Go through mock multiple-choice tests with the students, giving them effective strategies along the way. For example, show students how to eliminate answers that are obviously not correct, narrowing down the possible answers to a few choices. Let students know that guessing is sometimes an effective strategy, since the student may guess the right answer. However, in other cases, guessing is a bad strategy, according to Study Guides and Strategies, since some tests take points off for wrong answers and students are better off leaving them blank if they do not know the answer.
Students might think that skimming the question quickly saves them time, which may be helpful when taking timed tests. If a test is not timed, however, teach students to read questions slowly and carefully. Some students may read only part of the question and think they understand the question, skipping over crucial information. Some questions have unusual rules, such as having more than one correct answer.
Memorization is a greater factor with multiple-choice questions, since students must remember factual material. Studying in the long-term can help students gradually commit information to memory. Give students a variety of activities, such as games, where they compete against each other to answer the questions correctly. Also give frequent oral pop quizzes, informally asking students to answer questions.
Certain types of answers are usually wrong. For example, the University of Wisconsin website states that answers that are deliberately funny or obviously absurd are usually incorrect. “None of the above” is usually wrong, while “All the above” is usually the right answer. Longer answers are more often correct than shorter ones, since the instructor must use more words to make the correct answer precise, but doesn’t need to make the incorrect answers precise. Give your students quizzes that are full of answers that are unusual. Students will learn from experience that the questions with unusual answers are often wrong and feel entertained by the hilarity of them.