Creating questions for an assessment

Note: To complete these procedures, you must be assigned a role having the necessary permissions. To determine your role, follow the directions in Participant roles. For a basic understanding of roles and permissions, see Permissions and roles: Overview.

Creating questions is only one of the steps involved in creating an assessment; see also:

• Creating a new assessment
• Assessment settings
• Adding, moving, copying, or removing a question pool or subpool

You can choose from several types of questions when building an assessment; see Types of questions available for assessments.

In the menubar of the relevant course or project site, click Tests & Quizzes. To create a new assessment, under the "New Assessment" heading, type a name for your assessment in the "Title" field.

You can use the drop-down menu next to Choose Existing Assessment type to choose a template for your assessment. You can also import an assessment by using the Import feature. For more information, see Importing or exporting an assessment.

When you have made your choices, you have two options to create the assessment:

• The Quick Create option allows you to generate questions for your assessment by typing them in a particular format or copying and pasting them from an appropriately formatted text file. Formatting instructions are available on the bottom of the page under Instructions & Examples.
  
  
• The Create option takes you to the question editor. To begin adding questions to a new assessment, choose the type of question you want to add from the Add Question: drop-down menu. Below are instructions for each question type.
  • Multiple Choice
  • Survey
  • Short Answer/Essay
  • Fill in the Blank
  • Numeric Response
  • Matching
  • True/False
  • Audio Recording
  • File Upload
  • Copy from Question Pool

Multiple Choice

To create a multiple choice question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select Multiple Choice. This takes you to the editing screen.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar.
   
   
4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. In the "Answer" section, choose between the following:
   
   
   • Single correct (the default)
   • Multiple Correct, Single Selection
   • Multiple Correct, Multiple Selection

   As you change the selection, the screen will refresh to allow or hide the requisite fields.

6. In the case of a single correct answer, you'll see four text boxes for possible answers. To indicate which answer is the correct one, click the radio button next to it. In the case of multiple correct answers, check the boxes beside the correct responses.
   
   You can choose to Enable Negative Marking for a single correct question. If you want to use this feature, select the Enable Negative Marking radio button and specify the negative point value for incorrect answer selection.
   
   To present fewer possible answers, click Remove beneath the boxes you want to remove. To present more possibilities, use the drop-down menu next to Insert additional answers to select the number of possibilities you want to add.
   
   
7. If you want the possible answers to appear in a random order, under "Randomize Answers", click Yes. To have them appear in the order you see in the question editing screen (the default), click No.
   
   
8. Under "Require Rationale", choose Yes or No (the default) depending on whether you want to require users to provide a rationale for choosing an answer.
   
   
9. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default value if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
10. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
    
    
11. Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can provide question-level feedback for correct and/or incorrect answers.
    
    
12. When you're finished, click Save to return to the assessment editing screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment.

Back to top

Survey

The process for creating a survey question is similar to that used to create a multiple choice question, except for the following differences:

• The "Answer Point Value" field default is 0 (zero).
  
  
• For the text of possible answers, you must choose from a predefined set of scales commonly used for survey reporting. To select the scale you want to use, click its corresponding radio button. The choices are:
  
  
  • Yes, No
  • Disagree, Agree
  • Disagree, Undecided, Agree
  • Below Average -> Above Average
  • Strongly Disagree -> Strongly Agree
  • Unacceptable -> Excellent
  • 1 -> 5
  • 1 -> 10
  
  
• You do not have the option to randomize answers or require a rationale.

Back to top

Short Answer/Essay

To create a short answer/essay question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select Short Answer/Essay.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar.
   
   
4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default value if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
6. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
   
   
7. In the "Answer:" section, you can opt to provide a model short answer or question-level feedback by typing it in the provided fields.
   
   
8. When you're finished, click Save to return to the assessment editing screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment.

Back to top

Fill in the Blank

To create a fill in the blank question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question drop-down menu, select Fill in the Blank.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.

   Note: The total points you assign will be divided among all the blanks in the question. For example, take the following question:

   Polonius advises Laertes: "Neither a {borrower} nor a {lender} be".

   If you assign 10 points to this question, students will get 5 points each for filling in "borrower" and "lender".

3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar. Place curly braces ( { } ) around words requiring a blank, for example: In Unix, to find the current directory path, type {pwd} at the prompt.

