This information applies only to the Original Course View. Your institution controls which tools are available.

Question Settings page

On the Question Settings page, you can adjust question settings for a test, survey, or pool. For example, you can set options for scoring, feedback, images, metadata, extra credit, and how questions are displayed to students.

Change question settings

You access tests, survey, and pools in the same way.

Control Panel > Course Tools > Tests, Surveys, and Pools > Tests

  1. On the Tests page, access the test's menu and select Edit.
  2. On the Test Canvas, select Question Settings.
  3. On the Test Question Settings page, make your changes to the options listed in the table. The scoring options of partial credit, negative points, extra credit are explained later in this topic. These scoring options don't appear for pools and surveys.
  4. When you are finished, submit your changes.
Test question settings
Option Description
Provide feedback for individual answers If you want your feedback to show for individual questions such as Essays, select this option. Though a Response Feedback text box displays by default, students won't see any feedback you add unless you select this option. You can't provide individual feedback for answers to True/False, Ordering, and Matching questions.
Add images, files, and web links to individual feedback You'll be able to add images, files, and web links to individual feedback you provide.
Add images, files, and web links to answers You'll be able to add images, files, and web links to answers you provide.
Add categories, topics, levels of difficulty, keywords and instructor notes to questions You'll be able to add metadata and your notes to questions. When you search for questions from a pool or other tests and surveys, you can search for questions by these criteria.

More on question metadata
Specify default points when creating questions You can automatically assign all questions in a test the same default point value. To be effective, you must set the default point value before you create questions. If you change the default point value, only new questions will have the new value. Questions you created before the modification have the old point value.

You can't specify a default point value for questions in pools and surveys.
Specify partial credit options for answers You can make partial credit available for some question types included in a test. If selected, an option to give partial credit appears when you create or edit questions. Partial credit is explained later in this topic.

The partial credit option doesn't appear for pools and surveys.
Specify negative points options for answers You can make negative points available for some question types included in a test. You must enable the partial credit option before the negative points option will appear. You type negative points—used to penalize wrong answers or guesses—as a negative percentage value in the partial credit box for each incorrect answer. If selected, an option to allow for negative scoring for answers appears when you create or edit some question types. Negative scoring is explained later in this topic.

The negative points option doesn't appear for pools and surveys.
Provide option to assign questions as extra credit You can make extra credit available for questions included in the test. If selected, you can assign extra credit for each question individually after you create it. Extra credit is explained later in this topic.

The extra credit option doesn't appear for pools or surveys.
Specify random ordering of answers You can have answers appear in a random order. If selected, the option appears when you create or edit each question.
Specify the horizontal or vertical display of answers Select whether answers appear vertically or horizontally. If selected, the option appears when you create or edit each question.
Specify numbering options for answers Determine the answer numbering such as 1 2, 3 or A, B, C. If selected, the option appears when you create or edit each question.

When the answers are numbers, test takers can confuse numbers that denote the order of the answers as part of the answers. To avoid confusion, you can use letters to denote the order of answers.

Assign partial credit

When you enable partial credit, a portion of the total points for a question is awarded when an answer isn't entirely correct. Some question types allow you to assign percentages to answers.

You can enable partial credit when you create or edit some question types.

The partial credit option doesn't appear for pools and surveys.

You can use partial credit for these question types:

  • Calculated Formula
  • Fill in Multiple Blanks
  • Jumbled Sentence
  • Matching
  • Multiple Answer
  • Multiple Choice
  • Opinion Scale/Likert Question
  • Ordering
  • Quiz Bowl

You can assign specific percentages for partial credit in these question types:

  • Calculated Formula
  • Multiple Answer
  • Multiple Choice
  • Matching
  • Opinion Scale/Likert Question

Example:

You include this Multiple Choice question with four answers: "What is on a beach?" The correct answer is "sand," worth 5 points. For another choice, "the ocean," you can set partial credit to 40%, awarding 2 points for that answer. If partial credit is enabled but negative points aren't, valid percentage values for a question are 0.0 to 100.0.

Use these steps to enable the partial credit option and use it for some question types:

  1. On the Test Canvas, select Question Settings.
  2. On the Test Question Settings page, select Specify partial credit options for answers.
  3. Select Submit.
  4. For each appropriate question, select the check box for Allow Partial Credit.
  5. For the questions that allow you to specify percentages, type a value in an answer's Partial Credit % box. This number is read as a percent. For example, typing 50 will give the student 50% of the question's possible points for selecting that answer. Zero is an acceptable value.
  6. Select Submit.

