The Standard Operating Procedure (SOP)

Volunteer Content Creation: MCQs

1. Purpose

This SOP provides clear guidelines for (volunteer) content creators who will generate multiple, conceptually equivalent multiple-choice question variations of math textbook questions. The goal is to build a diverse question bank - with complete fidelity to the original question - to enhance student practice, aid teaching and support adaptive learning.

2. Scope

This SOP applies to all creators developing content under the PractEZ’s MCQ Creator Squad initiative.

Mathematics only
MH State Board curriculum for standards 6 & 7
English medium (which covers the state’s semi-English instruction medium)
Any/all questions from all Exercises/Practice Sets
Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs) only (no other question types to be created)

3. Roles and Responsibilities

Volunteer Content Creator:
Create 25 unique but equivalent question variations per textbook question. Ensure each is accurate, clear, and pedagogically aligned.

Reviewer / Moderator: Review submitted questions for correctness, format, and quality. Provide feedback where needed.
Content Coordinator: Assign questions, track progress, and ensure submissions follow naming, formatting, and versioning standards.

4. Workflow

File/folder access

The master files - to track MCQs across its various stages of creation:
- Grade 6 master file
- Grade 7 master file
The textbooks - although openly available, and surely already in your possession, here’s links:
- Grade 6
- Grade 7

Process

Choose Assignment
1. Pick the grade you’d like to create MCQs for.
2. Access the master file for the selected grade, and read through the minimal guidelines presented in the sheet called Info! (this one’s from grade 7.) and then proceed to the aptly named TheSheet (this one’s from grade 7, as well.)
3. Pick an exercise from a chapter you are comfortable with - if its Status is To do, and it is marked as Necessary or Debatable.
  - Connect with the founder if you’d like to work on the exercises marked Optional; these are often geometry-based and/or require diagrammatic representation or other specialized constructs, making them unsuitable as MCQs.
4. Update Status to WIP.
5. Update Creator with your name.
6. Update Start Date with the date you start question creation.
7. Update Target Date with the date you start question creation and with an intended (target) completion date (which can be updated as you go, but ensuring completion before Dec 31, 2025).
8. Pick the template sheet from Column N (Ex.: Grade 6, Exercise 30).
MCQ creation

Here’s a visual hierarchy of the setup:
```
  graph LR
    textbook["textbook"] --> chapter["chapter"]
    chapter --> exercise["exercise"]
    exercise --> question_type["question_type"]
    question_type --> variations["MCQs (min. 25)"]
```
- An exercise is contained within a unique spreadsheet.
- Each question_type is contained within a unique worksheet within the exercise spreadsheet.
- Each question variation is fills up a row within the question_type worksheet.
  - This individual worksheet is named/numbered as per its question tag/number in the textbook.
- The 25 MCQs (questions) created fill up 25 rows in the question_type worksheet.
Quality Assurance Review the MCQs using the following criteria:
- Correctness of computation
- Clarity of language
- Relevance to the original learning objective
Submit for Review by simply updating the Completion Date.
Revise if feedback is provided.
Finalize and Mark Complete and add a note in the Notes field in the master file.

5. MCQ Creation Guidelines

A Multiple Choice Question (MCQ) is a type of question that presents a question and a set of options, only one of which is correct. Below is a simple, illustrative example of a rendered MCQ:

Note

MCQs are rendered as images for use in PractEZ. You are not expected to create these images, only the text of the question and the options.

Core Components

question_stem — The main question or problem to be answered.

correct_answer — The single accurate response.

distractors — Plausible but incorrect options.

image — An accompanying figure or diagram (optional).

Suggested steps to creating a good MCQ:

Create a single prototype of the MCQs keeping in mind the following guidelines:
- Keep the core concept (the testing objective) and difficulty identical to the original question.
- Change numbers, contexts, or wordings meaningfully (ensure utmost fidelity to the original).
- Maintain consistent format, notation, and units within the 25 question variations.
- Ensure each question is solvable and produces a single, valid answer.
- Avoid using textbook phrases, and names (when present) verbatim.
- Keep language simple and student-friendly.
Test this prototype using the visualizer.
Ensure readability of the question and the solution in the rendered image.
- If you’d like to go the extra mile and save PractEZ an extra step, format the questions and the options using $\LaTeX$ (use your favorite LLM to do this!).
Once you’re happy with the prototype, create 25 variations by varying the numbers - always ensuring each is solvable and produces a single, valid answer.

A Note on MCQ Design

6. Formatting and Submission Standards

Each question variation should follow the standard entry template. Other standards are discussed in the various sections above.

Submission Method:

Ensure updating the Completion Date and adding a note in the Notes field against the exercise completed.

7. Review and Quality Assurance

Please contact PractEZ in case you’d like to discuss being part of the quality review team.

8. Ethical and Copyright Considerations

Do not copy textbook wording exactly.
Guidelines somewhere in here, and we’re well within the realm of compliance.

9. Communication and Support

For doubts, you know whom to reach out to.
Weekly volunteer syncs will be held to discuss best practices and challenges.