The Problem of Multiple Choice

Vocabulary Question:

I ______________ the memories of my Grandmother.

A.  hoist
B.  contract
C.  cherish
D.  avoid

This question is given on a professionally created, state purchased test (I just corrected it). Which did you answer? Were there any other possibilities?

How many students have been judged to have not understood the vocabulary, when in fact they understood it very well? Perhaps in seeing two possible answers, the student understands the use of vocabulary better than the professional who designed this question. It is often the case that one economic class tends to select one answer, while another class selects the other.

I see this kind of thing all the time when my students are state testing - questions that have multiple correct answers, depending on the view of the reader.  If the question writers tend to think in either/or terms and lack the empathy to perceive another perspective, it is easy for them to create many questions such as the one above.

There is value in multiple choice tests.  But presently, the success or failure of a school rests entirely on the results of a few multiple choice tests, given over the course of a week in late Spring.