critical thinking multiple choice questions

• OnlineExamMaker
• Candidate Management System
• Question Bank Software
• Online Proctoring Software
• AI Question Generator
• Quiz Certification Creator
• Online Survey Maker
• Online Exam Tools
• ELearning Resources
• Learning Management
• Questions & Answers
• Create a Quiz

30 Critical Thinking Quiz Questions and Answers

Critical thinking is a cognitive process that involves analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information, ideas, and arguments to form well-reasoned judgments and make informed decisions. It is a fundamental skill that enables individuals to approach problems and challenges with clarity, objectivity, and logical reasoning. Critical thinking goes beyond simply accepting information at face value; it involves questioning, reasoning, and examining evidence to arrive at sound conclusions.

Overview of Critical Thinking:

Analyzing Information: Critical thinking begins with the ability to analyze and break down complex information into its component parts. It involves identifying key elements, patterns, and relationships within the data or arguments.

Evaluation: Critical thinkers assess the credibility and relevance of information or sources. They look for evidence to support claims and consider potential biases or logical fallacies that might influence the accuracy of the information.

Problem-Solving: Critical thinking is essential for effective problem-solving. It helps individuals identify the root causes of problems, generate potential solutions, and evaluate the best course of action based on available evidence.

You can build engaging online quizzes with our free online quiz maker .

Decision Making: Critical thinking plays a vital role in decision-making processes. It helps individuals weigh the pros and cons of various options, anticipate potential consequences, and make informed choices.

Objectivity: Critical thinkers strive to be objective and impartial in their analysis. They try to minimize personal biases and emotions that might cloud judgment and hinder rational decision-making.

Article outline

Part 1: 30 critical thinking quiz questions & answers.

1. Critical thinking involves: a) Accepting information without question. b) Analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information. c) Ignoring evidence that contradicts personal beliefs. d) Avoiding curiosity and inquiry. Answer: b) Analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information.

2. What is the role of objectivity in critical thinking? a) Embracing personal biases and emotions. b) Seeking out multiple perspectives. c) Ignoring evidence that supports personal beliefs. d) Minimizing logical reasoning. Answer: b) Seeking out multiple perspectives.

3. Which of the following is not a component of critical thinking? a) Logical reasoning b) Open-mindedness c) Emotional bias d) Analyzing information Answer: c) Emotional bias

4. Critical thinking is essential for: a) Avoiding decision-making altogether. b) Making decisions based on emotions alone. c) Making informed and rational decisions. d) Accepting information without questioning. Answer: c) Making informed and rational decisions.

5. What does skepticism mean in the context of critical thinking? a) Accepting information without questioning. b) Seeking out evidence to support claims. c) Ignoring different perspectives. d) Being closed-minded and resistant to new ideas. Answer: b) Seeking out evidence to support claims.

6. Critical thinkers are encouraged to be: a) Curious and open-minded. b) Rigid and inflexible in their thinking. c) Emotionally biased. d) Overly trusting of sources without verification. Answer: a) Curious and open-minded.

7. In critical thinking, information literacy refers to: a) Avoiding information altogether. b) Being easily influenced by misinformation. c) The ability to evaluate and use information effectively. d) Accepting information without question. Answer: c) The ability to evaluate and use information effectively.

8. Why is reflection important in critical thinking? a) To ignore personal biases and assumptions. b) To avoid questioning one’s beliefs. c) To self-reflect on thinking processes and assumptions. d) To accept information without question. Answer: c) To self-reflect on thinking processes and assumptions.

9. Critical thinkers approach problems by: a) Defining problems inaccurately. b) Rushing into solutions without understanding the problem. c) Asking probing questions and understanding the root causes. d) Ignoring different perspectives. Answer: c) Asking probing questions and understanding the root causes.

10. What is the connection between critical thinking and decision-making? a) Critical thinking hinders effective decision-making. b) Critical thinking leads to irrational decision-making. c) Critical thinking enables informed and rational decision-making. d) Critical thinking avoids making decisions altogether. Answer: c) Critical thinking enables informed and rational decision-making.

11. Which of the following is an example of metacognition in critical thinking? a) Ignoring different perspectives. b) Avoiding questioning one’s beliefs. c) Thinking about one’s thinking processes and strategies. d) Making decisions based on emotions alone. Answer: c) Thinking about one’s thinking processes and strategies.

12. Ethical considerations in critical thinking involve: a) Ignoring the impact of decisions on others and society. b) Making decisions without regard to personal values. c) Considering the potential impact on others and society. d) Avoiding evidence that contradicts personal beliefs. Answer: c) Considering the potential impact on others and society.

13. The critical thinking process includes: a) Accepting information without question. b) Avoiding logical reasoning. c) Analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information. d) Being closed-minded and resistant to new ideas. Answer: c) Analyzing, evaluating, and synthesizing information.

14. Why is intellectual humility important in critical thinking? a) To ignore different perspectives. b) To be rigid and inflexible in thinking. c) To be overly confident in one’s knowledge. d) To acknowledge the limits of one’s knowledge and be open to learning from others. Answer: d) To acknowledge the limits of one’s knowledge and be open to learning from others.

15. How can critical thinking be beneficial in problem-solving? a) By avoiding any form of decision-making. b) By accepting information without question. c) By questioning assumptions and seeking evidence-based solutions. d) By making decisions based on emotions alone. Answer: c) By questioning assumptions and seeking evidence-based solutions.

Part 2: Download critical thinking questions & answers for free

Download questions & answers for free

16. The term “skepticism” in critical thinking means: a) Seeking out evidence to support claims. b) Ignoring different perspectives. c) Being closed-minded and resistant to new ideas. d) Accepting information without questioning. Answer: a) Seeking out evidence to support claims.

17. What is the significance of logical reasoning in critical thinking? a) To minimize the influence of evidence and data. b) To avoid questioning one’s beliefs. c) To draw sound conclusions based on evidence and reasoning. d) To be overly trusting of sources without verification. Answer: c) To draw sound conclusions based on evidence and reasoning.

18. Critical thinkers strive to be objective. What does this mean? a) To embrace personal biases and emotions. b) To consider different perspectives and minimize personal biases. c) To ignore evidence that supports personal beliefs. d) To be rigid and inflexible in thinking. Answer: b) To consider different perspectives and minimize personal biases.

19. In critical thinking, what is the role of curiosity and inquiry? a) To accept information without question. b) To be closed-minded and resistant to new ideas. c) To seek out multiple perspectives and ask probing questions. d) To avoid questioning one’s beliefs. Answer: c) To seek out multiple perspectives and ask probing questions.

20. What is the connection between critical thinking and creativity? a) Critical thinking hinders creativity. b) Critical thinking involves accepting information without question. c) Critical thinking supports the generation of innovative solutions and ideas. d) Critical thinking ignores different perspectives. Answer: c) Critical thinking supports the generation of innovative solutions and ideas.

21. The process of analyzing and breaking down complex information into its component parts is known as: a) Evaluation b) Synthesizing c) Objectivity d) Analysis Answer: d) Analysis

22. What is the purpose of asking probing questions in critical thinking? a) To minimize personal biases. b) To consider different perspectives. c) To seek out evidence to support claims. d) To explore and understand the root causes of a problem. Answer: d) To explore and understand the root causes of a problem.

23. Critical thinkers strive for precision in their language and arguments to ensure: a) Clarity in communication. b) Avoidance of different perspectives. c) Minimization of evidence and data. d) Rigid and inflexible thinking. Answer: a) Clarity in communication.

24. What is the connection between open-mindedness and critical thinking? a) Open-mindedness hinders critical thinking. b) Open-mindedness allows for different perspectives and questioning of assumptions. c) Open-mindedness ignores evidence that supports personal beliefs. d) Open-mindedness involves accepting information without question. Answer: b) Open-mindedness allows for different perspectives and questioning of assumptions.

You might like to know

Create an auto-grading quiz/assessment without any coding – try OnlineExamMaker today !

25. Why is information literacy important in critical thinking? a) To avoid questioning one’s beliefs. b) To minimize the influence of evidence and data. c) To locate, evaluate, and use information effectively from various sources. d) To embrace personal biases and emotions. Answer: c) To locate, evaluate, and use information effectively from various sources.

26. In critical thinking, what is the significance of reflection? a) To seek out multiple perspectives. b) To embrace personal biases and emotions. c) To self-reflect on thinking processes and assumptions. d) To avoid questioning one’s beliefs. Answer: c) To self-reflect on thinking processes and assumptions.

27. What is the role of metacognition in critical thinking? a) To be closed-minded and resistant to new ideas. b) To think about one’s thinking processes and strategies. c) To avoid questioning one’s beliefs. d) To ignore different perspectives. Answer: b) To think about one’s thinking processes and strategies.

28. Critical thinkers consider ethical considerations when making decisions to: a) Ignoring the impact of decisions on others and society. b) Making decisions without regard to personal values. c) Consider the potential impact on others and society. d) Avoid evidence that contradicts personal beliefs. Answer: c) Consider the potential impact on others and society.

29. How does intellectual humility impact critical thinking? a) To avoid different perspectives. b) To be rigid and inflexible in thinking. c) To be overly confident in one’s knowledge. d) To acknowledge the limits of one’s knowledge and be open to learning from others. Answer: d) To acknowledge the limits of one’s knowledge and be open to learning from others.

30. Critical thinking enables individuals to approach problems and challenges with: a) A closed-minded and resistant mindset. b) A clear, rational, and logical mindset. c) Emotional bias and personal beliefs. d) Accepting information without question. Answer: b) A clear, rational, and logical mindset.

Part 3: Free online quiz maker – OnlineExamMaker

With OnlineExamMaker quiz maker, teachers can easily create, customize, and distribute quizzes with just a few clicks. The intuitive interface provides a range of question types, including multiple-choice, true or false, fill in the blank, and open-ended questions, enabling users to make professional assessments that suit their specific needs.

