Guidelines for Creating Online MCQ-Based Exams to Evaluate Higher Order Learning and Reduce Academic Misconduct

Online exams, based on multiple-choice questions (MCQs), offer many positive features as an assessment format: flexibility, inclusivity, reduced cost, broad curriculum coverage, and more. However, this format is also highly vulnerable to academic misconduct and has a reputation for only being able to assess “lower order” learning. This chapter details pragmatic guidance which can be used by educators to write MCQs for the assessment of higher order learning. These MCQs require students to apply existing knowledge to actively solve problems rather than recalling facts. The writing of these MCQs requires educators to identify assumed knowledge that students need to answer the question: a “cognitive bridge” between the question content and the answer. Using this MCQ format should then make it harder for students to cheat, particularly when combined with practical tips for the design and management of the examination itself. Finally, the chapter proposes the use of exams based on higher order MCQs as a viable alternative to other “higher order” assessment formats such as essays and written coursework, whose basic validity is fundamentally compromised by plagiarism and the widespread availability of essay mills and artificial intelligence-based content generation systems.