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Create a Classification Item

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The Classification item type allows students to answer item prompts by dragging answer choices into a category. This item type is automatically scored. This lesson provides step-by-step guidance on creating a Classification item in the Item Bank.

Where to Start

The Assessments navigation tile.
  1. Select Assessments.
  2. Select Browse Item Bank.

Create a New Item

The Create Item and Classification item type buttons.
  1. Select Create Item.
  2. Use the dropdown to select Classification as the item type.

Classification Item

An example Classification item, with the Item Stem labeled as step 5, Row Label labeled as step 6, Add a Category labeled as step 7, the category labels labneled as step 8, the Choices Label labeled as step 9, Add a Choice labeled as step 10, the choices labeled as step 11, the two-line icon labeled as step 12, and the minus button labeled as step 13.
  1. Enter the Item Stem. The stem directs students on how to answer the question.
    • To insert a line break in the stem, use shift-return (or shift-enter, depending on the keyboard).
  2. Enter the Row Label. This tells students what type of categories are displayed.
  3. By default, two categories display. Select Add Category to create a new category.
    • Classification items involve placing answer choices into categories. Each category is represented by a cell or box, but depending on what labels are used and omitted, various sort of layouts can be achieved. See the Additional Examples section below to see other layout options.
  4. Enter the Category Labels.
  5. Enter the Choice Label. Students sort the choices into the correct categories.
  6. By default, three choices display. Select Add a Choice to create additional choices.
  7. Enter the Choices.
  8. Use the 2 line button to drag the choices into the correct Category.
  9. Use the minus button to remove a Choice from a Category.

Additional Examples

The following layout uses only Category Labels. Row Labels would usually be left blank for this sort of layout, but here they have been labeled [blank] for added clarity.

An example Classification layout with Category Labels, but no Row Labels.

To achieve a column-style layout, use the Settings panel to set “Categories per row” to the number of Categories you wish to use. Here, Categories per row has been set to 3.

An example Classification layout with one row and three columns.

To force narrower columns, set Categories per row to a number that is higher than the number of Categories you are using (up to 6).

An example Classification layout with one row and three columns, which have been narrowed.

To achieve a row-style layout, use the Settings panel to set Categories per row to 1, and put the category names into the Row Label fields, rather than the Category Label fields, which can be left blank.

An example Classification layout with one column and three rows.

To achieve a matrix-style layout, use Category Labels for the cells in the first row as column labels, but omit Category Labels for cells in later rows. Use Row Labels for the other classification dimension.

An example Classification layout with a matrix-style layout of two columns and three rows.

Item Details

The item settings menus, with the Standards icon labeled as step 14, Passages labeled as step 15, Tags labeled as step 16, and the Settings and Properties menus labeled as step 17.
  1. To link Standard(s) to the item, select the Three Pages icon.
  2. To link a Passage to the item, select the Book icon.
  3. To add Tags to the item, select the Tag icon.
  4. Additional Settings are available:
    • Lock Choice Order: The order of the Choices is determined when the item is created. The Choices will not be randomized during online testing.
    • Categories per row: Determines the number of Categories displayed in each row.
    • Choices Position: Determines where Choices appear, relative to the Categories.
    • Allow Multiple Placements: Allows students to place Choices into multiple Categories.
    • Max choices per category: Places a customizable upper limit on the number of Choices that can be placed within any one Category.
    • Item Stem: Include or remove the Item Stem field.
    • Teacher Instructions and Rationale can also be enabled or disabled.

Users must link at least 1 standard when creating an item. If attempting to publish an item without standards, an error message will appear asking for standards to be aligned before publishing again.

Item Preview

An example Classification item, with the Item Preview tab selected and labeled as step 18, the Role dropdown labeled as step 19, the item preview area labeled as step 20, and the Check Answers toggle labeled as step 21.
  1. Select Item Preview.
  2. Users can select to preview the item from a Student or Instructor Role.
  3. Test the item by dragging the Choices into the Categories.
  4. Select Check Answers to verify the answer key. Correctly categorized Choices will be outlined in green, and incorrectly categorized Choices will be outlined in orange. Correctly completed Categories will outline in green, and incorrectly completed or incomplete Categories will be outlined in orange.

Publish Item

The Done menu, with Done labeled as step 22, Publish labeled as step 23, Save Draft labeled as step 24, and Discard labeled as step 25.
  1. When the item is completed, select Done.
  2. To make the item available to use in an assessment, select Publish.
  3. To save an item that isn't ready to be published, select Save Draft.
  4. To delete the item, select Discard.

Once items are Published, they can be Locked, Edited, or Deleted.

Next Steps

Now that you have created a Classification item, learn about Creating an Item Bank Assessment.

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