Feature Overview and Requirements

The Latitude LMS Assessment Authoring Tool enables portal administrators to create, deliver and analyze a range of assessments, from simple quizzes to longer, multi-objective examinations. This document will describe how key features allow you to:

• Define multiple test objectives and sub-objectives
• Shuffle assessment questions in real time
• Shuffle answer choices in real time
• Create pools of questions for each test objective, allowing for randomization in each attempt
• Control the number of test attempts per participant
• Control session time limits
• Define pass/fail requirements

This toolset also allows you to supply images and videos as part of question or answer content, making the assessment more interactive for students. To learn more about these graphic customization options, please see the related document: Embed an Image or Video in Assessment Course Content.

Step by Step Procedure and Field Description

STEP ONE: CREATE AN ASSESSMENT COURSE

From the Administration menu, click Courses > Add Course to create a course with the functionality you want. For the Delivery Method, select Assessment. 

After creating and saving the Assessment course, click Continue Test Setup. Return to the Course Details page and click this button to review or edit your Assessment at any time.

Step Two: Test Setup

In the “Testing Administration” window, click the Edit link under the test Name to define key Test settings. When reviewing these instructions, it is important to understand that the term “Objective” refers to the topic or category of questions in each section of the test.

Please refer to the screenshot and field descriptions below for guidance on selecting Test settings. You will need to revisit some of these settings once your assessment content has been finalized. Such settings will be explained in greater detail near the end of this document.

1. Test Name: Defaults to Course Code.
2. Terminal Objective: Describe the expected result in terms of student performance. This field appears at the Objective level as well.
3. Randomize Objectives: If you randomize objectives, the questions within each Objective will remain grouped, while the Objectives would be presented randomly for each launch of the assessment.
4. Randomize Questions / Sort by Questions: There is a Sort Order option for each question you create. Selecting “Yes” for the Sort by Questions field indicates that you want to dictate the order in which questions will be presented. If you want the questions to be randomized, select “Yes” for that setting instead. Note: Questions are sorted, by default, to the order in which they were created. Selecting “No” for both fields will result in the default order being applied. Selecting “Yes” for both fields indicates that you may want some questions sorted, while others can be randomized.
5. First Page on Return: Choose where, within the assessment, users are directed when relaunching the course. This setting is only applicable for assessments that have more than one page of questions presented.
6. Test Attempts / Time Allowed: You can restrict the number of attempts and the time allowed for a user to pass the test. Time Allowed will appear after you click Update Test. Note: We suggest that you set these fields to “Unlimited” while creating and testing your assessment to avoid being locked out for too many launch attempts or time spent. You can adjust these settings as appropriate once the content is finalized.
7. Click the Update Test button to save changes.

The Passing Score field displays once the test is saved. Now or later, enter into this field a number that represents the minimum passing score, and indicate whether that score is based on Percent or Questions.

Click Return to Tests to continue authoring.

Add Objectives

Once you have configured settings at the Test level, click the Add Objective link under the test Name to set assessment functionality at the Objective level.

Please refer to the screenshot and field descriptions below for guidance on setting up Objectives. You will need to revisit some of these settings once your assessment content has been finalized. Such settings will be explained in greater detail near the end of this document. Note that students will not see the objective text when they take the test.

1. Objective Description: Describe the overall goal of the Objective.
2. Load All Questions on One Page: Indicate whether or not you want all questions within this Objective loaded on one page. It may be best to create the questions first, and finalize this selection later.
3. Objective Sort Order: Default sort order is 99. Objectives, and their associated questions, will display in the order they are created. If you want the Objectives to show up in a different order, you can specify the specific numeric order here. Note: This setting would be overwritten if you selected to randomize objectives at the Test level.
4. Status: Default is Active. You can deactivate and reactivate Objectives as necessary.
5. Question Pool: Indicate how many questions from the pool will to be presented when the assessment is launched. You will need to create questions first, then return to Objective settings to determine the number for this field.
6. Click Add Objective to save entry.

Once the Objective has been created, additional links display at the bottom of the page, allowing you add a Sub Objective or start adding Questions. Click the desired link, or click Return to Test to continue adding Objectives.

