What constraint is mentioned regarding the arrangement of answer choices across questions?

• A. They should be left in their original order
• B. They should be listed in alphabetical order
• C. They should be shuffled to distribute correct positions evenly
• D. They should always have the correct answer in the first position

Answer: (C)

Distributing the position of the correct option evenly across questions helps prevent a hinting pattern and reduces positional bias. When the correct answer tends to appear in the same spot, test-takers can exploit that pattern instead of relying on knowledge, which undermines the measure of true understanding. Shuffling ensures each position is equally likely to be correct across the set, improving fairness and the accuracy of assessing what a student knows.

Keeping the ordering fixed, whether by original order or alphabetical order, creates predictable cues that some test-takers can use, while always placing the correct option in the first position makes the answer obvious to guessers. The approach described—randomly mixing the positions—avoids these issues and contributes to a more valid, reliable assessment.