D2L Brightspace: Quizzes

Overview

FACULTY: This article focuses on setting up a quiz in D2L and some of the tools available to help with the process.

Article Sections

Creating a quiz

  1. In your course, navigate to the Quizzes tool.
  2. On the Manage Quizzes page, select New Quiz.
  3. Enter the Name of your quiz and set a Due Date.
  4. In the Questions area, create questions in the quiz using the Create New button. Review the list of quiz questions available in D2L.
  5. Connect the quiz to grades by selecting Not in Grade Book and choosing Add to Grade Book.
  6. Under Availability Dates & Conditions, select a start and/or end date.
    1. Start Date – A student cannot enter the quiz before the quiz start date.
    2. End Date – A student can enter the quiz any time before the quiz end date. 
    3. Due Date – A student can enter the quiz any time before the quiz due date. Quiz attempts started/finished after the due date are flagged as late. 
  7. Under Timing & Display, choose whether to set a time limit and the corresponding timer settings. Review the timing options. One can also set up question shuffling. 
  8. Under Attempts & Completion, set the number of attempts allowed using manage attempts.
  9. Under Evaluation & Feedback, select the assessment options. Review the evaluation and feedback options. Also, set up quiz submission views. (What does a student see upon completion of the quiz?)
  10. Set the hidden toggle to visible to students. Quizzes are created by default hidden. (The toggle is located to the right of the Save and Close/Save/Cancel buttons at the bottom of the page.)
  11. Click Save and Close.

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Types of quiz questions available

True or False (T/F) question

True or false (T/F) questions present a statement which learners must determine is correct or incorrect.

Multiple Choice (M/C) question

Multiple choice (M/C) questions present a statement or question with a list of possible answers, in which learners must choose the best possible answer. Multiple choice questions differ from multi-select questions in that the learner selects one answer for each multiple choice question.

If you create a multiple choice question that has more than one possible solution, you can specify custom weights on a scale of 0 (no credit) to 100 (full credit) to the correctness of each possible answer.  For example, if two answer choices out of five options are accepted as correct, both (a) and (b) answers can be weighted 100% and the other three options (c, d, e) can be weighted at 0%.

Multi-Select (M-S) question

Multi-select (M-S) questions require respondents to identify one or more correct answers in a list of possible answers. Unlike multiple choice (MC) questions, multi-select questions enable you to choose a grading format and allow users to select more than one answer.

Written Response (WR) question

Written response (WR) questions require learners to write detailed answers in response to open-ended questions. You can enable learners to respond in multiple sentences, paragraph answers, or mathematical explanations and calculations. Learners can also respond using the HTML Editor.

Note: Written response questions are not auto-graded.

Short Answer (SA) question

Short answer (SA) questions require respondents to create one word or brief sentence answers in response to open-ended questions.

Multi-Short Answer (MSA) question

Multi-short answer (MSA) questions require learners to answer a multi-solution question and input their answers into individual input boxes. A learner’s answers are checked against each possible answer stored in the answer fields.  D2L recommends that the required number of answers corresponds with the number of input boxes provided.

An MSA question's maximum point value is reflected by a 100% weight. You can specify custom weights on a scale of 0 (no credit) to 100 (full credit) to automatically grade the questions.  The weights must be entered as numerical values into a text box between 0 and 100, inclusive.  As a best practice, D2L recommends that each possible answer's weight calculation equals 100% divided by the number of answers required by the question.

For example, the question “Name 3 state capitals” displays three input boxes to users. Each answer users submit is checked against 51 possible correct answers stored in the answer fields and each answer field has a weight of 33.3%.

Fill in the Blanks (FIB) question

Fill in the blanks (FIB) questions require respondents to fill in one or more missing words for an incomplete sentence, statement, phrase, list, or key terminology.

As a best practice, it is recommended that answers in blank fields be no more than one or two words to ensure auto-grading accuracy. Your listed order of blank and text fields corresponds with the sequence displayed to users.

You can specify custom weights on a scale of 0 (no credit) to 100 (full credit) to automatically grade the questions.  Each weight represents percent of full credit.

An FIB question's maximum point value is reflected by a 100% weight. As a best practice, the combined weight of answers for a blank should equal 100%.

  • If your FIB question has one blank field, the answer weights should be 100 so that full credit is awarded for supplying the correct answer.
  • If your FIB questions has multiple blank fields with only one answer for each blank, the answer weights should be 100 for each blank so that full credit is awarded for supplying all correct answers.
  • If your FIB question has multiple blank fields and each blank field has multiple answers, it is recommended the combined weight of each blank field's most correct answer equals 100%.For example, if there are 3 blanks to fill in the question but the third blank is deemed 'less important' than the others, you could assign weights of 40 to the first two blanks and 20 to the third blank.

Matching (MAT) question

Matching (MAT) questions require respondents to choose from a set of possible match choices from drop-down lists and correctly pair them with related items. This question type enables you to assess users' recognition of information and demonstrate comprehension of specific relationships.

Ordering (ORD) question

Ordering (ORD) questions require respondents to arrange a series of items into a correct sequence or order.

