ARCHIVED: Creating questions in ExamSoft

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In ExamSoft, you can create essay, fill-in-the-blank, multiple choice, and true/false questions to use in student assessment.

On this page:

Essay questions

To create an essay question in ExamSoft:

  1. Log into SofTeach.
  2. Hover over Create Items, and then select Essay from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the Folder drop-down menu to navigate to and select a folder for the question.
  4. Type your question in the field below "Item Stem / Question Prompt".
  5. To save the question as a draft, click Save. Alternatively, to save the question and make it available to add to an exam, click Approved.

Optional elements

Click the Basics tab to use the following optional elements with an essay question:

  • Description: Helps you quickly identify the questions in your Items folder. If you do not enter anything in this field, the first 20 characters from the "Item Stem / Question Prompt" field will be displayed.
  • Group: If you opt to randomize your exam questions, all questions with the same group name will remain together.
  • Weighting: Use this field to assign a point value to the question. You can change this value as you create your exam.
  • Character Limit: If you wish to limit essay answers to a specific number of characters, type that number in the "Character Limit" box. Note that characters include spaces and punctuation.
  • Background Color: Click the color selector icon to select a background color for the question; alternatively, in the "Background Color:" box, enter the six-digit hexadecimal number that corresponds to the desired color.

    Note: Changing the background color can make a question more difficult to read. Only change the background color if it enhances readability or helps to make images clearer.

To assign categories to a question, add an attachment, or provide a rationale, see Additional options for all question types below.

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Fill-in-the-blank questions

To create a fill-in-the-blank question in ExamSoft:

  1. Log into SofTeach.
  2. Hover over Create Items, and then select Fill in the Blank from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the Folder drop-down menu to navigate to and select a folder for the question.
  4. Type your question in the field below "Item Stem / Question Prompt".
  5. In the "Item Stem / Question Prompt" box, position your cursor in the location where you want the blank to appear.
  6. Under "Answer Choices", click Add new blank to make a numbered box appear next to your cursor in the "Item Stem / Question Prompt" section. When exam takers view this question, instead of the numbered box, they will see a blank where they can type an answer.

    You can reposition the numbered box by dragging it to a new location.

  7. Type the answer for the blank in the "Answer Choices" text box. If you will accept multiple answers, use a pipe (|) to separate possible correct answers (e.g., Acute bronchitis | Chronic bronchitis).
  8. To save the question as a draft, click Save. Alternatively, to save the question and make it available to add to an exam, click Approved.

Optional elements

Click the Basics tab to use the following optional elements with a fill-in-the-blank question:

  • Description: Helps you quickly identify the questions in your Items folder. If you do not enter anything in this field, the first 20 characters from the "Item Stem / Question Prompt" field will be displayed.
  • Group: If you opt to randomize your exam questions, all questions with the same group name will remain together.
  • Weighting: Use this field to assign a point value to the question. You can change this value as you create your exam.
  • Multiple Answers: If a single question requires multiple answers, checking the Partial Credit box will allow exam takers to earn credit for any correct answer they enter, even if they don't fill in every blank correctly.
  • Background Color: Click the color selector icon to select a background color for the question; alternatively, in the "Background Color:" box, enter the six-digit hexadecimal number that corresponds to the desired color.

    Note: Changing the background color can make a question more difficult to read. Only change the background color if it enhances readability or helps to make images clearer.

The following options are found under the "Answer Choices" section:

  • Delete: To remove an answer, click the red x in the "Del" column next to the answer.
  • Additional blanks: If you want to insert more than one blank in a question, position your cursor where the next blank should appear and click Add new blank.

To assign categories to a question, add an attachment, or provide a rationale, see Additional options for all question types below.

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Multiple choice questions

To create a multiple choice question in ExamSoft:

  1. Log into SofTeach.
  2. Hover over Create Items, and then select Multiple Choice from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the Folder drop-down menu to navigate to and select a folder for the question.
  4. Type your question in the field below "Item Stem / Question Prompt".
  5. Under "Answer Choices", enter the text for each answer choice.
  6. In the "Correct?" column, check the box that corresponds to the correct answer choice.
  7. To save the question as a draft, click Save. Alternatively, to save the question and make it available to add to an exam, click Approved.

Optional elements

Click the Basics tab to use the following optional elements with a multiple choice question:

  • Description: Helps you quickly identify the questions in your Items folder. If you do not enter anything in this field, the first 20 characters from the "Item Stem / Question Prompt" field will be displayed.
  • Group: If you opt to randomize your exam questions, all questions with the same group name will remain together.
  • Weighting: Use this field to assign a point value to the question. You can change this value as you create your exam.
  • Multiple Answers: For multiple choice, multiple select questions (i.e., questions for which there is more than one correct answer), choose one of the following options:
    • Partial Credit: When this option is selected, exam takers will earn credit for any correct answer they select, even if they don't select every available correct answer.
    • Enable All That Apply: When this option is selected, exam takers must properly select all correct answers to receive any credit for the question.

