Yes, no or maybe

Why this shape

A third state, unsure, lets a student say they do not know instead of guessing. That honesty is what an instructor needs to know about a class.

An example. Is a virus a living organism? Yes, No, or I am not sure.

What it is

A selection question offers options and asks the student to choose. The options carry the difficulty: a good set makes the student decide between plausible answers, and a poor set gives the answer away. It is the most used shape in assessment because it is marked at once, by rule, at any scale.

Why it is needed

It is needed wherever many students must be measured on the same knowledge in the same time: a class, a cohort, a certification. It measures recognition and, when the options are built from real misconceptions, it measures understanding: the wrong option a student picks tells the instructor what they believe. The results are comparable across students and across years in a way no essay can be.

When to use it

Use it to check that a body of knowledge landed, to find the misconception a class shares, for a quick check at the end of a lesson, and for any exam where the marking must be instant and beyond argument. Do not use it alone for skills that are about producing something: writing, calculating with working, speaking.

How to write one well

Write the stem as a complete question that could be answered without the options. Make every wrong option something a student who half-knows would choose, and make each one wrong for one reason. Keep the options the same length and shape, so the right one does not stand out. Avoid negatives in the stem, and avoid all-of-the-above.

For yes, no or maybe in particular. Leave negative marking off for this shape: the unsure answer then scores zero and honesty costs nothing more.

Mistakes to avoid

A stem that only makes sense once the options are read. Wrong options that nobody would choose, so the question tests reading, not knowledge. The longest option being the right one. Two options that are both defensible. A question that can be answered from general sense without the material.

How EdProcto marks it

EdProcto marks selection questions by rule the moment the answer is given. Several-answer shapes give credit for the part that is right when partial credit is on; negative marking takes one over the number of wrong options, so guessing earns nothing on average; a confidence rating earns a bonus when sure and right and a larger penalty when sure and wrong, so it pays only when it is honest. Options can be shuffled per student, and the analysis shows which wrong option beat the right one.