This lesson provides step-by-step guidance on creating a Drag in the Blank Item using Illuminate's NEW Item Bank. Drag in the Blank items allow for students to drag a response into a provided space. These items are automatically scored.
Where to Start

- Click Assessments.
- Select Browse Item Bank NEW.
Create a New Item


- Click Create Item at the top right hand side of the screen.
- Use the dropdown menu to select Drag in the Blank as the item type.
Drag in the Blank Items
- Enter the Item Stem. The stem is the beginning part of an item that presents a problem to be solved, a direct question, or an incomplete statement to be completed, as well as any other relevant information.
- To insert a line break in the Stem, use shift-return (or shift-enter, depending on the keyboard).
- Click inside the Define Template text entry area. Type in the text that will make up the body of the item.
- To insert a a Response Area that students will need to fill in, position the cursor at the desired location and then click +Response Area. A question can include one or more response areas.
- Click Add Choice, enter the text of the answer choice, and click the green checkmark. Repeat until all answer choices have been defined.
- Responses can be rearranged by clicking and dragging into place and deleted using the Trash Can icon.
- Indicate the correct answers by dragging them to the corresponding Response Areas.
By default, each answer choice can only be used one time: when a student drags an answer choice to a response area, that answer choice will no longer be available to drag to other response areas.
If you want to create an item where a single answer choice can be reused, so that it can fill in more than one response area, go to Settings and turn on Allow Duplicates.
Do not create duplicate answer choices, as this will lead to scoring problems.
Drafted items are automatically saved.
Item Details

- To link Standard(s) to the item, click the Three Pages icon.
- To link a Passage to the item, click the Book icon.
- To add Tags to the item, click the Tag icon.
- Additional Settings are available to edit per item such as Allowing Duplicates, Locking Choice Order, seleting a Choice Position, Enabling/Disabling Teacher Instructions, Item Stem, and Rationale.
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
- Click Item Preview to see a preview.
- You can select to preview the item from a Student or Instructor role.
- Test the item by dragging an answer choice into the response area(s).
- Click Check Answer to verify the answer key. Correct responses will be outlined in green, incorrect responses in red.
Publish Item

- When you've completed creating/editing your item, click Done.
- To make your item available to use in an assessment click Publish.
- To save an item that you aren't ready to publish, click Save Draft.
- To delete your item click Discard.
Once items are Published, you can Lock, Edit, or Delete the item.
Next Steps
Now that you have created a Drag in the Blank item, learn about Creating a NEW Item Bank Assessment.