The effect of the number of distractors and the "None of the above" - "All of the above" options in multiple choice questions

Understand

Multiple choice questions (MCQs) are commonly used for assessment in higher education.

• With increased use of on-line examination it is likely that the usage of MCQs will be even more in years to come.
• It is therefore of interest to examine some characteristics of these type of questions such as the effect of the number of distractors used and the "None of the above" (NOTA) or "All of the above" (AOTA) options.
• The tutor-web is an open-source, on-line drilling system that is freely available to anyone having access to the Internet.