Authoring Item Content
This section explains how to enter content for items when filling out the templates. See the following sections for instructions about authoring each available item type:
General Steps for Authoring Items
The instructions for authoring content vary by template, but in general, most item types require you to do the following:
- Step 1: Compose Item Prompt: You can enter the question or directions for an item in a text box at the top of the template. This text box includes a toolbar that allows you to format text and insert media, such as images and videos. For more information about using this text box, see Appendix D.
- Step 2: Create Response Area: The response area is the part of the item that students interact with in order to answer the question. The response area is different for every item type.
- Step 3: Construct Answer Keys: The answer key determines how many points an item is worth and how the student’s response is evaluated.
- For machine-scored item types, the answer key displays a response area where you must enter a valid response (either correct or partially correct) and identify how many points that response is worth. You can create additional answer keys if the item has multiple valid answers. The answer key also displays a text box where you can enter an explanation for each valid response. You may also include a description of the scoring criteria that will be available in reports for this item.
- For hand-scored items, you must enter a description of the rubric and an example (exemplar) for each possible score a student could earn.