Create Your Next Quiz/Exam with OnlineExamMaker

Related Posts

PHP (Hypertext Preprocessor) is a popular server-side scripting language primarily used for web development. It…

Design Thinking is a problem-solving and innovation methodology that focuses on creating human-centered solutions to…

Perl is a high-level, general-purpose programming language originally developed by Larry Wall in 1987. It…

Share this post:

20 Types Of Questions For Teaching Critical Thinking

What are some of the most common types of questions for teaching critical thinking? This led to many dozens of answers.

What Are The Best Questions For Teaching Critical Thinking?

by Terry Heick

What are the different types of questions? Turns out, it’s pretty limitless.

I’ve always been interested in them–the way they can cause (or stop) thinking; the nature of inquiry and reason; the way they can facilitate and deepen a conversation; the way they can reveal understanding (or lack thereof); the stunning power of the right question at the right time.

There’s a kind of humility to questions. Someone who doesn’t know asks someone who might. Or even someone who does know (rhetorically) asks someone who doesn’t to produce an effect (rhetorically). There’s a relative intimacy between someone asking and answering questions, one that says, ‘We need one another.’

It’s from that kind of perspective that TeachThought was founded, so it was surprising to me when I realized recently that, after years of writing about questions and questions stems and the power of questions and so on, I hadn’t ever written about the types of questions.

After doing some research, I realized that identifying clearly what the ‘types of questions’ are isn’t easy because there isn’t a set number. Much like when I wrote about  types of transfer of learning or types of blended learning , it was clear that although I kept seeing the same categories and question types, there really wasn’t a limit. When I asked myself, ‘What are the different kinds of questions?’ I was asking the wrong question.

A slight adjustment: What are some of the most common types of questions? What are the categories of questions? What are the most common forms of questions? This led to many dozens of answers. There are dozens of types of questions and categories of questions and forms of questions and on and on and on. An entire book could be written about the topic (if not a series of books).

But we have to start somewhere, so below I’ve started that kind of process with a collection of types of questions for teaching critical thinking –a collection that really needs better organizing and clearer formatting. Hopefully I can get to that soon.

Let’s start out with some simple ones.

Common Types Of Assessment Questions

Multiple-choice/Single : A question with multiple available answers for the responder to choose from but only one correct solution

Multiple-Choice/Multiple : A question with multiple available answers for the responder to choose from and more than one correct solution

See The Problem With Multiple-Choice Questions

True-or-false : A statement that the responder must decide is ‘true’ or ‘false’

Fill in the blank : A statement with a key piece of information missing that the responder must add to make the statement complete and true

Matching : Most commonly, Matching Questions have two columns and each column has items categorized by a clear rule that must be matched to items on the opposing column. For example, the column on the left can have words and the column on the right can have definitions. Other possibilities:

Left Column/Right Column: Inventors/Inventions; Forms of Government/Strengths and Weaknesses, Geometric Shape/Formula to calculate area; etc.

A variation of the Matching Question has one column holding more items than the other. This generally makes the question more complex–or at least more difficult–as the responder can’t be sure all items are used and must be more selective. Deductive reasoning (process of elimination, for example) is less accessible to the responder.

Short-Answer : This is less close-ended than the above common assessment questions types. In a short answer, the responder must answer the prompt without the benefit of any additional information or possible answers.

Analogies : These aren’t exactly a type of ‘question’ but analogies excellent assessment tools and can be used in many of the other forms of questions–multiple-choice for example.

Pig : Mud :: Bird: _____ (simple)

Pig: Mud :: Mitochondria: ___ (less simple)

What Are The Different Categories Of Questions?

This one isn’t simple or standardized either. There are simply too many different ways to think about inquiry.

You could, for example, use every level of Bloom’s Taxonomy and say that there are ‘Evaluation-level questions’ and ‘Analyze-level’ questions and ‘Remember’ and so on. A lot of this comes down to function: as a teacher, what are you wanting the question to ‘do’? With that in mind, let’s look at just a few examples (this is by no means an exhaustive list).

The Definition of Factual Questions: Questions with unambiguous, more or less universally accepted objective answers based on knowledge.

The Definition of Interpretive Questions : Questions meant to interpret something else –a comment, work of art, speech, poem, etc. The emphasis here is on the thinking process and will often result in an improved understanding of that ‘other’ (rather than demonstrating knowledge as is the case in a Factual Question. Responses to Interpretive Questions should be evidence-based but are inherently subjective, open-ended, and ongoing.

The Definition of Evaluative Questions : Questions that emphasize one’s personal opinion–of the value of a law or the strength of an author’s thematic development, for example.

Analytical Questioning and Didactic Questioning are common forms of questioning and inquiry whose role is simple and whose patterns are clear and plain enough to see and follow.

The Definition Of Analytical Questions: Questions meant to understand–to identify the ‘parts’ and understand how those parts work together and depend on and affect one another. Analytical Questions depend on other higher-level thinking skills like classifying, attributing, and organizing by rules or other phenomena.

An example of an Analytical Question might be to ask a student about character motivation in a novel or how science drives technology–“What is the protagonist’s motivation in the story and how do we know?” or ‘Why was this event important?’.

The Definition Of Didactic Questions: Structured, formal questions commonly about facts and knowledge at the recall and comprehension level, including remembering, describing, explaining, naming, identifying, etc.

Examples Of Didactic Questions: ‘Who, what, where and when’ can be examples of Didactic Questions while ‘Why’ tends more toward an Analytic Questions (see below).

Sidenote: Questioning And The Socrative Method

The Socrative Method is among the most well-known version of the Didactic approach, where students are (or can be, depending on how the seminar is structured) guided by ‘more knowledge others’ (MKO) personalized and extended reflection through inquiry. This, of course, can result in the thinker shedding their own dogma and reaching enlightenment.

It’s not very scalable in a classroom with one teacher and 34 students, which is where the Socrative Seminar comes in–a ‘built-for-the-classroom structure to bring learning-through-questioning’ into traditional educational spaces. This Socrative Seminar (or ‘Method’) is a formal approach to inquiry-based conversation where open-ended questions are used to facilitate discussion by students who respond to prompting from the teacher or comments and questions from other students. It’s not exactly a ‘type of question’ but is a format to use questions to promote understanding in a classroom.

This method is dialectical and dialogic, depending on the ability of students and teachers to be able to verbalize often complex and abstract thinking. A ‘good’ question in a Socrative Seminar would be much different than a ‘good’ question on a criterion-referenced assessment. What is a ‘good question’?

The quality of a question, then, is highly contextual–and to answer it with any clarity, you have to be able to answer: For that student in that situation at that time, what did that question  do ? What was the  effect  of that question?

See also ‘ The Relationship Between Quality And Effect .’

Types Of Questions For Teaching

Clarifying Question : A question meant to clarify something–either a question asked by the teacher to clarify the answer a student gives or what the student thinks or a question asked by the student to the teacher to clarify something (a statement, a task, a question, etc.)

Probing Questions : A probing question does what it sounds like it might: Serves as an inquiry tool to explore a topic or a student’s thinking and existing understanding of a topic. Probing questions also have different forms, including Emphasizing, Clarifying, Redirecting, Evaluative, Prompting, and Critical Analysis.

Thinking Over Time Questions : Questions that reflect on an idea, topic, or even question over time. This can emphasize change over time and lead to cause/effect discussions about the changes. This can also focus on metacognition–one’s thinking over time and how it has changed, etc.

Extending Questions : Questions meant to continue to lead a discussion, assessment, or ‘learning event,’ often after a ‘successful’ event immediately prior. For example, if a student is asked a question about adding fractions and they answer successfully, the teacher can ask an ‘Extending Question’ about adding mixed numbers or decimals.

Deepening Questions : Similar to Extending Questions, a Deepening Question increases in complexity rather simply extending what’s been learned. In the scenario above, after answering the question about adding fractions, a teacher could ask how exponents or the order of operations might affect adding fractions.

Transfer Questions : Questions meant to ‘laterally’ extend an idea without necessarily becoming more complex. If discussing the orbit of Saturn, you could ask an ‘Extending Question’ meant to take knowledge gleaned from that discussion and apply it

Contextualizing Questions : Questions meant to clarify the context of a topic/question/answer rather than to elicit an ‘answer.’

Perspective-Based Questions : Questions focused on the effect perspectives have on answers and/or ‘truth.’ Perspective Questions can also be asked from specific points-of-view–a student could answer a question about government from the perspective of a modern citizen, citizen of an ancient culture, famous historical figure, specific political party, etc.

Concrete Questions : Usually a ‘close-ended’ question, Concrete Questions ask students to provide ‘concrete’ answers–names, quantities, formulas, facts, characteristics, etc. See the following item for an example.

Metaphorical & Abstract Questions : The opposite of Concrete Questions, Abstract Questions intended to draw attention to or more closely understand abstract ideas or the abstraction in non-abstract ideas.

These can also be thought of as Thematic or Conceptual Questions. For example, asking a student to identify the three branches of the US government would be a ‘Concrete Question’ while asking them to describe, from their perspective, the virtues of democracy or how ‘freedom’ affects citizenship are examples of Perspective-Based Abstract Questions.

Compare & Contrast Questions : Questions that–you guessed it–ask students to identify the way two or more ‘things’ (concrete or abstract, for example) are the same and different.

Claim/Critique & Defend Questions : Questions (or prompts) that ask students to make a claim or issue a ‘criticism’ (e.g., of an argument), then defend that claim or criticism with concrete evidence.

Cause & Effect Questions : Another more or less self-explanatory category, Cause & Effect Questions require students to separate cause from effect or focus on mostly causes or mostly effects. These can be Concrete or Abstract, or Perspective-Based as well.

Open-Ended Questions : Often subjective questions meant to promote conversation, inquiry, etc. Open/Open-ended questions are central to Socrative Dialogue (though closed/yes or no questions can be just as effective at times because questioning is an art).

