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Constructed Response

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This lesson provides step-by-step guidance on creating a Constructed Response item in the Item Bank. This item type requires students to write and/or draw a response to a provided prompt. This question type can be administered online or on paper, offers a range of scoring options, and must be manually scored.

Before You Begin

This lesson begins assuming that users have the permissions to create new Item Bank items, and are familiar with the item creation process. To learn more about creating Item Bank items, take a look at the Create Items article.

Create Constructed Response Item

An example Constructed Response item type, with the Item Type dropdown labeled as step 1, Passage labeled as step 2, Include Teacher Instructions labeled as step 3, # of Questions labeled as step 4, Question labeled as step 5, and Include Character Limit labeled as step 6.
  1. Select the Constructed Response item type.
  2. (Optional) Choose one or more passages by selecting Link Passage.
    • Passages must be published and located in the same Work Space to be available for linking.
  3. Use the slider to determine if the item should Include Teacher Instructions.
    • If the slider is set to Yes, enter teacher instructions into the text box.
  4. Select the # of Questions. This allows for multiple questions to be asked within the Constructed Response item, and be scored as a single question.
  5. Enter the Question in the text box.
  6. Use the slider to Include Character Limit. If included, select whether to display the limit as Characters Remaining or Characters Used.
    • Characters Remaining counts down the remaining characters from the limit.
    • Characters Used counts up to the limit.
    • Enter a positive whole number greater than 0 for the character limit.
An example Constructed Response item creation screen, with Answer Options labeled as step 7, Sample Response labeled as step 8, Value labeled as step 9, Total Rubric Points labeled as step 10, Rubric Score Multiplier labeled as step 11, Total Points Possible labeled as step 12, Include Rubric labeled as step 13, and the Save and Next buttons labeled as step 14.
  1. Select the Answer Options students should be able to use when responding to the Constructed Response item.
    • Users can opt to include both Text and the Drawing Tool for students to enter their answer, or only one of these options.
    • When the Drawing option is enabled, students can draw their answer while taking the assessment in the Student Portal. View the Drawing Tool section below to learn more about Drawing Tool setup.
    • For information about the students' view of the Drawing and Text tools, take a look at the Drawing Tool for Students and CKEditor Formatting Tools for Students.
  2. (Optional) Include a Sample Response, if desired.
  3. Select if the scoring Value should be a Range or Selected Values.
    • Range: Enter a non-negative whole number that determines the range of rubric values the user may choose from during scoring.
    • Selected Values: Select rubric values that users may choose from during scoring.
  4. Enter the maximum points possible on the scoring rubric into the Total Rubric Points field.
  5. The value entered into the Rubric Score Multiplier will be used to determine the Total Points Possible by multiplying the Total Rubric Points by the Rubric Score Multiplier. The Rubric Score Multiplier will default to 1.
  6. Total Points Possible are determined based on the Total Rubric Points multiplied by the Rubric Score Multiplier.  
  7. Use the slider to Include Rubric.
    • Create a new rubric from scratch, upload an existing PDF rubric file, or select from available rubrics for a Teacher and/or Student rubric. The Teacher Rubric is to view while scoring the item. Students may view the Student Rubric while taking the assessment online in the Student Portal.
  8. Select Save to save the item progress, or select Next to save and continue to the next step.
Drawing Tool

When enabling the Drawing Tool for a Constructed Response item, the tool can be left as-is, and students will be presented with a blank drawing tool widget to use in responding to the item. However, the Drawing Tool can also be configured to include a background image and/or image stamps to aid students in answering the question.

The Answer Options step, with Drawing selected, and the Configure Drawing Tool button labeled as step 1.
  1. To open the Drawing Tool settings, select Configure Drawing Tool.
An example Drawing Tool Configuration menu, with the Background Image area labeled as step 2, the Download icon labeled as step 3, the Preview icon labeled as step 4, the Delete icon labeled as step 5, and the Preview Drawing Tool button labeled as step 6.
  1. Select within the Background Image area or drag a file within the area to upload an image to appear as a background image on the Drawing Tool canvas.
    • The background image is not editable by the student. Lines, shapes, text, and stamps students add to the canvas will be layered on top of the background image.
    • Image dimensions should be no more than 624 pixels wide and 368 pixels tall.
    • Supported file types are .gif, .png, .jpg, .svg, and .jpeg only.
    • Only one image can be uploaded as a background image.
    • The maximum file size is 200 KB.
  2. Once a background image has been uploaded, a preview of the image will populate. Select the download icon to download a copy of the file.
  3. Select the preview icon to view the full image in a popup window.
  4. Select the delete trashcan icon to delete the uploaded file.
  5. Select Preview Drawing Tool to view how the Drawing Tool will appear to students when they initially access the item.
The Add Stamps configuration section, with Add Stamp Category labeled as step 7.
  1. Stamps can additionally be added to the Drawing Tool to supplement a student's answer, allowing students to quickly place pre-selected images without having to manually draw them. Select Add Stamp Category to begin.
    • Categories are created as a repository to store images for students to use as a kind of stamp.
    • Images associated with the created category are uploaded for students to view and utilize.
    • Image dimensions should be no more than 624 pixels wide and 368 pixels tall.
    • There is a maximum of five categories, and 15 file uploads per category.
An example Add Stamps configuration menu, with the category name field labeled as step 8, the Edit icon labeled as step 9, the Stamp Image area labeled as step 10, the Download icon labeled as step 11, the Preview icon labeled as step 12, the Delete icon labeled as step 13, the Remove Category button labeled as step 14, and the Add Stamp Category option labeled as step 15.
  1. Enter a category name into the field and select the checkmark to create the new category.
  2. Select the edit pencil icon to edit the category name.
  3. Select within the Stamp Image area or drag a file within the area, or select Add File(s) to upload an image as a stamp.
    • Supported file types are .gif, .png, .jpg, .svg, and .jpeg only.
    • The maximum file size is 200 KB.
  4. Once a stamp image has been uploaded, a preview of the image will populate. Select the download icon to download a copy of the file.
  5. Select the preview icon to view the full image in a popup window.
  6. Select the delete trashcan icon to delete the uploaded file.
  7. Select Remove Category to delete the category and all image files within it.
  8. Select Add Stamp Category to create a new category to add stamp images to.
The Configure Drawing Tool menu, with the Preview Drawing Tool button labeled as step 16.
  1. Select Preview Drawing Tool to view how the Drawing Tool will appear to students when they initially access the item, including a background image and/or stamps, if they've been configured.
An example Preview Drawing Tool popup window, with the Stamp Tool labeled as step 17, the category and stamp images labeled as step 18, a placed stamp image on a background image labeled as step 19, and the X close icon labeled as step 20.
  1. The configured Drawing Tool will appear in a preview popup window. Select the Stamp Tool to open the category menus and view stamp images.
  2. Stamp images appear under the associated categories. Select a stamp image as desired.
  3. Select the desired location on the canvas to place the selected stamp image. The stamp image can be moved, resized, and rotated.
  4. Select the X icon to close the Drawing Tool preview window.

When administering assessments to students that utilize the drawing tool, note that any elements added to the canvas by the student will save as a flat image once the student navigates away from that item. This is to limit the amount of data that must be stored during assessment administration, and maintain loading speed and functionality while students are testing online. Students may return to the item with the drawing tool, and they will be able to view the changes they made, but they will no longer be able to alter each element individually. Further elements can be added on top of the existing content, or students can clear the canvas to start again from scratch.

Next Steps

To learn more about creating different item types, take a look at the other articles in the Item Types manual.

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