This study investigated the optimal number of options of the English section of the NAEA (National Assessment of Educational Achievement) for language domain as well as item characteristics. The English section of the NAEA for the ninth graders is the test instrument employed in this study. By eliminating the least and the second least frequently chosen options, a five-option, multiple choice English test was converted to a four- and a three-option version. Item difficulty, item discrimination, and information function were computed as a function of the number of options, employing the 3-parameter IRT model. Results showed that there were no significant differences among the three means of item difficulty as well as item discrimination indices for language domain (i.e., listening and reading). For specific item types such as identifying the speaker"s intention, selecting the most appropriate response to the spoken discourse, and finding out the true statement presented in English, a three- or a four-option version functioned better than a five-option version. The findings will have important practical implications for implementing some three- or four-option multiple choice items for the English section of the NAEA.