Miskeyed Answer: When the Wrong Answer is Marked Correct

By Sean P. Kane, PharmD, BCPS

Published June 20, 2025

Why Miskeyed Answers Matter

A miskeyed answer is a significant flaw in multiple-choice testing that occurs when the answer marked as correct in the scoring key is actually incorrect. A miskeyed answer is an unintentional error, but if not detected and corrected, it can lead to a lower exam score for students who actually answered the question correctly (and potentially higher exam scores for students who have not mastered the content yet).

Miskeying typically occurs during question development, review, or data entry processes. It can result from clerical errors, miscommunication during review, changes made to questions without corresponding updates to answer keys, or errors when transferring information between systems.

Critical Issue

A miskeyed answer directly undermines the validity of an assessment by penalizing students who know the correct answer and rewarding those who do not. This introduces significant measurement error and can lead to inaccurate conclusions about student learning.

How Miskeying Occurs and How to Detect It

Miskeying can happen at multiple stages:

Development Errors: Question writers may initially key the wrong answer due to content errors or simple mistakes during the writing process.
Data Entry Errors: When transferring questions and answer keys into a learning management system or other software, clerical errors can easily occur.
Changes Without Updates: If a question is modified during a review process, the answer key may not be updated accordingly.

Detecting miskeyed answers often requires a post-hoc analysis of exam results. As Rudolph et al. (2019) describe, item analysis can reveal questions that high-performing students consistently get wrong, which may indicate a miskeyed answer. This type of review is a best practice for ensuring the quality and fairness of an exam.

Examples of Miskeyed Answers in Health Sciences Education

Flawed Question

Which medication requires monitoring of serum creatinine and potassium levels due to its potential to cause kidney dysfunction and hyperkalemia?

A. Metformin ✓

B. Lisinopril

C. Atorvastatin

D. Metoprolol

This question is keyed as A (Metformin), but the correct answer should be B (Lisinopril). While metformin requires renal monitoring, it doesn't typically cause hyperkalemia. Lisinopril, an ACE inhibitor, requires monitoring for both kidney function and hyperkalemia. Students who correctly understand ACE inhibitor monitoring will be marked wrong.

Corrected Question

Which medication requires monitoring of serum creatinine and potassium levels due to its potential to cause kidney dysfunction and hyperkalemia?

A. Metformin

B. Lisinopril ✓

C. Atorvastatin

D. Metoprolol

The corrected version properly keys B (Lisinopril) as the correct answer. ACE inhibitors like lisinopril require monitoring for both renal function and hyperkalemia, making this the most appropriate answer to the question as written.

Correction of a Miskeyed Answer

If a miskeyed answer was not corrected before an exam was given to students, item analysis (e.g., difficulty, point-biserial, and/or discrimination index) is likely to flag a question as being potentially miskeyed. If a course allows students to review their exam after submission, students may also identify a miskeyed question and bring it to the attention of the instructor.

Once a miskeyed item is identified through peer review, statistical analysis, or student exam review, it should either be rescored with the correct key or removed from the exam entirely to ensure fairness and accuracy.

A miskeyed answer is best identified during a peer review before the exam is finalized. If a peer review is not possible due to time or resource constraints, AI-powered exam analysis tools, such as ExamEval, can be used to detect this item-writing flaw. If the correct answer or explanation is provided, ExamEval is able to review the context of a question and check whether a miskey is likely present or not.

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