This year I added a new twist on multiple choice answers. For a test that
has a substantial multiple choice content, a student can attempt to "shoot
the moon:" if a student can answer all of the multiple choice questions
wrong, they get the same score as if they had answered them all correctly.
But if they get any right, they are awarded the actual score they earned.
When I told my first-year students about this option, several of them were
pretty sure they could do it, and couldn't wait to try. I didn't let them
try it on the first test. After seeing the first test, most of them
decided they didn't want to try. Since then, only one first-year student
has tried. He got one question right. I drop a test score for the
semester grade, so he can recover.
I let my second-year students moonshot from the beginning, and several have
tried. One has succeeded. I've found that the moonshot opportunity adds a
bit of excitement to the test, and a bit of humility to the top students.
Everyone is very interested in the results of every moonshot attempt.
I wouldn't try this in a college class, or in a situation where I didn't
know the students.