write TWO exam questions – one objective-style question (Multiple Choice, Fill-in-the-Blank, Matching) AND one short answer/written response.
2.) EACH question must have the following:
a.) logical distractors (multiple choice only) – what this means is the answers that are not correct should not be so off the wall that the correct choice is obvious.
For instance, if the stem of your question is,
“DNA is referred to as the building blocks of life, the three letters of which stand for:” and your answer choices were:
“a.) deoxyribonucleic acid; b.) Mickey Mouse; c.) Minnie Mouse; d.) Donald Duck; e.) all of the above” these would not be logical distractors or answers aside from a.) that would even be entertained. Therefore, your questions must be logical all the way through.
b.) Your questions must be keyed. Each question needs the correct answer clearly denoted as well as a brief explanation as to why that answer is correct. Short answer/written response questions must be answered in the way you would be looking to grade them. For instance, you should denote how much a student should write “In 3-5 sentences, explain how acetylation and methylation differ with respect to how they impact gene expression.” And then you should write out the ideal response yourself. What should a good response contain?