Closed Questions : Questions with yes or no answers generally used to check for understanding, emphasize an idea, or uncover information

Leading Questions : Questions meant to ‘lead’ the thinking of the responder in a specific direction for an intellectual or psychological effect

Loaded Questions : Questions embedded with an underlying assumption–one that might contain faulty reasoning, bias, etc. This question is characterized by those faulty or otherwise distracting assumptions rather than the assessment or answer.

Dichotomous Question : A type of Closed Question with only two answers (generally Yes/No)

Display Questions (Known Information Question): A way to check for understanding; a type of question that requires the answerer to ‘perform’ or demonstrate their understanding by answering a question the questioner already knows the answer to.

Then there are  Referential Questions : An inherently subjective question, Referential Questions produce new information and can be either open or closed-ended questions.

An Example of a Referential Question: Which character in Macbeth would be most likely to be a successful YouTuber (or ‘streamer’) today?

Rhetorical Questions : A question asked to create some form of effect rather than produce an answer. These are useful in discussions but can also be used in writing as well. After all, who is going to answer a question posed by an author in an essay?

Epistemic Questions : Questions about the nature of knowledge and understanding. This is more of a content-based category rather than a universal ‘type of question,’ though asking students about the nature of knowledge in math or science–how we form it, how we know if it’s accurate, the value of that knowledge, etc.–can be used in most content areas.

Divergent Questions : According to Wikipedia , a divergent question is a “question with no specific answer, but rather exercises one’s ability to think broadly about a certain topic.”

Inductive Questions : Questions meant to cause or induce the responder to form general principles theories based on observation, evidence, or data. In inductive reasoning, the conclusion or argument becomes more general than the premises that prompted it.

Deductive Questions : Questions meant to support the responder in forming a the given theory based on continued testing. In deductive reasoning, the conclusions drawn are less general (i.e., more specific) than the premises given and in a valid deductive line of reasoning, the conclusion must be true if the premises are true.

5 Ws Questions : Wonderfully simple and devastatingly effective questions: Who, What, Where, Why, and When? And you can add ‘How’ to the list, too. These include Who, What, and Where questions? These can be useful in guided discussion, reflection prompts, the formation of essential questions , and more.

Examples Of Using ‘5 Ws Questions’ For Critical Thinking

What’s the point?

What’s the big idea?

What’s the purpose?

What is the process?

What’s more important here? Less important?

What crucial information are we missing?

What did they think or believe and how did that belief change over time? What contributed to that change?

Why should I learn this?

What should I do with what I’ve learned?

What is the author, speaker, write, or artist ‘saying’ here? What are they underlying assumptions of that message?

What is the author’s point of view? What do I believe and how does that affect what I think others believe–or how does it affect what I think about what they do believe?

What should I ask about this?

How can I improve the questions I or others have already asked?

Is the answer wrong or is the question ‘wrong’?

Education Expert

Founder & Director of TeachThought

• AON Hewitt G.A.T.E.
• PI Cognitive Assessment (PLI Test)
• Korn Ferry Leadership Assessment
• Berke Assessment
• Ergometrics
• Thomas International
• Predictive Index (PI)
• NEO Personality Inventory
• Leadership Assessment
• Gallup’s CliftonStrengths
• Sales Personality Tests
• Personality Management Tests
• Saville Wave
• McQuaig Word Survey
• Bell Personality Test
• Myers Briggs Personality Test
• DISC Personality Test
• Management SJT
• Supervisory SJT
• Administrative SJT
• Call Center SJT
• Customer Service SJT
• Firefighter SJT
• Numerical Reasoning Tests
• Verbal Reasoning Tests
• Logical Reasoning Tests
• Cognitive Ability Tests
• Technical Aptitude Tests
• Spatial Reasoning Tests
• Abstract Reasoning Test
• Deductive Reasoning Tests
• Inductive Reasoning Tests
• Mechanical Reasoning Tests
• Diagrammatic Reasoning Tests
• Fault Finding Aptitude Tests
• Mathematical Reasoning Tests
• Critical Thinking Tests
• Analytical Reasoning Tests
• Raven’s Progressive Matrices Test
• Criteria’s CCAT
• Matrigma Test
• Air Traffic Controller Test
• Administrative Assistant Exam
• Clerical Ability Exam
• School Secretary Tests
• State Trooper Exam
• Probation Officer Exam
• FBI Entrance Exam
• Office Assistant Exam
• Clerk Typist Test
• Police Records Clerk Exam
• Canada’s Public Service Exams
• Firefighter Exams
• Police Exams
• Army Aptitude Tests
• USPS Postal Exams
• Hiring Process by Professions
• Recruiting Companies

Select Page

Critical Thinking Test: Online Preparation & Free Practice Questions – 2024

• Information
• Free Example Questions

What Is Critical Thinking?

Critical thinking is a form of decision making and reasoning using data and observations. Someone who is a strong critical thinker can find quality solutions efficiently and can evaluate issues objectively.

What Is a Critical Thinking Test?

Critical thinking tests provide companies valuable insight into the leadership, reasoning, and overall capabilities of candidates. Because strong critical thinking skills are highly sought after, the critical thinking test can be applicable to any field and discipline across multiple levels of expertise from recent graduate to executive. However, it is commonly administered to those applying for criminal justice and business-related occupations.

Job seekers with upcoming critical thinking tests will be evaluated on more than their ability to rationalize, critical thinking tests also measure the following subsets:

• Organizing & Planning
• Strategizing
• Decision Making
• Problem Solving

The format of the critical thinking uses hypothetical scenarios to assess candidates. The scenarios are typically relevant to the field you are interested in to assess your knowledge of the role. There will also be general questions concerning more basic issues or problems that commonly occur in a workplace environment.

The critical thinking test is multiple-choice with thirty minutes to complete the assessment. Candidates will receive a notification stating whether or not they passed within a week of completion.

How Is the Critical Thinking Test Scored?

The critical reasoning test is scored based on your raw score and your percentile in comparison with your norm group. It’s important to note that these will not be the same number.

A norm group is a collection of scores from individuals in your field at your level of experience. The percentile score is used to alert employers if you exceed, meet or miss the benchmark for the average expectations of candidates. You will be rated on a scale of one to one hundred with fifty consisting of the mean and median scores.

A raw score is simply the number of correct answers. The critical thinking test comprises your raw score based on the performance in the following areas:

• Recognizing Assumptions The candidate must be able to understand when a statement is made with no supporting evidence and how this can affect a decision. Further, candidates are asked to identify these discrepancies, whether they are stated explicitly or implicitly, and assess its relevance to the given scenario.
• Evaluating Arguments Candidates must evaluate arguments without considering inferences or being subjective. Beyond that, candidates must assess the supporting evidence, the structure of the argument and the degree of its influence. It is very important to dismiss emotions for this portion of the critical thinking test.
• Drawing Conclusions Drawing conclusions puts a large emphasis on reasoning. In this section, it’s important to assess all of the available evidence and data to form a plausible conclusion that accurately applies to all the given information. Employers also want to see candidates that will consider all possible solutions rather than making the evidence fit a desired narrative.

Employers will receive all of this information in a performance report construed by the assessment company. Employers will also be given insight into your overall potential, job knowledge, creativity and job performance per the report.

Where Will I Take a Critical Thinking Test?

Critical thinking tests are non-proctored online assessments that are typically sent via email after an initial screening. For some occupations, the company may ask that the candidate take the critical thinking test again on-site either before their final interview or during an assessment day. The most common test candidates are asked to take is the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) created by the popular assessment company, Pearson . This assessment company is on their third edition with new scoring and subsets described above. The WGCTA gained popularity because of its ability to assess a candidate’s potential alongside their aptitude. Another established assessment is the SHL Critical Reasoning Battery that contains sixty questions with a thirty-minute time limit. Both of the aforementioned critical thinking tests are multiple choice.

How to Prepare for the Critical Thinking Test?

The critical thinking test is difficult to study for because the test is designed to assess your bare knowledge and raw skills. In order to prepare successfully, it is important to focus on the areas of the test that you can equip yourself for. One aspect of the test that demands preparation is the time limit. Many candidates’ scores are negatively impacted because they skip or guess too many of the questions in an attempt to beat the clock. If you want to optimize your chances of achieving a good score, use online practice tests to acquaint yourself with the time constraint and the general theme of the questions. By utilizing the online practice tests, you can find the pace that works best for you. Another helpful way to prepare is running through sample questions. This way, you can warm-up your brain and gain an understanding of the expectations that both the test and the company have of you.

Free Sample Questions to Practice

• Look over her past quizzes to see what she missed.
• Set aside more time during the week to review the material for the quiz.
• Get to class on early Wednesday and briefly look over the chapters.
• Get a good night’s sleep.
• Parents should find an alternative way to get their kids to school next week.
• The premiums must be over-priced.
• Collective bargaining is no longer a feasible solution.
• Their employers are being unreasonable.
• People in Hawaii dislike living on an island.
• Colder climates induce more happiness than warmer climates.
• The high scores on the Alaska survey were produced by people who enjoy snow.
• People in Hawaii should move to Alaska.
• Jenny’s credit card was declined at the mall.
• Jenny’s bank keeps charging her $30 overdraft fees.
• Jenny’s check bounced when she attempted to purchase a new TV.
• Jenny spends more money than she makes.
• Lori has thirty cans of soda in a refrigerator in her garage and another fourteen sitting on the counter. Lori does not have anymore cans of soda. Therefore, Lori has 44 cans of soda.
• The accounting department loves math. My friend works in the accounting department. My friend loves math.
• Everyone southbound on the freeway yesterday was late to work. Jackie was southbound on the freeway. Jackie was late to work.
• Adrian lives in either Springfield, California, or Springfield, Illinois. If he lives in Illinois, then he is an American.

