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Create a Constructed Response Item

  • Updated

This lesson provides step-by-step guidance on creating a Constructed Response Item using DnA's Item Bank. This item type allows for students to type a response to a prompt, and must be manually scored.

Where to Start

Blue Assessments button
  1. Select Assessments.
  2. Select Browse Item Bank.

Create a New Item

The Create Item and Constructed Response item type buttons.
  1. Select Create Item at the top right hand side of the screen.
  2. Use the dropdown menu to select Constructed Response as the item type.

Constructed Response Items

A Constructed Response item with an Item Stem text box labeled as step 5 and two radio buttons, Simple Rubric and Multi Trait Rubric, labeled as step 6.
  1. 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 include blank lines in the Stem, use shift-return (or shift-enter, depending on the keyboard).
  2. Select the radio button to create either a Simple or Multi Trait Rubric.
    • Simple Rubric - A student’s response will be assigned a single score. Simple rubrics are usually best for short answer questions.
    • Multi Trait Rubric - With a multi trait rubric, a student’s response will be scored against multiple traits or criteria, such as organization and voice. Multi trait rubrics are usually best used with essay questions where a longer response is expected. 
Simple Rubric
An example rubric with the radio button Simple Rubric selected and labeled as step 1; a Max Points dropdown is labeled as step 2; a checkbox Exclude Zeros is labeled as step 3; and a series of text boxes for 3 PTS, 2 PTS, 1 PT, and 0 PT, are labeled as step 4.
  1. By default, a Simple Rubric is selected.
  2. Use the dropdown menu to select the Max Points possible for the item.
    • Simple Rubrics allow up to 75 Max Points possible. Administrations via bubble sheets or Grade by Camera/Scanner will only allow for up to nine points; higher max points will need to be manually scored in Enter/Edit.
  3. Use the checkbox to check Exclude zeros if the lowest possible score for the item should be 1 rather than 0.
  4. Type into the text boxes to add Rationale for points awarded.
Multi Trait Rubric

Once a Constructed Response item with a Multi Trait Rubric has been published, the item can no longer be edited. Ensure that the item and rubric are complete and formatted correctly before publishing to avoid future issues.

An example rubric with the radio button Multi Trait Rubric selected and labeled as step 1; a Scale 1 Max Points dropdown labeled as step 2; two textboxes indicating Enter Label are labeled as step 3; a text box indicating Enter Trait labeled as step 4; two text boxes indicating Enter Descriptor labeled as step 5; a grey button + Add Trait labeled as step 6; a button of three dots in a vertical line next to the Scale 2 Max Points dropdown labeled step 7; and a button of six dots arrayed in two vertical lines of three above each Enter Trait textbox labeled as step 8.
  1. Use the radio button to select Multi Trait Rubric.
  2. Use the dropdown to select the Max Points value for Scale 1.
    • By default, multi trait rubrics start at 1; to add 0 as an option, go to Settings and use the slider to turn off the Exclude Zero toggle.
  3. Enter Label (Optional) - Enter labels into the text boxes.
    • Examples might be “Exceeds Expectation,” “Meets Expectation,” and “Approaches Expectation.” Score point labels are optional; if the rubric doesn't use them, then you can go into Settings to turn off Show Score Point Labels.
  4. Enter Trait - Enter trait names into the text boxes.
    • Examples might be “Organization” and “Evidence/Support.”
  5. Enter Descriptor (Optional) - Enter Descriptors into the text boxes. Descriptors should be a description of the performance associated with that trait and score level. Descriptors are needed to ensure that a rubric has enough information for responses to be scored. Trait descriptions are optional, but they can help to clarify what a trait is intended to measure. 
    • E.g., “Organizes ideas and information into logical introductory, body, and concluding paragraphs.”
    • If a Description beyond the Trait Name should be added, use the toggle in Settings to turn on the Show Description toggle. Then, replace the placeholder text “Enter Description” with the desired value. For instance, if the trait name is “Organization,” the description might be, “Does the organizational structure enhance the ideas and make them easier to understand?”
  6. Select + Add Trait if the rubric has more than two traits scored with the same Max Score (and score point labels, if used).
    • If additional Scales beyond two need to be added, use the toggle in Settings to turn on Add Scale Available. This will cause an additional + Add Scale button to appear. Use it to create additional scales as needed. 
  7. Select the three dots above the Trait Name, then select Remove and Delete to remove a trait. The same can be done to remove unwanted scales.
  8. Select and hold the six dots to drag and drop a trait to adjust the trait order.
    • Use the toggle in Settings to turn on Enable Drag and Drop.

