A Comparison of the Item Difficulty and Item Discrimination of Multiple-Choice Items Using the "None of the Above" and One Correct Response Options

Twelve multiple-choice items in a college statistics examination were written in three formats: (a) one correct answer, (b) "none of the above" as a foil, and (c) "none of the above" as the correct answer. The format using "none of the above" as the correct answer was the most difficult of the three formats. No consistent differences in item discrimination indices were found among the three formats. The test composed of multiple-choice items with one correct answer was more reliable than the two test forms using the "none of the above" option.