Aptitude Tests

• Aptitude Tests Guide
• Numerical Reasoning Test
• Verbal Reasoning Test
• Cognitive Ability Test
• Critical Thinking Test
• Logical Reasoning Test
• Spatial Reasoning Test
• Technical Aptitude Test
• Inductive Reasoning Test
• Analytical Reasoning Test
• Deductive Reasoning Test
• Mechanical Reasoning Test
• Non-Verbal Reasoning Tests
• Diagrammatic Reasoning Test
• Concentration Assessment Test
• Finance Reasoning Aptitude Test
• Fault Finding (Fault Diagnosis) Test
• Senior Management Aptitude Tests
• Error Checking Tests
• In-Basket Exercise

Center for Teaching

Writing good multiple choice test questions.

Constructing an Effective Stem

Constructing effective alternatives.

• Additional Guidelines for Multiple Choice Questions

Considerations for Writing Multiple Choice Items that Test Higher-order Thinking

Additional resources.

Multiple choice test questions, also known as items, can be an effective and efficient way to assess learning outcomes. Multiple choice test items have several potential advantages:

Reliability: Reliability is defined as the degree to which a test consistently measures a learning outcome. Multiple choice test items are less susceptible to guessing than true/false questions, making them a more reliable means of assessment. The reliability is enhanced when the number of MC items focused on a single learning objective is increased. In addition, the objective scoring associated with multiple choice test items frees them from problems with scorer inconsistency that can plague scoring of essay questions.

Validity: Validity is the degree to which a test measures the learning outcomes it purports to measure. Because students can typically answer a multiple choice item much more quickly than an essay question, tests based on multiple choice items can typically focus on a relatively broad representation of course material, thus increasing the validity of the assessment.

The key to taking advantage of these strengths, however, is construction of good multiple choice items.

A multiple choice item consists of a problem, known as the stem, and a list of suggested solutions, known as alternatives. The alternatives consist of one correct or best alternative, which is the answer, and incorrect or inferior alternatives, known as distractors.

1. The stem should be meaningful by itself and should present a definite problem. A stem that presents a definite problem allows a focus on the learning outcome. A stem that does not present a clear problem, however, may test students’ ability to draw inferences from vague descriptions rather serving as a more direct test of students’ achievement of the learning outcome.

2. The stem should not contain irrelevant material , which can decrease the reliability and the validity of the test scores (Haldyna and Downing 1989).

3. The stem should be negatively stated only when significant learning outcomes require it. Students often have difficulty understanding items with negative phrasing (Rodriguez 1997). If a significant learning outcome requires negative phrasing, such as identification of dangerous laboratory or clinical practices, the negative element should be emphasized with italics or capitalization.

4. The stem should be a question or a partial sentence. A question stem is preferable because it allows the student to focus on answering the question rather than holding the partial sentence in working memory and sequentially completing it with each alternative (Statman 1988). The cognitive load is increased when the stem is constructed with an initial or interior blank, so this construction should be avoided.

1. All alternatives should be plausible. The function of the incorrect alternatives is to serve as distractors,which should be selected by students who did not achieve the learning outcome but ignored by students who did achieve the learning outcome. Alternatives that are implausible don’t serve as functional distractors and thus should not be used. Common student errors provide the best source of distractors.

2. Alternatives should be stated clearly and concisely. Items that are excessively wordy assess students’ reading ability rather than their attainment of the learning objective

3. Alternatives should be mutually exclusive. Alternatives with overlapping content may be considered “trick” items by test-takers, excessive use of which can erode trust and respect for the testing process.

4. Alternatives should be homogenous in content. Alternatives that are heterogeneous in content can provide cues to student about the correct answer.

5. Alternatives should be free from clues about which response is correct. Sophisticated test-takers are alert to inadvertent clues to the correct answer, such differences in grammar, length, formatting, and language choice in the alternatives. It’s therefore important that alternatives

• have grammar consistent with the stem.
• are parallel in form.
• are similar in length.
• use similar language (e.g., all unlike textbook language or all like textbook language).

6. The alternatives “all of the above” and “none of the above” should not be used. When “all of the above” is used as an answer, test-takers who can identify more than one alternative as correct can select the correct answer even if unsure about other alternative(s). When “none of the above” is used as an alternative, test-takers who can eliminate a single option can thereby eliminate a second option. In either case, students can use partial knowledge to arrive at a correct answer.

7. The alternatives should be presented in a logical order (e.g., alphabetical or numerical) to avoid a bias toward certain positions.

8. The number of alternatives can vary among items as long as all alternatives are plausible. Plausible alternatives serve as functional distractors, which are those chosen by students that have not achieved the objective but ignored by students that have achieved the objective. There is little difference in difficulty, discrimination, and test score reliability among items containing two, three, and four distractors.

Additional Guidelines

1. Avoid complex multiple choice items , in which some or all of the alternatives consist of different combinations of options. As with “all of the above” answers, a sophisticated test-taker can use partial knowledge to achieve a correct answer.

2. Keep the specific content of items independent of one another. Savvy test-takers can use information in one question to answer another question, reducing the validity of the test.

When writing multiple choice items to test higher-order thinking, design questions that focus on higher levels of cognition as defined by Bloom’s taxonomy . A stem that presents a problem that requires application of course principles, analysis of a problem, or evaluation of alternatives is focused on higher-order thinking and thus tests students’ ability to do such thinking. In constructing multiple choice items to test higher order thinking, it can also be helpful to design problems that require multilogical thinking, where multilogical thinking is defined as “thinking that requires knowledge of more than one fact to logically and systematically apply concepts to a …problem” (Morrison and Free, 2001, page 20). Finally, designing alternatives that require a high level of discrimination can also contribute to multiple choice items that test higher-order thinking.

• Burton, Steven J., Sudweeks, Richard R., Merrill, Paul F., and Wood, Bud. How to Prepare Better Multiple Choice Test Items: Guidelines for University Faculty, 1991.
• Cheung, Derek and Bucat, Robert. How can we construct good multiple-choice items? Presented at the Science and Technology Education Conference, Hong Kong, June 20-21, 2002.
• Haladyna, Thomas M. Developing and validating multiple-choice test items, 2 nd edition. Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1999.
• Haladyna, Thomas M. and Downing, S. M.. Validity of a taxonomy of multiple-choice item-writing rules. Applied Measurement in Education , 2(1), 51-78, 1989.
• Morrison, Susan and Free, Kathleen. Writing multiple-choice test items that promote and measure critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education 40: 17-24, 2001.

Teaching Guides

Quick Links

• Services for Departments and Schools
• Examples of Online Instructional Modules

The eLearning Coach

For designing effective learning experiences

10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions

by Connie Malamed

The rules covered here make tests more accurate. This guidance helps ensure the questions are interpreted as intended and the answer options are clear and without hints. Just in case you’re not familiar with multiple choice terminology, it’s explained in the visual below.

Here is my best advice for how to write good multiple choice questions. I also interviewed a professor who specializes in writing tests (known as a psychometrician).

Rule #1: Test comprehension and critical thinking, not just recall

Multiple choice questions are criticized for testing the superficial recall of knowledge. You can go beyond this by asking learners to interpret facts, evaluate situations, explain cause and effect, make inferences, and predict results.

Rule #2: Use simple sentence structure and precise wording

Write test questions in a simple structure that is easy to understand. And try to be as accurate as possible in your word choices. Words can have many meanings depending on colloquial usage and context.

Rule #3: Place most of the words in the question stem

If you’re using a question stem, rather than an entire question, ensure that most of the words are in the stem. This way, the answer options can be short, making them less confusing and more legible.

Rule #4: Make all distractors plausible

All of the wrong answer choices should be completely reasonable. This can be very hard to accomplish, but avoid throwing in those give-away distractors as it detracts from the test’s validity. If you’re really stuck, get help from your friendly SME. ( BTW, this word can also be spelled as “distracter.” )

Rule #5: Keep all answer choices the same length

This can be difficult to achieve, but expert test-takers can use answer length as a hint to the correct answer. Often the longest answer is the correct one. When I can’t get all four answers to the same length, I use two short and two long.

Rule #6: Avoid double negatives

No big news here, right? Don’t use combinations of these words in the same question: not, no, nor, the -un prefix, etc. For example, this type of question could confuse test-takers: ‘Which of the following comments would NOT be unwelcome in a work situation?’ Flip it around and write it in the positive form: ‘Which of the following comments are acceptable in a work situation?’

Rule #7: Mix up the order of the correct answers

Make sure that most of your correct answers aren’t in the “b” and “c” positions, which can often happen. Keep correct answers in random positions and don’t let them fall into a pattern that can be detected. When your test is written, go through and reorder where the correct answers are placed, if necessary.

Rule #8: Keep the number of options consistent

Did you ever have to convince a SME that he or she can’t have answer choices that go to ‘h’ in one question and ‘c’ in the next? It’s something of a user interface issue. Making the number of options consistent from question to question helps learners know what to expect. Research doesn’t seem to agree on whether 3 or 4 or 5 options is best. Personally, I like to use 4 options. It feels fair.

Rule #9: Avoid tricking test-takers

As faulty as they are, tests exist to measure knowledge. Never use questions or answer options that could trick a learner. If a question or its options can be interpreted in two ways or if the difference between options is too subtle, then find a way to rewrite it.

Rule #10: Use ‘All of the Above’ and ‘None of the Above’ with caution

I hate this rule because when you run out of distracters, All of the Above and None of the Above can come in handy. But they may not promote good instruction. Here’s why. All of the Above can be an obvious give-away answer when it’s not used consistently. Also, the All of the Above option can encourage guessing if the learner thinks one or two answers are correct. In addition, the downside to None of the Above is that you can’t tell if the learner really knew the correct answer.

• Writing Multiple Choice Questions for Higher Order Thinking
• Are Your Online Tests Reliable?
• Are Your Online Tests Valid?
• Tips for Writing Matching Format Test Items
• Write Better Multiple-Choice Questions to Assess Learning  by Patti Shank
• Do’s and Dont’s for Writing Multiple Choice Questions

July 26, 2022 at 1:44 pm

Lots of good points. Thank you!!