Scales allow different traits in a rubric to be scored differently. For instance, if Organization and Evidence are scored out of 4, whereas Conventions is scored out of 2, then Organization and Evidence can be traits under Scale 1, while Conventions can be a trait under Scale 2. If all the traits in the rubric have the same maximum score, they should be within the same scale.

Drafted items are automatically saved.

Assessment Blueprint report with the Constructed Response Number of Questions and Standard Number of Questions statistics highlighted.

When viewing the Assessment Blueprint report for an Item Bank assessment containing a Constructed Response item with a Multi Trait Rubric, each trait in the rubric is counted as an individual question in the Number of Questions statistics. This functionality is projected to be corrected with future rubric updates.

Item Details

A series of item settings with an icon of three pages stacked vertically labeled as step 9; an icon of a book labeled as step 10; an icon of two stacked tags labeled as step 11; and a series of Settings and Properties toggles and options labeled as step 12.
  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 and Properties are available to edit per item, such as:
    • Equation Editor - The equation editor will be available to students when typing their response.
    • Students can insert Spanish - Students will have the ability to insert Spanish in their response.
    • Students can insert Special Characters - Students will have the ability to insert Special Characters in their response.
    • Response Area Size - Users can enter into the Width (px) and Height (px) text boxes to update the response area size.
    • Item Stem - Includes the Item Stem in Online Testing.
    • Disable Student Spellcheck - Removes Spellcheck from Online Testing.
    • Teacher Instructions - Includes Teacher instructions in Online Testing.
    • Exclude Zero - By default, multi trait rubrics start at 1; use this setting to add 0 as an option.
    • Enable Drag and Drop - Use to reorder traits. This will add a six dot button that can be used to drag and drop traits.
    • Show Description - Use if Trait Descriptions beyond the Trait Name and Score Descriptors should be added. If enabled, replace the placeholder text, “Enter Description,” with the desired value. For instance, if the trait name is “Organization,” the description might be, “Does the organizational structure enhance the ideas and make them easier to understand?” Trait descriptions are optional, but they can help to clarify what a trait is intended to measure.
    • Show Score Point Labels - Use if the rubric uses score point labels, then replace the placeholder text “Enter Label” with the desired value.
    • Add Scale Available - Adds an additional scale if more than two scales are needed. This will cause an + Add Scale button to appear.

Users must link at least one 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 Item Preview screen with the Item Preview tab labeled as step 13; a Role dropdown labeled as step 14; and the item stem and blank textbox labeled as step 15.
  1. Select Item Preview to see a preview.
  2. Select Student or Instructor from the Role dropdown to preview the item as from different roles.
  3. Test the item by typing in a response.

Publish Item

A dropdown menu of item publishing options with a grey Done button labeled as step 16; a blue Publish button labeled as step 17; a grey Save Draft button labeled as step 18; and a grey Discard button labeled as step 19.
  1. When item creation/editing 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 publish, select Save Draft.
  4. To delete the item, select Discard.

Once an item is Published, it can be Locked, *Edited, or Deleted.

*Once a Constructed Response item with a Multi Trait Rubric has been published, the item can no longer be edited. Ensure that the item and rubric are complete and formatted correctly before publishing to avoid future issues.

Next Steps

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

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