Reliability and validity of multiple-choice examinations as a function of the number of options per item and of student ability were computed for 435 junior class parochial high school students in the tri-county area of Portland (Oregon). The verbal section of the Washington Pre-College Test Battery was used. The least discriminating options were deleted to create 3-option and 4-option test formats from the original 5-option per item test. Students were placed into ability groups using grade point average (GPA) cutoffs. The GPAs were the criterion for the validity coefficients. Significant differences were found between reliability coefficients for 3- and 5-option formats for low ability students. Non-significant differences were found between reliability coefficients for high or average ability students. The optimum number of options across ability groups was three. None of the validity coefficients followed the trend expected. The results are part of the mounting evidence suggesting the efficacy of the 3-option item. Five tables present study data. (Author/SLD)