July 22, 2022 at 10:53 am

Just a point on terminology: A psychometrician is not necessarily an expert on writing good test questions. Psychometricians specialize in measurement and statistics on how test-takers have responded to test questions, but their training in the writing of good questions might have been no more detailed than seeing a list like yours. What you really want is to communicate with a professional test developer or even a professional item writer.

As a professional test editor, I can tell you that the question of whether to end each option with a period/full stop is more to do with the established style of the test developer. The project I work on ends all options with a period, whether they are complete sentences or not. The purpose of this is merely the assumption that, for a test-taker, the more details that can be consistent, the less cognitive load is needed to respond to the content.

May 6, 2020 at 5:37 am

Thank you for sharing such a great information with us

June 29, 2019 at 5:55 pm

This is a great question and it’s good that you are aware of the nuances here. I have a book recommendation, which I haven’t read yet, but suspect this will answer your questions. “ Practice and Feedback for Deeper Learning by Patti Shank.” Best, Connie

June 14, 2019 at 1:21 pm

What tips do you have for writing test item feedback? We are struggling to find a balance between very specific or very general feedback.

On one hand, we don’t want learners to use the feedback to cheat, but it would help them remember which questions they missed and why. However, if they failed and take a different form of the test, they may not be able to transfer that knowledge well. The general feedback might provide a nice study guide of sorts, but could be too broad to be useful.

April 20, 2019 at 7:29 am

Hi Santosh, I get what you are looking for but I don’t know of a product like that. There could be one or it could be something like a survey tool. I wonder if Survey Monkey has that capability. You might be able to accomplish this with some light programming in one of Google’s free tools. Try asking in one of the eLearning Development groups on LinkedIn. Let us know what you find! Connie

April 17, 2019 at 8:32 am

Hello Mam, I am making a empathy and communication skill questionnaire for my organisation. A question for example is as under: Answer each statement honestly, thinking about your likely behaviour. There are no wrong or right answers. Q1. I try to have the last word on a subject. (a) Always or Nearly Always (b) Often (c) Sometimes (d) Never or Hardly ever Now can you suggest me a quiz maker app which can assign marks for each choice. Here (a) would have 0 points and (d) will have the highest scoring that is 3 points. So on that scale (b) will have 1 point, and (c) will have 2 points. Do you know any app /software that has the feature of assigning marks to individual choices. I know of some that assigns points scored only to one choice, that is the correct one. Regards

May 1, 2018 at 9:31 am

Julie – I answered this a few days ago but I guess it didn’t save. It would be interesting to ask these questions to a professional editor. I keep things consistent in punctuation and within the options for each test, course, organization. Like you, I place a period at the end of sentences. I also place a period at the end of the answer options for options that are intended to complete a sentence. As to your #2, I typically use lower case for the answer choices. I see that in SAT sample questions, they also use lower case. But I work for many different clients and if their standard is upper case, I do that. I hope this helps. Good question!

April 26, 2018 at 10:14 pm

1. Do you put a “full stop” at the end of each option? I have been putting one at the end of options which are complete sentences, but not when they are single words/phrases. Is that correct?

2. Do you use upper or lower case used for single word/phrase options, e.g. a. Seventy b. Seventy-five etc or

a. seventy b. seventy-five

March 18, 2018 at 9:41 pm

That sounds awesome. I can see why students would like that. Since our goal is to help learners gain mastery and competence, I don’t see why this wouldn’t be a good strategy. Best, Connie

March 18, 2018 at 1:58 pm

I am looking at a “quiz qualifier” for some multiple choice tests where students can explain a few of the answers they selected. This way, I can better assess their knowledge. Any input on that? I have tried on a few quizzes and the students really appreciate the opportunity.

September 3, 2017 at 10:29 pm

Hi Karen, In the real world, it does seem that a multiple choice question for “creating” is a bad fit so I do not think the assignment is particularly meaningful. That said, the best I can suggest is to simulate creation via a multiple choice question. For example, if the LO is to create an innovative title for an article, you could say, “You must create a title for an online magazine article. Select the title that stands out as one that will grab attention.” Or if the LO is to create a design with effective use of white space, you could show three designs, each with a rationale for why it is effective. Then the learner must select one.

Also, see if this article about writing multiple choice questions for higher order thinking gives you any ideas. Good luck! Connie

September 3, 2017 at 11:17 am

May I ask you a question? We have this task to create question under creating level of the revised Bloom’s taxonomy. Now my question is, is it possible to create a multiple choice questions in creating level? I’m really having a hard time trying to look for any sample multiple choice questions under creating level.

June 1, 2017 at 7:24 pm

You’re right, Mohammad. I’m starting to write an eBook on this topic that will have lots of examples. Thanks for your input. Connie

May 22, 2017 at 7:33 am

Connie, your article is good, but could be great if you would provide at least one couple of examples for each rule. One poor and one better examples. Think about it.

January 2, 2017 at 12:49 am

No offence meant. My only opinion was that this article needs to be validated. Wishing you a good day and a happy new year.

December 31, 2016 at 9:16 am

Hi Ranjini, Yes, there are many other guidelines too. These were, in my estimation, the top ten. And they were researched 🙂 Best, Connie

December 27, 2016 at 5:24 am

good article, but mam lot of another guide lines related to multiple choice questions. i prepared a document about it. pls research your document.

November 2, 2016 at 6:37 pm

Of course, Jeremy. Thanks for asking and good luck on your project! It sounds very important. Will send as an email too. Connie

November 2, 2016 at 12:23 pm

Good afternoon! We are seeking your permission to include your 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions in a project we are undertaking. The project is to develop and support implementation of a new qualification for the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology in Kosovo. The qualification is Level 5 Certificate for Teaching Assistants for Special Needs Children. We would acknowledge the resource materials, with web references for further detail and information. It would be really helpful to have your e-mail confirmation that we can use and reference materials from your website if that is acceptable to you. We look forward to hearing from you!

March 20, 2016 at 8:50 am

Thanks for sharing this information, Sarah. Best, Connie

March 19, 2016 at 4:43 pm

Kahoot or socrative are good for creating multiple choice. I’m not keen on them as a learning tool but AQA use multiple choice in A level business and economics papers. So tend to use to prepare learners.

March 5, 2015 at 9:06 pm

Good points, Bryan.

March 5, 2015 at 3:28 pm

Both reliability and validity are put into question if you don’t have the same amount of options/distractors for each one. More distractors make it more difficult, fewer make it easier. There can be no argument about that-there must be consistency, otherwise what is the point of testing?

October 23, 2012 at 7:58 am

Hi Alice, Thanks, for reiterating an important point! Please come back and continue to add to the conversation.

October 23, 2012 at 7:39 am

Great pointers! Here’s my favorite. When considering which questions will be on the test, refer back to your class objectives. If they were written according to Bloom’s Taxonomy, then precise wording, appropriate skill level, and critical thinking will be that much easier to build into your questions.

October 17, 2012 at 2:14 pm

In my opinion, tt does seem that if you use All of the above, you’d need to use it pretty often. Otherwise, it’s obviously the correct answer in many cases. Better to use a multiple selection multiple choice question, if your audience can handle that type of interaction.

October 17, 2012 at 1:49 pm

Agree with #10. Lack of credible distractors leads you to AOTA. I feel you need some questions with AOTA as a distractor. But one study showed that actually caused more correct answers!

June 21, 2012 at 10:29 pm

Hi Ann, Great advice! It’s readers like you that add so much to this site. Thanks. Best, Connie

June 21, 2012 at 7:06 pm

An additional rule: Ensure that your question is at the correct level of difficulty. A SME should be able to answer it with ease; naive learners should not be able to guess it consistently. (I am currently reviewing an e-learning module done by a reputable company and have been horrified at the exercise questions. Some are so obtuse no SME could produce the answer, while others are at a level my nine-year-old could figure out!)

January 18, 2012 at 7:26 am

Hi Sue, Of course you can use the list. It’s there to help people. I hope your class goes well! Connie

January 16, 2012 at 8:39 am

Hi Connie, I love your 10 rules! I will shortly be teaching colleagues enrolled on our staff development course how to improve their question writing skills. I wonder if you would mind if I use your ideas as a resource (with reference to you, of course) as a basis for discussion in one of my face to face sessions? This would involve printing off copies to use as a paper and pen exercise. Colleagues will then use the rules to help them design their own computer based quizzes. Many thanks for a great resource.

April 2, 2010 at 6:56 am

Hi Joe, I do agree, it would be better to have an inconsistent number of distractors rather than an implausible one. You know how rules are … Thanks for sharing your insight! Connie

April 1, 2010 at 11:39 pm

This is a helpful list, thanks. Many educators disagree with rule #8 though. Rule #4 takes precedence: sometimes it’s best to throw in a question with two or three distractors rather than come up with implausible distractors in the name of consistency.

I haven’t seen anyone split the difference here, but I will be bold enough to come up with my own rule: Don’t have any questions with EXTRA distractors, but an occasional question with FEWER distractors is better than forcing implausible distractors into a question for the sake of uniformity. Studies show that having fewer distractors does not, oddly enough, improve performance based on chance. You can create excellent questions with two distractors.

March 25, 2010 at 6:14 am

Excellent list, thanks for sharing this with us.

Regards, David.

March 23, 2010 at 7:47 pm

Thanks for the link Michael. I like your article. Connie

March 23, 2010 at 5:23 pm

I’ve written some additional tips for ordering distrators and the key that do not contribute unnecessarily to the wrong things.