After students submit attempts, you can't disable the partial credit option on the Test Question Settings page. To remove the partial credit option from an individual question in a test with attempts, clear the question's check box for Allow Partial Credit. Select Submit and Update Attempts and then OK. All test attempt scores are recalculated.

If you make partial credit available, let students know in the test instructions.

Use negative points

You can penalize students' incorrect answers with negative points. Use this feature for tests with Multiple Choice questions to discourage guessing. You can enable the negative points option when you create or edit a question.

The negative points option doesn't appear for pools and surveys.

You can use negative points for incorrect answers for these question types:

  • Matching
  • Multiple Answer
  • Multiple Choice

Example:

A Multiple Choice question awards 5 points for a correct answer and 0 points for skipping it. You can set -20% (or -1 point) for each of the incorrect answers. Valid negative point percentage values for a question are -100.0 to -0.0.

Use these steps to enable the negative points option and use it for some questions types:

  1. On the Test Canvas, select Question Settings.
  2. On the Test Question Settings page, select Specify negative points options for answers. The negative points option appears only if you enabled the Specify partial credit options for answers option.
  3. Select Submit.
  4. For each appropriate question, select the check boxes for Allow Partial Credit and Allow Negative Scores for Incorrect Answers.
  5. For each incorrect answer, type a negative percentage in the Partial Credit % box. For example, typing -50 will subtract 50% of the question's possible points from a student's total grade for selecting that answer. Zero is an acceptable value.
  6. Select Submit.

After students submit attempts, you can't disable the negative points option on the Test Question Settings page. To remove the negative points option from an individual question in a test with attempts, clear the question's check box for Allow Partial Credit. Negative scoring is also disabled. Select Submit and Update Attempts and then OK. All test attempt scores are recalculated.

If you use negative points as a guessing deterrent, let students know in the test instructions.

Award extra credit

You can enable extra credit in the scoring options and then apply it to individual questions. A correct answer results in adding the points listed in the question's Points box to the points earned for the test. An incorrect answer doesn't result in a point deduction. Questions designated as extra credit are removed from the total points calculation for the purpose of grading.

If students answer all questions correctly on a test with extra credit questions, they're awarded a score greater than 100% on the test.

The extra credit option doesn't appear for pools and surveys.

  1. On the Test Question Settings page, select Provide option to assign questions as extra credit.
  2. Select Submit.
  3. For each appropriate question, select the Points box.
  4. In the pop-up box, select the check box for Extra Credit.
  5. Select Submit.

To remove extra credit for an individual question, clear the Extra Credit check box. You can disable extra credit for the entire test on the Test Question Settings page.

If you make extra credit available, let students know in the question or in the test instructions.

About question metadata

You can create metadata values for questions to help organize them for future use. You can use the metadata values you create for one question when you create other questions in the same course. On the Find Questions page, use these metadata values to help search for questions to reuse.

More on reusing questions

You can add these metadata values to questions:

  • Categories
  • Topics
  • Levels of Difficulty
  • Keywords

The question metadata options appear only if you selected Add categories, topics, levels of difficulty, and keywords to questions in Question Settings.

Example: Question with metadata

You create this True/False question: The capital of Slovenia is Ljubljana.

You apply this metadata to the question:

  • Category: Geography
  • Topic: Former Yugoslavia
  • Levels of Difficulty: Low
  • Keywords: World Capitals

This question appears in the active filter on the Find Questions page when you select Geography, Former Yugoslavia, or Low.

Add metadata to a question

You can add metadata to questions one at a time.

  1. Access a test, survey, or pool. From the Create Question menu, create a new question or select Edit in an existing question's menu.
  2. The Categories and Keywords section, select Add to add a category, topic, level of difficulty, or keyword.
  3. Type a new category, topic, level of difficulty, or keyword in the box and select OK. You can also type multiple items. Separate each with a comma.
  4. Select Choose from Existing to select an existing category, topic, level of difficulty, or keyword. If no choices exist, this option doesn't appear.
  5. Select Submit.

Manage question metadata

  1. Access a question's menu and select Edit.
  2. To delete a category, topic, level of difficulty, or keyword, select the X next to the metadata element.

    -OR-

  3. Select Add and type a new category, topic, level of difficulty, or keyword in the box and select OK.
  4. Select Submit.