The “None of the Above” Option in Multiple-Choice Testing: An Experimental Study

Source: The Journal of Experimental Education 82(2):168-183

Link: The_None_of_the_Above_Option_in_Multiple-Choice_Testing_An_Experimental_Study

Abstract of the study:

The authors assessed the effects of using “none of the above” as an option in a 40-item, general-knowledge multiple-choice test administered to undergraduate students. Examinees who selected none of the above were given the incentive to write the correct answer to the question posed. Using none of the above as the keyed option made items much more difficult (d = –1.11). Furthermore, 45% of the time that examinees correctly selected none of the above, they wrote either a wrong answer (19%) or no answer (26%), and rescoring items to deny credit in these cases caused item discrimination to fall (d = –0.35). Thus, when none of the above is the keyed option, credit earned by examinees with knowledge deficiencies can make items appear to have more discriminatory power than is actually the case. The authors recommend that “none of the above” should not be used as an option in multiple-choice items.

My take:

Many highly reputed tests, such as the GMAT, do not have "none of the above" as an option.

There are many drawbacks to having "none of the above" as an option.

1. “None of the above” option wastes time. Even a sharp student needlessly wastes time rechecking his work.
2. Many test makers, to cut short, resort to making "none of the above."
3. If, at all, the test maker feels that by providing a correct option, the charm of the question is gone, he/she need not form an MCQ out of that question; he/she may rather make a "Numeric Entry" type (candidate-produced) question.
4. Question-making is not only science but also psychology.