  • Randomize Choices: Selecting this option will randomize the possible answer choices for the question.

    Note: If you choose this option, make sure you do not include answer choices like "Both A and B are correct" or "None of the above".

  • Background Color: Click the color selector icon to select a background color for the question; alternatively, in the "Background Color:" box, enter the six-digit hexadecimal number that corresponds to the desired color.

    Note: Changing the background color can make a question more difficult to read. Only change the background color if it enhances readability or helps to make images clearer.

The following options are all found under the "Answer Choices" section:

  • Comments: Use this field to enter internal notes that can be viewed by you or other instructors.
  • Locked: If you have chosen to randomize your answer choices, checking the box in the "Locked?" column next to a particular answer choice will lock that choice in its original position. This will allow you to use answer choices like "None of the above" or "All of the above".
  • Position: To rearrange the answer choices, click the up or down arrows until the choice is where you want it.
  • Delete: To remove an answer choice, click the red x in the "Del" column next to the answer.
  • Add new choice: If you need more than four answer choices, click this button to create a new choice.

To assign categories to a question, add an attachment, or provide a rationale, see Additional options for all question types below.

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True/false questions

To create a true/false question in ExamSoft:

  1. Log into SofTeach.
  2. Hover over Create Items, and then select True/False from the drop-down menu.
  3. Click the Folder drop-down menu to navigate to and select a folder for the question.
  4. Type your question in the field below "Item Stem / Question Prompt".
  5. At the bottom of the screen, in the "Choose Correct Answer" box, select TRUE or FALSE.
  6. To save the question as a draft, click Save. Alternatively, to save the question and make it available to add to an exam, click Approved.

Optional elements

Basics tab

  • Description: Helps you quickly identify the questions in your Items folder. If you do not enter anything in this field, the first 20 characters from the "Item Stem / Question Prompt" field will be displayed.
  • Group: If you opt to randomize your exam questions, all questions with the same group name will remain together.
  • Weighting: Use this field to assign a point value to the question. You can change this value as you create your exam.
  • Background Color: Click the color selector icon to select a background color for the question; alternatively, in the "Background Color:" box, enter the six-digit hexadecimal number that corresponds to the desired color.

    Note: Changing the background color can make a question more difficult to read. Only change the background color if it enhances readability or helps to make images clearer.

To assign categories to a question, add an attachment, or provide a rationale, see Additional options for all question types below.

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Additional options for all question types

Categories

To assign one or more categories to a question:

  1. At the top of the screen, select the Categories tab.
  2. Check the boxes next to as many categories as apply for this question.
  3. Click Add >> to move your selections over to the "Categories Assigned to This Item" field.

To remove a category that was previously assigned, check the box next to the category you want to remove, and then click Remove.

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Attachments

When you add an attachment to an ExamSoft question, it will generate a pop-up window in the exam where exam takers can view the attachment.

To add an attachment to an exam question:

  1. At the top of the screen, select the Attachments tab.
  2. Click Choose File and select the file you want to attach.
  3. Click Add Attachment to attach the file to the question.

To remove an attachment from an exam question, click the red x in the "Del" column.

The following file types can be attached to an ExamSoft question:

  • .gif
  • .jpg
  • .jpeg
  • .rtf

The following file types are available in Beta only:

  • .avi
  • .mov
  • .mp3
  • .mp4
  • .pdf

Attachments are limited to the following sizes:

  • Image size limit: 1 MB
  • Audio file size limit: 5 MB
  • Video file size limit: 150 MB

Note: The total size of all files attached to a single exam cannot exceed 200 MB.

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Rationale and comments

For an exam question, instructors can provide a rationale to be made available to exam takers, or they can make internal comments that are viewable only by exam managers.

To provide a rationale to exam takers for a question:

  1. At the top of the screen, select the Rationale tab.
  2. Type the desired text in the "Instructor's Rationale" box.

To create internal exam manager comments for a question:

  1. At the top of the screen, select the Rationale tab.
  2. Type the desired text in the "Internal Comments" box, and then click Add Comment.
  3. To add multiple internal comments to a question, repeat step 2.
  4. Delete an internal comment by clicking the red x in the "Del" column.

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This is document bcvf in the Knowledge Base.
Last modified on 2023-09-22 17:15:15.