Unfortunately, various analyses of multiple-choice test questions have revealed that many of them do not test higher-order thinking abilities. Questions that test higher-order thinking abilities are difficult and time-consuming to write. But for many teachers, those teaching multiple courses and those teaching large sections, multiple-choice tests are really the only viable option, or at least that's what most faculty think. Here's an intriguing option that still retains the efficiency of machine-scoring but does involve more student thinking and cleverly motivates them to do this additional mental work.
