and specific. Sprinkle hard questions between easy ones. However, follow a set order for question types – questions of the same type should be together and not scattered throughout.
Good Test Questions Examples
There are different advantages and disadvantages of question types. For example, true or false questions are great for assessing surface-level knowledge but are not suitable to determine whether the participant really knows the answer or if it was guesswork.
You can minimize the disadvantages if you follow this short guide on how to write good test questions for teachers:
Multiple Choice Questions
Multiple choice questions (MCQs) can test factual knowledge as well as analytical abilities. The statement or question is called stem, while the answers are divided into one correct answer and 2-4 distractors. However, writing a good MCQ can be tricky. Let’s see, how to write a good multiple choice question?
A good stem would be clear, straightforward, and to the point. The language has to be simple and without fluff. The negatives in the questions should be highlighted in bold or capital letters. The keywords in the stem can be repeated in all the options listed for it. The distractors should be relevant to the topic and seem to be plausible solutions.
The options should be mutually exclusive and appear uniform in length and size. Opt for 3-5 choices (not more). Don’t include complex choices like ‘A and C’ or ‘B and A’. Options like ‘All the Above’ or ‘None of the Above’ should also be limited, and these should not be the right answers every time.
Improper/Inaccurate example –
There are 200 different cells in the human body, which are grouped into four categories and form the fundamental tissues. These affect growth, metabolism, reproduction, and other provides a response to stimuli. What are these four types of cells?
- Muscle, connective, nerve, and epithelial
- Bone, blood, internal organs, and cavities
- Stem, muscle, sperm, and nerve
- All the above
- None of the above
- A and C
(Here, the question is too long and contains unwanted information, which confuses the students. There are many options to choose and can create a lot more confusion during an exam than necessary. Options B and C contain elements from option A, which means they are not mutually exclusive even if option A is the correct answer.)
Better example –
What are the four basic cell types in the human body?
- Endocrine, nervous, and circulatory
- Muscle, connective, nerve, and epithelial
- Cytoplasm, lysosomes, plasma, and mitochondria
- Digestive, circulatory, musculoskeletal, and integumentary
This is how you write quiz questions to enhance clarity for participants and increase the reliability of the test.
True or False Questions
How to write good exam questions for true or false options? With true or false, students can guess the possible answer despite the lack of knowledge. However, the phrasing must be absolute to avoid confusion. Don’t write grammatically tricky questions with multiple interpretations.
Improper/Inaccurate example –
The liver is a major organ in the human body. It produces insulin and bile juice.
(Here, half the statements are true – the liver is one of the major organs. It produces bile. The pancreas produces insulin.)
Better example –
The liver is one of the major organs in the human body and secretes bile juice.
Short Answer Questions
Descriptive questions for short answers are easy to create manually or using online tools like test maker for teachers. However, ensure the question is clear, to the point, and deals with a single theme or idea.
Improper/Inaccurate example –
The human heart is a complex organ that rests between the two lungs. How many chambers are there for different purposes? Name these chambers and their roles, along with details like which has the thickest wall and the location of nodes.
(Here, the question is too long. It provides many details and asks for more than one answer.)
Better example –
Discuss the chambers of the human heart with a diagram.
(The question is simple and includes all elements without mentioning them.)
Conclusion
This is a comprehensive guide to know how to write good test questions for different purposes and requirements. Whether you are a teacher, educator, trainer, or marketer, creating good questions is a prerequisite to getting the expected results. Thanks to technology, you can invest in an AI question generator tool like PrepAI to automate the process of creating high-quality questions for various tests, quizzes, and exams. The questions can be edited to ensure they align with your requirements and accurately assess the participants.