Check out http://www.viral-notebook.com/wordpress/2009/05/06/increasing-cognitive-load-part-2/

[…] 10 Rules for Writing Multiple-Choice Questions Writing Multiple Choice Questions Writing Multiple-Choice Questions Good tips from Vanderbilt University […]

[…] 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions […]

[…] resources about creating multiple-choice tests. First, from the eLearning Coach Connie Malamed, 10 rules for writing multiple choice exams. I’m generally rule-averse, but I do think that these are wise guidelines. I’m not as […]

[…] 10 rules for writing multiple choice questions — from theelearningcoach.com by Connie Malamed If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Tagged with: e-learning • instructional design  […]

Social comments and analytics for this post…

This post was mentioned on Twitter by r20_blogroll: eLCoach: 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions: Join in on the excitement of writing multiple choice test… http://bit.ly/a0cWf5 …

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed .

Test Your Knowledge: Critical Thinking Quiz

How well do you understand critical thinking? You can take this quiz with critical thinking MCQs with answers to test your knowledge. Critical thinking is the objective analysis and evaluation of an issue or situation in order to form an accurate or rightful judgment. A person with this skill is highly regarded and prospers under different conditions. Check out our critical thinking quiz with critical thinking MCQs with answers designed to test students' basic knowledge of critical thinking. It is worth giving a try!

Critical Thinking Questions and Answers

What is the exact problem with relativistic thinking .

There is no problem at all.

Relativistic thinking always promotes group opinions.

Relativistic thinking promotes a view that something is the truth because it is the truth in my point of view.

Relativistic thinking promotes absolute truth.

Rate this question:

What is the definition of critical thinking? 

Higher-level thinking that aims to solve a problem.

Finding faults and weaknesses in other people's arguments.

Logically analyzing arguments in a critical way.

Disciplined thinking and judgment.

Select the element which is not part of the critical thinking standards. 

Relativistic thinking

Completeness

Which is not the characteristic of a critical thinker among the following? 

They use logical skills in reasoning.

They refuse to recognize the limitations of his mind and consistently pursue excellence.

They think independently and do not always succumb to peer pressure.

He upholds the standards of critical thinking.

'For this entire semester, I've been playing and having fun every day. My studies are not going well. However, I believe I can score an A for the exam next week'.  What is the mistake that the person has committed here with respect to critical thinking? 

Wishful thinking

Egocentrism

Self-confident thinking

Moral subjectivism

Which of the following best defines critical thinking?

Accepting information at face value without questioning

Memorizing facts and details for later recall

Evaluating, analyzing, and synthesizing information to form a well-reasoned judgment

Agreeing with the majority opinion to avoid conflict

When you encounter information, what should be kept in mind?

Is it current?

Is it complete?

Is it accurate?

All of the above

What is the meaning of current information?

The topic is hot.

It is up to date.

It is complete information.

None of the above.

Which of these can be considered thinking critically?

Thinking emotionally

Thinking logically

Think actively and be aware of potential problems in the information you encounter.

None of the above

What is the worst thing for a critical thinker?

A logical mind

An emotional mind

Reaching to conclusion too soon.

Quiz Review Timeline +

Our quizzes are rigorously reviewed, monitored and continuously updated by our expert board to maintain accuracy, relevance, and timeliness.

• Current Version
• Sep 03, 2024 Quiz Edited by ProProfs Editorial Team Expert Reviewed by Jennifer DeSetto
• Aug 10, 2009 Quiz Created by Erntze

Related Topics

• Time Management

Recent Quizzes

Featured Quizzes

Popular Topics

• Abnormal Psychology Quizzes
• Biological Psychology Quizzes
• Child Psychology Quizzes
• Counselling Quizzes
• Counselling Children And Adolescent Quizzes
• Decision Making Quizzes
• Developmental Psychology Quizzes
• Educational Psychology Quizzes
• Forensic Psychology Quizzes
• General Psychology Quizzes
• Human Psychology Quizzes
• Introduction To Psychology Quizzes
• Memory Quizzes
• Mental Disorder Quizzes
• Parapsychology Quizzes
• Physiological Psychology Quizzes
• Psychology Research Method Quizzes
• Psychology Study Guide Quizzes
• Relationship Psychology Quizzes
• Self Esteem Quizzes
• Situational Judgement Quizzes
• Social Psychology Quizzes

Related Quizzes

Wait! Here's an interesting quiz for you.

• Register or Log In
• 0) { document.location='/search/'+document.getElementById('quicksearch').value.trim().toLowerCase(); }">

Chapter 11 Multiple Choice Questions

Quiz content, are you sure, select your country.

New user? Create an account

Forgot your password?

Forgot your username?

Advertisement

Writing Multiple-Choice Questions for Higher-level Thinking

Join or login to save this to your library

Contributor

Mike Dickinson

Freelance Instructional Designer

We eLearning developers are used to the question, “Which is better, eLearning or classroom instruction?” The answer is, “It depends.” It’s the same answer if one asks, “Which are better, multiple-choice or essay questions?” Either question type is useful for assessing a variety of levels of thinking, depending on how well the designer crafts the questions. Designing multiple-choice questions is not as daunting a task as one might think.

What is higher-level thinking?

What do we mean by higher-level thinking? Benjamin Bloom described six levels of cognitive behavior, listed here from the most basic – Knowledge – at the bottom to the most complex – Evaluation – at the top:

• Application
• Comprehension

Bloom’s taxonomy offers one way of looking at increasingly complex cognitive abilities. For example, Knowledge and Comprehension mean a person can recall facts or paraphrase a concept. Synthesis, on the other hand, means a person can create something new, such as an essay or a painting. (Please see the list of References at the end of this article for the sources of ideas presented here.)

J. P. Guilford offered another way of looking at cognition with his description of convergent and divergent production . Convergent thinking means someone is working with knowledge, processes, concepts, etc, that exist; it has a certain correctness about it. When applied to test questions, convergent thinking means there is a preexisting correct answer. Verbs for convergent thinking include select , identify , calculate , label , and diagnose . Conversely, divergent thinking means there is not a preexisting correct answer. The person must take existing knowledge and create new knowledge. As Marie Hoepfl explains, verbs for divergent thinking objectives include create (a poem or story), compose (a song), etc.

Mapping Guilford’s concepts onto Bloom’s taxonomy, convergent thinking applies to Bloom’s first four levels of cognitive behavior, that is, up through Analysis, and divergent thinking applies to Bloom’s top two levels, Synthesis and Evaluation. See Table 1.

This combination thus suggests that the designer can write multiple-choice questions for Bloom’s first four levels of cognitive behavior (Knowledge, Comprehension, Application, and Analysis) since they require a predictable or calculable answer.

On the other hand, Bloom’s top two levels – Synthesis and Evaluation – being divergent thinking, are best tested with fill-in or essay questions since a predetermined correct answer does not exist. 

It starts with the objectives

Before we look at specific techniques, let’s be clear about one thing. We’re not talking about making multiple-choice tests artificially difficult. Rather, when the learning objectives dictate assessments at higher levels, we need the tools to meet that requirement. In the eLearning world, we are pretty much confined to multiple-choice or similar selected-response questions. Even those instructors who conduct classroom sessions may want to augment essay questions with multiple-choice in order to take advantage of some of the latter’s efficiencies. For example, compared to essay questions, multiple-choice questions can be graded faster and more reliably by people other than the instructor, and by the computer. They can also cover a broader scope of the subject in the same amount of time it would take a student to complete one essay question.

Writing higher-order multiple-choice questions

Let’s look at the way thinking skills progress, using the cold and flu for context (Table 2). At the Knowledge level we are asking the learner to merely identify or select symptoms of a cold. At the Comprehension level we might want the learner to match symptoms with their respective ailment. At the Application level the learner must do something (or determine what they would do in real life) with the knowledge they possess. Notice that even though we’re talking about diagnosis and interpretation, there is still a predetermined correct answer. That is, this still represents convergent thinking.

Now consider Bloom’s two highest levels: Synthesis and Evaluation. These are divergent thinking. At the Synthesis level we would be asking a person to develop a new protocol for treating the cold, and at the Evaluation level we would ask them to assess the effectiveness of that protocol. Neither of those outcomes can be predetermined. Thus they are not suitable for multiple-choice questions; later I’ll suggest a way multiple-choice questions support pseudo assessment of those levels.

Specific techniques

Here are some specific techniques gleaned from the literature and my own experience.

Transform existing items

You can transform existing items that were written for lower cognitive levels such as recall of facts, according to guidelines from Penn State’s Schreyer Institute. One note of caution: even if your question is written at a higher level of knowledge, if you use statements or examples that were mentioned in reading assignments or the presentation, then the student may be doing nothing more than recall.

One way to move up from the knowledge level to the comprehension level is to ask the learner to distinguish whether statements are consistent with a principle, concept, or rule. For example, say you had a knowledge-level question that merely asked the learner to select the common symptoms of the flu from a list. You could transform the question by describing a patient who presents with certain symptoms and asking the learner to determine whether those symptoms are consistent with the flu or not. Scenarios or situations like this are good ways to set up questions to assess higher-level thinking.

You could raise the question another notch by having the learner compare and contrast symptoms. For example, rather than just determining if the patient appears to have the flu, you could have the learner determine whether the patient is likely to have a cold, the flu, or severe allergies. Obviously a question like this requires careful selection of terminology so the question truly distinguishes between those learners with complete vs. partial knowledge.

So, to generalize, if you have an existing question that states the rule and then asks the learner to identify one characteristic of that rule or concept, you can often flip it by presenting the characteristic in the question stem, and then asking the learner to identify the rule or concept.

I used this technique a lot in compliance training. Compliance dilemmas do not present themselves in the real world with their label. They present themselves through people’s actions and words, and then we have to recognize what kind of situation is developing. So in our compliance training we described workplace scenarios and then asked the learner to identify what kind of compliance issue was developing and what was the appropriate response. This not only raised the questions to higher level thinking, it made the training much more realistic than merely categorizing or labeling terms.

Use plausible distractors and new examples  

Another way to transform existing questions is to ensure you are using plausible distractors. You can often do this with anticipated wrong answers. Here is an example:

Calculate the median of the following numbers: 15, 27, 27, 44, 67, 75, and 81.