Arithmetic (2+2) question

Arithmetic questions enable you to assess a learner’s knowledge and comprehension of mathematics and number theory.  You can ensure each learner receives a unique question by including variables enclosed with curly braces that randomly generate numbers within the problem.  For example, if you set variables x, y, and z with a Min 1 to Max 5 number range in 1-step increments, the question “You have {x} green marbles, {y} red marbles, and {z} blue marbles. How many marbles do you have in total?” will randomly generate a rational number (1, 2, 3, 4, 5) for {x}, {y}, and {z}.

Significant Figures (x10) question

Significant figures questions require respondents to answer in scientific notation and provide solutions that contain a specified number of significant figures. Math and science courses commonly use this question type. You can ensure each respondent receives a unique question by including variables enclosed with curly braces that randomly generate scientific notations within the problem.

Understanding the arithmetic and significant figures question components

In arithmetic questions, use answer precision to limit the number of acceptable decimal places allowed in a response. You can require that correct answers contain a specific number of decimal places.

In significant figure questions, you can select a percentage of the answer's score to deduct for including incorrect significant figures in a response.

Use tolerance levels to accept near-accurate, estimated, or rounded answers.

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Importing quiz questions with Respondus 4.0

Respondus is a company that makes several tools to help instructors with online testing. One of these tools is Respondus 4.0, an application that helps create and format quiz questions to import into D2L as a test bank. If you want more information about this application and how to use it, please contact Academic Technology Services at service.center@metrostate.edu or by phone at 651.793.1240.

Understanding Timing & Display

Set up an untimed quiz

  • Under Timing & Display, leave the set time limit checkbox unselected. 

Set up a timed quiz that is not enforced

  1. Under Timing & Display, select Set time limit.
  2. Enter a Time Limit.
  3. Select Timer Settings.
  4. Select Do nothing: the time limit is not enforced.
  5. Select OK.

Set up a timed quiz with auto-submit feature

  1. Under Timing & Display, select Set time limit.
  2. Enter a Time Limit.
  3. Select Timer Settings.
  4. Select Automatically submit the quiz attempt.
  5. Select OK.

Set up a timed quiz that is flagged as exceeded the time limit

  1. Under Timing & Display, select Set time limit.
  2. Enter a Time Limit.
  3. Select Timer Settings.
  4. Select Flag as “exceeded time limit” and allow the learner to continue working.
  5. Select OK.

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Understanding Evaluation & Feedback

  • Auto-publish attempt results immediately upon completion – To display the quiz scores and feedback to students immediately after they submit their quiz attempt, select the Auto-publish checkbox.  Questions that can be automatically graded with the quiz key (does not include Written Response questions) are displayed to students. The Auto-publish setting must be selected to allow:
    • Grades to be automatically sent to the grade item in Grades.
    • Students to access their quiz score.
    • Students to access the default submission view (and additional submission views) after they submit their quiz attempt.
  • Synchronize to grade book on publish – When a quiz is associated with a grade item, the system will automatically send the graded quiz attempt scores directly to the grade item in Grades.  Note: You must associate a grade item to the quiz first before this option is selectable.
  • Attempt grade – When published, display to learners their attempt grade score and feedback. You can select a feedback setting, such as Incorrect questions only, without correct answers.  

Customize Quiz Results Displays – The default quiz submission view will display to students after they submit their quiz attempt. You can use the default view or create an additional submission view (releases based on date, attempt, and attempt score). Many faculty will modify the Quiz Results Display to release answers to either all questions or to at least the questions students got wrong on the quiz.

Later-opening Quiz Results

One thing that you will want to set in place for this is the end date. If you only have a due date in place, then students could take the quiz after waiting for the answers to be available.

  1. In Evaluation & Feedback, select the link Customize Quiz Results Displays
  2. Select Additional View
  3. Modify the Display Date to be after the end date/time of the quiz.
  4. Do not touch the check box below the date/time, A limited amount of time (in minutes) after submission, this will break the results release if you check this box.
  5. Optional: select the box Display attempt grade for evaluated questions. (If the quiz has questions that are of different weights/points, this might be helpful for students.)
  6. In the questions dropdown: 
    1. Option 1: All questions. Then below the dropdown select which you wish to use
      • Show the correct answers to the displayed questions
      • Show the learner's responses to the displayed questions
      • Show the learner's grade for the displayed questions
      • Show standards for the displayed questions
    2. Option 2: Incorrect questions only with learner's responses.
      • Show the correct answers to the displayed questions
      • Show the learner's grade for the displayed questions
      • Show standards for the displayed questions
  7. Statistics are available for quizzes. It is recommended by MinnState to leave these unselected, do not check the boxes. It is ESPECIALLY important to leave the statistics off on smaller class sizes as you may reveal student grades.

Final conversation piece with this Quiz Results option, you must change the date of the results release after a course copy into a future. If you do not change the dates, your course will most likely be revealing the answers (based on option 1 or 2 above) immediately upon the students' submissions because it is past the original due date.

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