How do I add a new question (with the assessment builder)?

Questions can be added to a new or existing assessment with the assessment builder.

In general, the instructor clicks "Add," chooses a question type, and supplies the parts that are called for by that question type. This article covers the general settings common to most question types. For additional information on specific questions types, please refer to the individual articles for the appropriate question type.

Go to Tests & Quizzes.

Select the Tests & Quizzes tool from the Tool Menu of your course.

Select an assessment.

Questions may be added to any assessment. Select an existing assessment or create a new one.

Note: You may also add a question directly to a question pool.

Create a New Assessment.

Create a New Assessment.

For more information on creating new assessments, see How do I create an assessment?

Or edit an existing assessment.

Or edit an existing assessment.

Add a question and choose the question type.

Add a question and choose the question type.

To add a question, you can either:

1. Use the Add Question field at the top by selecting the question type from the drop-down list.  The added question will be placed at the end of the sequence.

2. Use the Insert New Question field provided after each question by selecting the question type from the drop-down list.  The new question will be placed there in the sequence.

Note: There are several different types of questions you can add.  Most of these can be auto-graded.  (Short Answer/Essay, Audio Recording, and File Upload must be graded manually.) Refer to the individual help articles for each specific question type for more information on how to add questions of those types.

Set the point value for the question.

Set the point value for the question.

Enter the point value for this question.  Questions may be worth any point value you choose.  In this example, the question is worth 10 points.

Tip: Keep in mind that the point value of all the questions in the assessment will equal the point value of the assessment in the Gradebook.  So, if you want your assessment to be worth a total of 100 points, you should assign point values to your questions accordingly.

Display points?

Display points?

Do you want students to see the point value as they are taking the test?  If so, leave the default setting of Yes.  If you prefer that students do not see the point value for the question, select No.

Enter the question text.

Enter the question text.

Enter the text of your question into the text box provided. You may also click on the Show/Hide Rich-Text Editor link in the top right corner of the text box to load the WYSIWYG html editor.  The rich text editor allows you to format your question text and/or add images, links, or other resources.  

Note: This section will vary depending on the type of question you are adding.

Add attachments.

Add attachments.

If you would like to attach a file to the question, you may click on the Add Attachments button to browse for and upload a file.  Most multiple choice questions do not contain file attachments; however, in some cases you may want to provide students with a file in order to answer the question.  For example, you could attach an audio file, a reference document, or other resource.

Require rationale?

Require rationale?

The default setting is No for requiring a rationale.  If you would like students to be required to enter a reason for selecting a given response, select Yes.

Assign to part.

Assign to part.

You may have more than one part in an assessment if you choose.  If you have more than one part, and you would like to assign this question to a different part, you may do so using the Assign to Part drop-down menu.

Assign to question pool.

Assign to question pool.

If you would like to add this question to a question pool, you may do so using the Assign to Question Pool drop-down menu.  Adding a question to a pool places a copy of the question in the pool, but leaves a copy of the question in the current assessment.  Question pools can be used to create assessments from a pool of questions and can be shared among courses and instructors.  (You may also copy an entire set of questions into a question pool, as opposed to copying it individually as shown here.)  See What is a Question Pool?

Add feedback.

Add feedback.

You may optionally add feedback to this question which the student will receive when the question is graded.  Feedback may be different based on if the student answered correctly or not.  The rich text editor is also available here if you would like to format your feedback.  

Save your question.

Save your question.

When all of the question parameters are specified to your satisfaction, click Save.