MCQ Distractor Audit

Audit MCQ distractors for duplicates and caller-defined minimum length.

Description

A multiple-choice structure audit checks duplicate answer text and short options.

A multiple-choice structure audit checks duplicate answer text and short options. These structural checks are distinct from whether distractors are plausible or the key is correct.^[1]

Audit MCQ distractors for duplicates and caller-defined minimum length.

When to use MCQ Distractor Audit

Use this tool to audit MCQ distractors for duplicates and caller-defined minimum length.

Prepare the lesson timeline, roster, observations or assessment labels requested. Use consistent units and exact identifiers, then choose comparison criteria appropriate to the activity.

How to use MCQ Distractor Audit and understand its results

Prepare the lesson timeline, roster, observations or assessment labels requested. Use consistent units and exact identifiers, then choose comparison criteria appropriate to the activity.
Enter options, correctOptionIndex, minimumOptionLength using the field table and calculation rules, then run the tool.
Read duplicateDistractorIndexes, shortDistractorIndexes, structurallyValid. The explanation below defines the units, signs, ordering and any flags or placeholder values.
If the tool reports an input issue, correct the values and run it again. Apply the stated assumptions when interpreting a successfully returned result.

Input field	Meaning	Value type; see rules below	Requirement
options	Options	list of string	Required
correctOptionIndex	Correct option index	number	Required
minimumOptionLength	Minimum option length	number	Required

Enter at least two options, valid zero-based safe-integer key index and finite minimum length of at least one. Trim and lowercase options; seed duplicate detection with the key, then check distractors in order. Return indexes and combined flag.

valid=no duplicate distractors AND no short distractors AND key length≥minimum

Units, indexing, boundary conditions and exceptional cases are defined in the calculation rules above.

Output field	Meaning	Value type
duplicateDistractorIndexes	Duplicate distractor indexes	list of number
shortDistractorIndexes	Short distractor indexes	list of number
structurallyValid	Structurally valid	boolean

json

{
  "input": {
    "options": [
      "blue",
      "green",
      "red",
      "blue"
    ],
    "correctOptionIndex": 1,
    "minimumOptionLength": 3
  },
  "output": {
    "duplicateDistractorIndexes": [
      3
    ],
    "shortDistractorIndexes": [],
    "structurallyValid": false
  }
}

Limitations and assumptions

The minimum may be fractional and length uses JavaScript UTF-16 units. Only later repeated distractors are flagged; the key’s shortness affects the flag without appearing in shortDistractorIndexes.

Numeric inputs must be finite. Follow the calculation-specific rules for overflow, underflow and exceptional cases. Lists are limited to 100,000 entries; the rules above may require smaller limits. Missing required fields, extra fields, wrong value types and violations of the calculation rules are input errors. A successfully returned false flag is an evaluated outcome; its meaning is explained above.

Alternative or Complementary methods

Use Negative Question Stem Screen: Flag negative terms in multiple-choice question stems. For a complementary task, use Rubric Descriptor Matrix: Build a criterion-by-performance-level rubric from caller descriptors.

References

MCQ Distractor Audit — tool.io

Similar or alternative tools

Negative Question Stem Screen
Flag negative terms in multiple-choice question stems.
Rubric Descriptor Matrix
Build a criterion-by-performance-level rubric from caller descriptors.