   Other options for building a Fill in the Blank question include:

   • Wildcards: Use an asterisk ( * ) to represent one or more characters in a response. For example: An adverb, like {*ly}, modifies a verb.
   • Either|Or: If two or more specific answers could belong in a blank, you can use a pipe ( | ) to separate them. For example: {red|yellow|blue} is the primary color I like best.
   • Case sensitivity: Check Case sensitive if case matters in the response. For example: The capital of California is {Sacramento}.
   • Mutual exclusivity: Check Mutually exclusive if your question has two or more blanks with identical answer choices, but the student must answer each one differently. For example: When you toss a coin, it lands on {heads|tails} or {heads|tails}.

     If the answers are mutually exclusive, the student must type "heads" in one blank and "tails" in the other to answer the question correctly. If the answers were not mutually exclusive, then typing "heads" in both blanks would be considered correct.

     You can use the mutually exclusive option only when it applies to all the blanks in a question. For example, take the following question:

     We mixed {red|blue} and {red|blue} dye together to make {purple}.

     If you select the mutually exclusive option for the above question, it will automatically uncheck itself when you save your question.

4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. If your assessment has more than one part (i.e., section), use the Assign to Part drop-down menu to assign the question to a specific part.
   
   
6. To save the question in a question pool for later use, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name. To do this, you must have created at least one question pool; see Adding, moving, copying, or removing a question pool or subpool.
   
   
7. The "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback" fields allow you to set optional messages for students. Use the assessment's feedback settings to determine if and when students see these messages. For more information, see Assessment settings.
   
   
8. When you're finished, click Save to return to the Questions screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment.

Back to top

Numeric Response

To create a numeric response question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select Numeric Response.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar. Place curly braces ( { } ) around characters requiring a blank, for example: 4*4={16}

   Insert a pipe ( | ) between range limit values, for example:

   The tree's age is {121|145} years.

   Every value between 121 and 145 will be a valid response.

4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default value if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
6. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
   
   
7. Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can choose to provide question-level feedback.
   
   
8. Click Save to return to the Questions screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment.

Back to top

Matching

To create a matching question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select Matching.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar.
   
   
4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. In the "Choice" and "Match" fields, create a correct pair, then click Save Pairing to save it. You can do this as many times as you wish, and you can click Edit or Remove beside pairs you've created.
   
   
6. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default value if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
7. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
   
   
8. Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can choose to provide question-level feedback.
   
   
9. Click Save to return to the Questions screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment.

Back to top

True/False

To create a true/false question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select True False.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar.
   
   
4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. In the Answer field, select either True or False.
   
   
6. Under "Required Rationale", you can choose to require an explanation by clicking Yes.
   
   
7. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
8. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
   
   
9. In the "Correct answer (optional)" and "Incorrect answer (optional)" fields, you can offer answer-level feedback.
   
   
10. When you're finished, click Save to return to the Questions screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment, along with radio buttons for selecting the correct response.

Back to top

Audio Recording

To create an audio recording question:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select Audio Recording.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar.
   
   
4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. Under "Time allowed (seconds):" enter the number of seconds the student can take to record the answer.
   
   
6. Under Number of attempts: choose the number of times a student can re-record the answer from the drop-down menu.
   
   
7. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default value if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
8. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
   
   
9. Under "Correct/Incorrect answer feedback", you can choose to provide question-level feedback.
   
   
10. Click Save to return to the Questions screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment.

Back to top

File Upload

To create a file upload question, which requires the user to upload a file:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select File Upload.
   
   
2. In the "Answer Point Value" field, enter the point value you want to assign to this question. Enter 0 (zero) for an ungraded question.
   
   
3. In the "Question Text" field, enter the text for the question. Click Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor to display the WYSIWYG toolbar.
   
   
4. To add an attachment, click Add Attachments and enter or browse to a filename or enter a URL.
   
   
5. From the Assign to Part drop-down menu, choose the part (i.e., section) to which you want to assign this question. Leave this as the default if you haven't created any parts.
   
   
6. To assign this question to a question pool, from the Assign to question pool drop-down menu, select the desired pool name.
   
   
7. In the "Feedback (optional)" field, you can offer question-level feedback.
   
   
8. When you're finished, click Save to return to the assessment editing screen. You'll see that your new question has been added to the assessment, along with the Upload file icon.

Back to top

Copy from Question Pool

To copy a question from a question pool:

1. In the Questions screen, from the Add Question: drop-down menu, select Copy from Question Pool.
   
   
2. Click the name of the pool from which to import the question.
   
   
3. Navigate to a subpool and/or use the checkbox(es) to select question(s) you wish to import into the current assessment, and then click Copy.

Back to top