Research Does Not Support Multiple Choice Items with "All of the Above"

Although writing items that include a choice of “all of the above” is a common practice, research has suggested that this type of multiple choice item should be avoided. Here is why: the correct answer for this type of item is so often “all of the above,” that students have an increased probability of selecting the correct answer because of good test-taking abilities as opposed to knowledge of the material on the test. Students can select “all of the above” without even reading the question and have a high chance of getting the answer right (Mueller, 1975; Poundstone, 2014).

Even if the answer is not “all of the above,” the student need only find one choice that is not true to eliminate “all of the above” as the correct option.

There is also some evidence that items with “all of the above” have a decreased ability to discriminate high-performing students from low-performing students (Mueller, 1975). In a review of 20 textbooks listing advice about item writing, avoiding “all of the above” was the most frequently mentioned piece of advice (Kaplan & Saccuzzo, 2013).

References
Kaplan, R. M. & Saccuzzo, D. P. (2013). Psychological testing: Principles, applications and issues (8th ed.). Belmont CA: Cengage.

Mueller, D.J.(1975). An assessment of the effectiveness of complex alternatives in multiple choice achievement test items. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 35, 135-141.

Poundstone, W. (2014). Rock breaks scissors: A practical guide to outguessing and outwitting almost everybody. New York: Little, Brown and Company.