Are the Least Frequently Chosen Distractors the Least Attractive?: The Case of a Four-Option Picture-Description Listening Test

Abstract

This study reports on a replication of Iimura's (2014) study on the attractiveness of distractors in multiple-choice listening tests. Sixty-eight Japanese university students were assessed on their correct responses in a picture-description task of an MC listening test (15 questions, four options each). During the listening test, the participants were asked to judge each of the four options as correct or incorrect and report the degree of confidence they had in their judgment. On the basis of the confidence level and correctness of response, confidence and attractiveness scores were generated. To assess how listening ability affected test-takers' confidence and distractors' attractiveness, three groups were developed on the basis of correct scores obtained on the listening test. The results of the replication study have confirmed the original study, suggesting that (a) the least frequently chosen distractors were not always the least attractive, (b) upper-level listeners were less attracted to distractors, and (c) upper-level listeners had greater confidence when responding with the correct answers. This article concludes that the conventional item analyses (i.e., response frequency and discriminatory power) are insufficient in evaluating the effectiveness of distractors, and a new kind of survey, in which test-takers can evaluate each distractor independently, should be incorporated in future MC test development.