The student must recall the definition of median and then apply that definition to the list of numbers. You will recall that the median is the number at the midpoint of a distribution. That number is 44 in this question. A common mistake is to confuse the definitions of median and mean (average). Hopefully our instruction will have helped learners understand the difference, but to be sure, the mean (48) is one of the distractors. So is the mode, the number with the most instances, or 27 in this case. So we have one correct choice and four distractors, two of which are plausible if the learner is not clear on the definition of these terms.

Interpret charts and graphs  

We have probably all experienced questions on standardized tests, such as the SAT or GRE in the U.S., which showed two or three charts and graphs and asked questions that required us to interpret the meaning. If the subject matter allows, this is a good way to increase the level of thinking.

Premise-choice or Multi-logic thinking

Aiken described a premise-choice technique and Morrison and Walsh described multi-logical thinking. I think they are roughly the same technique.

In this kind of question the stem contains two premises and the student must select the correct conclusion or solution. For example, let’s say we need to assess the learner’s knowledge of team-building processes. One premise could be a team development model consisting of four phases, and the second premise could be different ways of communicating in each of those phases.

A knowledge or comprehension level question might name a phase and ask the learner to select characteristics of that phase from a list. A higher level question could describe the observed behaviors of team members and ask the learner to identify the preferred communication process. To answer a question like this, the learner has to first classify the team’s stage and then apply the communication rule.

Premise-choice or multi-logical questions should require a high level of discriminating judgment. These questions often use words in the stem such as best , most important , first , or most correct .

Bury the verb!

Recently I recognized a rather simple way to write multiple-choice questions for higher-level thinking. This method is totally contrary to what my English teacher taught me. Since I live in Texas, I’ll call this the Texas two-step of higher-level assessment. As the name implies, it consists of two steps:

• Then bury that verb by changing it to a noun and putting a convergent verb in front of it.

Often this will mean changing the verb to a “-tion” derivative. Here are three examples using this technique:

• Select the best description .
• Identify the most accurate interpretation .
• Select a correctly constructed sentence

Depending on whether the verb you bury is convergent or divergent, this technique may be a pseudo measure, but if you must use multiple-choice questions, or if you want to increase the span of their capability, this is a practical way to do it.

Don’t give away the farm!

After going to the trouble of crafting multiple-choice questions for higher levels of thinking, be careful you don’t give away the farm. In my research for this article, I was surprised by the number of poorly written multiple-choice questions I found while randomly searching for ideas among online multiple-choice tests. It’s out of scope for this article, but I urge you to review guidelines for basic multiple-choice item construction. It is easy to find such resources on the Web.

Use higher-order tests for teaching

Finally, don’t overlook the value of higher-level multiple-choice questions for teaching. In areas where the target audience has some degree of prior knowledge, or where their life experience is relevant, I often make online courses denser by using multiple-choice exercises instead of the more traditional present-and-test format. This technique is also useful when there is room for judgment, or the preferred choice is conditional and you want the student to understand how different circumstances can affect the preferred action.

For example, a few years ago I developed a scenario-based online course on preventing sexual harassment. One of the company’s tenets was that a person should try to resolve an issue with another employee directly rather than elevating it to management. We wanted to reinforce that expectation while honoring those who may not feel comfortable taking such a direct route in a sensitive situation. So the course accepted both the preferred and other acceptable choices, with feedback that was supportive and instructive.

Remember to analyze results

Your best intentions notwithstanding, you don’t really know how well a question is going to perform until you have data to analyze after learners have taken the test. You don’t need to do a sophisticated analysis, but as a minimum you should tally up how many times each choice was selected and what proportion of the respondents got the question right. This data can reveal things like questions that are too easy or too difficult, and if distractors are working the way you intended or not. And especially, for questions that appear to be too difficult, you should investigate further to determine if the question is faulty, or if the instruction itself needs improvement.

Aiken, Lewis R., (1982). Writing multiple-choice items to measure higher-order educational objectives. Educational and Psychological Measurement , 1982, Vol. 42, pp. 803-806.

Bloom, B. S., Englehart, M. D., Furst, E. J., Hill, W. H., & Krathwohl, D. R. (1956). Taxonomy of educational objectives. The classification of educational goals: Handbook I. Cognitive domain. New York: David McKay.

Bloom’s Taxonomy, downloaded from Wikipedia 11/8/2011, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bloom's_Taxonomy

Guilford, J.P., (1967). The nature of human intelligence , New York, McGraw-Hill

Hoepfl, Marie C. (1994) Developing and evaluating multiple-choice tests. The Technology Teacher , April 1994, pp. 25-26.

Morrison, Susan, and Kathleen Walsh Free, (2001) Writing multiple-choice test items that promote and measure critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education , January 2001, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 17-24.

Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State, Writing multiple-choice items to assess higher order thinking . Downloaded Nov. 1, 2011.

December 5, 2011

Deep Accessibility for eLearning Design

Scope your learning project before designing it, accessible & inclusive learning: a panel discussion.

Online Events Archive

Trends in Instructional Technologies over the Past 15 Years

Revitalizing learning: merging timeless design principles with cutting-edge learning environments.

The Innovative Instructor

Pedagogy – best practices – technology.

Tips for Writing Effective Multiple Choice Questions

Writing test questions is a daunting task for many instructors. It can be challenging to come up with questions that correctly assess students on the comprehension of course objectives. Multiple choice questions are no exception; despite being very popular, instructors often struggle to create well-constructed questions.

There are some disadvantages, including the fact that this type of question can be time-consuming to construct. Multiple choice questions are made up of two parts: the stem, which identifies the question, and the alternative responses which include the correct answer as well as incorrect alternatives, known as distractors. Coming up with plausible distractors for each question can be a difficult task. And, while some higher level thinking skills can be addressed, multiple choice questions cannot measure a student’s ability to organize and express ideas.  Another thing to consider is that student success when answering multiple choice questions can be influenced by factors unrelated to the subject matter, such as reading ability, deductive reasoning, and the use of context clues.

The following guidelines are offered to help streamline the process of creating multiple choice questions as well as minimize the disadvantages of using them.

General guidelines for writing stems :

• When possible, prepare the stem as a clearly written question rather than an incomplete statement.

Poor Example:  Psychoanalysis is….

Better example:  What is the definition of psychoanalysis?  

• Eliminate excessive or irrelevant information from the stem.

Poor example:  Jane recently started a new job and can finally afford her own car, a Honda Civic, but is surprised at the high cost of gasoline. Gasoline prices are affected by:

Better example:  Which of the following are factors that affect the consumer price of gasoline?  

• Include words/phrases in the stem that would otherwise be repeated in the alternatives.

Poor example:  Which of the following statements are true? 1. Slowing population growth can prevent global warming 2. Halting deforestation can prevent global warming 3.  Increasing beef production on viable land can prevent global warming 4.  Improving energy efficiency can prevent global warming

Better example:  Which of the following techniques can be used to prevent global warming? 1. Slowing population growth 2. Halting deforestation 3. Increasing beef production on viable land 4. Improving energy efficiency  

• Avoid using negatively stated stems. If you must use them, highlight the negative word so that it is obvious to students.

Poor example:  Which of the following is not a mandatory qualification to be the president of the United States?

Better example:  Which of the following is NOT a mandatory qualification to be the president of the United States?

General guidelines for writing alternative responses :

• Make sure there is only one correct answer.
• Create distractors that are plausible to avoid students guessing the correct answer.

Poor example: Who was the third president of the United States? 1. George Washington 2. Bugs Bunny 3. Thomas Jefferson 4. Daffy Duck

Better example:  Who was the third president of the United States? 1. George Washington 2. Benjamin Franklin 3. Thomas Jefferson 4. John Adams  

• Make sure alternative responses are grammatically parallel to each other.

Poor example:  Which of the following is the best way to build muscle? 1. Sign up to run a marathon 2. Drinking lots of water 3. Exercise classes 4. Eat protein

Better example:  Which of the following is the best way to build muscle? 1. Running on a treadmill 2. Drinking lots of water 3. Lifting weights 4.  Eating lots of protein  

• When possible, list the alternative responses in a logical order (numerical, alphabetical, etc.)

Poor example:  How many ounces are in a gallon? 1. 16 2. 148 3. 4 4. 128

Better example:  How many ounces are in a gallon? 1. 4 2. 16 3. 128 4. 148

• Avoid using ‘All of the above’ or ‘None of the above’ to prevent students from using partial knowledge to arrive at the correct answer.
• Use at least four alternative responses to enhance the reliability of the test.

References:

Brame, C., (2013) Writing good multiple choice test questions. Retrieved December 14, 2016 from https://cft.vanderbilt.edu/guides-sub-pages/writing-good-multiple-choice-test-questions/

Burton, S. J., Sudweeks, R. R., Merrill, P.F., and Wood, B. (1991). How to Prepare Better Multiple-Choice Test Items: Guidelines for University Faculty. Provo, Utah: Brigham Young University Testing Services and The Department of Instructional Science.

“Multiple Choice Questions.”  The University of Texas at Austin Faculty Innovation Center , 14 Dec. 2016, https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/teaching/check-learning/question-types/multiple-choice .

Amy Brusini,  Blackboard Training Specialist Center for Educational Resources

Image Source: Pixabay.com

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Have an account?

Suggestions for you See more

Riding Freedom Vocabulary

4th -  5th  , context clues quiz, can't you make them behave, king george..., black history month vocabulary, 14.7k plays, context clues, twelfth night background, 9th -  12th  , scaredy squirrel.

Critical Thinking

4th - 8th grade.

5 questions

Introducing new   Paper mode

No student devices needed.   Know more

• 1. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is one advantage of critical thinking? It’s a process that helps us make only large, important decisions BIt’s a process that helps us make only small, unimportant decisions It’s a process that helps us create hidden issues, bias and manipulation It’s a process that helps us reveal hidden issues, bias and manipulation
• 2. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt What is the first step (of five) in the critical thinking process? Gather information Apply information Formulate questions Consider implications
• 3. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt When making a decision, what is the main purpose of gathering facts and information? To make sure your assumptions are illogical To weigh out various options or choices To ignore the implications of your choices To explore your own perspective and point of view
• 4. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt Considering the implications of a decision means: Examining its potential outcomes and effects B Asking questions to determine your goal C Gathering information to weigh out options Determining whether information is logical
• 5. Multiple Choice Edit 30 seconds 1 pt How can critical thinking improve your chances of making better choices? Critical thinking helps you pick the correct and best choice for all situations Critical thinking helps you explore only your own perspective and no others Critical thinking helps you examine information and make unreasonable choices Critical thinking provides you the tools to sift through complex information logically

Explore all questions with a free account

Continue with email

Continue with phone

sociocentrism. stereotyping. superstition. self-serving bias. an unwarranted assumption. irrelevant. logically inconsistent. unclear. wishful thinking. egocentrism. the herd instinct. stereotyping. stereotyping. group bias sociocentrism. self-interested thinking. self-serving bias. an unfounded assumption. conformism. self-interested thinking. a practical inconsistency egocentrism a logical inconsistency wishful thinking Critical thinkers love truth and are curious about a wide range of issues. Critical thinkers are intellectually honest with themselves, acknowledging what they don't know and recognizing their limitations. Critical thinkers never back down from a good argument, pursuing victory in every dispute they are engaged in. Critical thinkers are aware of the biases and preconceptions that shape the way they perceive the world. The practice of thinking critically demands that we become aware of our own thinking, including our assumptions. Unwarranted assumptions are unreasonable. Some assumptions are reasonable. It is both possible and beneficial to uncover every assumption that informs our thinking. Since convicted murderers are humans, they should never be executed. The death penalty constitutes a violation of the executed prisoner's right to life. Even if the death penalty leads to a safer society by deterring would-be criminals, capital punishment should nonetheless be abolished. If executions of criminals ultimately leads to less killing in society, then the death penalty should be endorsed. are the alternatives? What exactly are the advantages and disadvantages of each alternative? Accuracy Clarity Precision Consistency Any use is subject to the and . is one of the many fine businesses of . 205 IMAGES Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Assessment Answer Sheet Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Assessment Answer Sheet Test 1 answers Critical Thinking Creating-multiple-choice-questions-that-test-for-critical-thinking Writing Multiple-Choice Questions that Demand Critical Thinking Brilliant Therapy VIDEO Introduction to Logic and Critical Thinking Think You're Smart? Try this 50-Question General Knowledge Quiz and Prove it! GMAT MOOC Session 2 Critical Reasoning Question Type MEG 05 Literary Criticism and Theory 2023 June Question Paper IGNOU Critical Choice What is Critical Thinking? COMMENTS Critical Thinking Quizzes, Questions & Answers The critical thinking quiz will help you understand when someone is right and acknowledged. Check out our online critical thinking MCQ quiz and see if you ace the art of actively and skillfully analyzing and evaluating information gathered through observation. We have a collection of critical thinking quizzes to help you analyze the facts and ... 30 Critical Thinking Quiz Questions and Answers Answer: c) Emotional bias. 4. Critical thinking is essential for: a) Avoiding decision-making altogether. b) Making decisions based on emotions alone. c) Making informed and rational decisions. d) Accepting information without questioning. Answer: c) Making informed and rational decisions. 5. Critical Thinking: Multiple Choice Questions Flashcards 1. Close all windows and doors to the classroom. 2. Look for an extinguisher to put out the fire. 3. Move quickly and orderly down the stairs to the parking lot. 4. Determine if it is a fire drill or a real fire. Move quickly and orderly down the stairs to the parking lot. Critical Thinking Select the correct answer to the following multiple-choice questions by circling the appropriate letter. 1. Which of the following is best treated as a non-statement? A) Philosophers have long gray beards and wear glasses. B) Philosophy is dangerous. 20 Types Of Questions For Teaching Critical Thinking Common Types Of Assessment Questions. Multiple-choice/Single: A question with multiple available answers for the responder to choose from but only one correct solution. Multiple-Choice/Multiple: A question with multiple available answers for the responder to choose from and more than one correct solution. See The Problem With Multiple-Choice ... Critical Thinking Select the correct answer to the following multiple-choice questions by circling the appropriate letter. Identify the fallacy of relevance committed by the following arguments. 1. The Senator claims that congressional salaries should be raised. He says business executives doing comparable work make much more and that congressional salaries ... PDF Writing Multiple-Choice Questions that Demand Critical Thinking 1) Do not write the test in one day. Spread the work out over time. Questions demanding high-level thinking take longer to craft-professional item writers often write only 3 or 4 per day. Write one or two questions after each class, so it becomes a simple matter of assembling them into an exam. Writing Multiple Choice Questions For Higher Order Thinking But if you find yourself needing to use multiple choice tests, you can make the best of this situation with these three approaches. 1. Real-world Scenarios. One of the most effective ways to assess higher-order thinking is to use scenario-based questions, particularly ones that simulate real work experiences. Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Quiz. Select the correct answer to the following multiple-choice questions by circling the appropriate letter. choose and narrow your topic. write a sentence that expresses your claim. read what you've written and revise. edit your work. know who your audience is and adjust your style accordingly. know yourself. PDF Sample multiple choice questions that test higher order thinking and In an evaluation question, a situation is described in a short paragraph and then a problem is posed as the stem of the question. All the rules for writing multiple choice items described above also apply to writing evaluation questions, but students must use judgment and critical thinking to answer them correctly. PDF Challenging Multiple-Choice Questions to Engage Critical Thinking Andrew T. Johnson, PhD Professor of Psychology Park University. This article examines a technique for engaging critical thinking on multiple-choice exams. University students were encouraged to "challenge" the validity of any exam question they believed to be unfair (e.g., more than one equally correct answer, ambiguous wording, etc.). Critical Thinking Test: Free Practice Questions & Tips The scenarios are typically relevant to the field you are interested in to assess your knowledge of the role. There will also be general questions concerning more basic issues or problems that commonly occur in a workplace environment. The critical thinking test is multiple-choice with thirty minutes to complete the assessment. Chapter 2 Multiple Choice Questions Chapter 2 Multiple Choice Questions What is critical thinking? Quiz Content * not completed. Which of the following elements is NOT one of the five elements that the text used to characterize critical thinkers? Personality correct incorrect. Arguments correct incorrect ... Writing Good Multiple Choice Test Questions Haladyna, Thomas M. and Downing, S. M.. Validity of a taxonomy of multiple-choice item-writing rules. Applied Measurement in Education, 2(1), 51-78, 1989. Morrison, Susan and Free, Kathleen. Writing multiple-choice test items that promote and measure critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education 40: 17-24, 2001. 10 Rules For Writing Multiple Choice Questions Rule #1: Test comprehension and critical thinking, not just recall. Multiple choice questions are criticized for testing the superficial recall of knowledge. You can go beyond this by asking learners to interpret facts, evaluate situations, explain cause and effect, make inferences, and predict results. Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Quiz. Select the correct answer to the following multiple-choice questions by circling the appropriate letter. 1. An argument in which the conclusion does not follow necessarily from the premises should nonetheless be treated as deductive if. A) the conclusion in the argument is clearly true. Test Your Knowledge: Critical Thinking Quiz Correct Answer. D. Disciplined thinking and judgment. Explanation. Critical thinking is defined as disciplined thinking that is clear, rational, open-minded, and informed by evidence. It involves analyzing and evaluating information, arguments, or situations in a systematic and logical manner. Critical thinking is not solely about finding ... Chapter 11 Multiple Choice Questions Chapter 11 Multiple Choice Questions Thinking. Quiz Content * not completed. Daniel Kahneman, in his book Thinking Fast and Slow, distinguished between System 1 and System 2 thinking. Which of the following best describes System 1 thinking? Critical thinking correct incorrect. Forming an opinion once ... Critical Thinking Quiz 5 Multiple choice questions. Term. True or False: Critical thinking is only necessary in academic and professional settings. True. ... 1 of 5. Term. True or False: Critical thinking can be improved by practicing specific cognitive exercises. True. False. 2 of 5. Term. True or False: There is always a single correct answer to any problem ... Writing Multiple-Choice Questions for Higher-level Thinking Morrison, Susan, and Kathleen Walsh Free, (2001) Writing multiple-choice test items that promote and measure critical thinking. Journal of Nursing Education, January 2001, Vol. 40, No. 1, pp. 17-24. Schreyer Institute for Teaching Excellence at Penn State, Writing multiple-choice items to assess higher order thinking. Downloaded Nov. 1, 2011. Tips for Writing Effective Multiple Choice Questions 3. 128. 4. 148. Avoid using 'All of the above' or 'None of the above' to prevent students from using partial knowledge to arrive at the correct answer. Use at least four alternative responses to enhance the reliability of the test. References: Brame, C., (2013) Writing good multiple choice test questions. Critical Thinking Critical thinking helps you pick the correct and best choice for all situations. Critical thinking helps you explore only your own perspective and no others. Critical thinking helps you examine information and make unreasonable choices. Critical thinking provides you the tools to sift through complex information logically. Critical Thinking Multiple Choice Quiz. Select the correct answer to the following multiple-choice questions by circling the appropriate letter. 1. Despite the fact that multiple studies show that advertising is effective and does impact the decision making of a large percentage of people, polls indicate that the majority of people believe they are basically ... Multiple choice Multiple choice items consist of a stem and several alternative answers. The stem is the opening—a problem to be solved, a question asked, or an incomplete statement to be completed. The options are the possible answers that the examinee can choose from, with the correct answer called the key and the incorrect answers called distractors. [3] Only one answer may be keyed as correct. essay homework paper phd project resume speech study thesis