ADD SUB OBJECTIVES

If your assessment requires a more detailed setup, you can click Add Sub Objective under a parent Objective. Sub Objectives allow elements of the parent-level objective to be split into finer skill or knowledge sets. You can nest Sub Objectives under multiple levels by selecting the Parent Objective from a list of existing objectives. Click Add Objective to save the Sub Objective when your entries are complete.

Add Questions

Once you have designed a Test with sections broken into the Objectives (or Sub Objectives) you want students to achieve, you can create the assessment questions and content. When reviewing the instructions below, it is important to understand that the term “Distractor” refers to a possible response to the question or prompt. All correct and incorrect answers are called Distractors. 

Types of Questions

• Fill in the blank – Responses are scored by text match. Distractors are used to list possible ways people might answer, such as different spellings, capitalizations, etc.
• Multiple choice – There is one correct choice in a list of possible answers. True/False questions are often created with this setting.
• Multiple answer – The participant can select none, one, or more of the choices offered
• Knowledge Matrix – Cross-relate responses to multiple questions from a single exam item. This question type presents several multiple-choice questions together, where the participant selects one choice for each statement or question presented. The correct answer requires that all responses be correct.
• Comment box – Responses are not scored. Often used for opinion or survey questions. 

The following example shows a Multiple Choice question setup with numbered field descriptions. 

1. For Multiple Choice and Multiple Answer type questions, your first step should be to add or remove distractors. If you enter distractors, then add or delete, it can wipe out your existing work on the question. 
2. Once the correct number of distractor spaces are in place, build out your question by adding Question Text.
3. Select the Objective the question relates to if there is more than one, then select the question type Multiple Choice for one correct answer or Multiple Answer for multiple correct answers.
4. For Mandatory Question, select Yes to require this question to always be presented to students or No to have it presented randomly in situations where there is a question pool.
5. Randomize Distractors will shuffle the distractor list when set to Yes. Question Sort Order can be set in relationship to other questions in the objective starting with 1. Use of 99 means unsorted.
6. Enter your Distractors. For Multiple choice, make entries, enter sort order if desired, and use the radio button to identify the correct answer. For Multiple Answers, the distractors will initially show with radio buttons. After you Add the Question to save it, they will change to check boxes. You can then select the correct answers.
7. Click Add Question. 
   If it was a Multiple Answer question, you can proceed marking your correct answers.

The window will refresh, showing at the top of the page an outline of where the question resides within your assessment, and at the bottom a preview of the new question. This is the “Edit Question” page, which you can revisit and revise any time. In addition to the standard return links, note the linked options to Delete Question, Add Question, Update Question and add Images as part of question or distractor content.

Matrix Questions

The following screenshot shows an example of a Matrix Question, which requires the participant to select one choice for each statement or question presented. This type of question requires that all student selections be correct to grant a passing credit.

Note: This setup works best when you enter all of the text and sort order components first, click Add Question, then indicate the correct responses with the radio buttons from the “Preview Question” area. Click Update Question to save and verify changes.

Finalize the Settings That Make the Assessment Functional

Finalize Objective Settings

Once you have created all of your question and response content, it is important to return to each Objective and finalize settings. Please refer to the screenshot and field descriptions below for guidance on defining assessment behavior.

Click Update Objective to save changes. Click Return to Test to continue updating all active objectives.

Finalize Test Settings

Verify that all of your questions and objectives are in working order, and that you have test launched the new course. If you are satisfied with the results, it is time to revisit your Test settings to ensure that all of your desired sorting and restriction selections are in place. Please refer to the screenshot and field descriptions below for guidance on finalizing assessment behavior.

The Student Experience

Students can launch assessments, like all self-paced courses, from their homepage or the Course Details page. Once a user is enrolled, clicking the Launch button will open the assessment in a new window and begin timing. A user should complete the assessment, then click Score Test to submit his or her transcript and view the results instantly. The pass/fail status and score will also be reflected under the user’s training history.

In the example below, a student responds to a Fill in the Blank question.

Once a student clicks Score Test, the LMS displays test results and feedback text for each objective.

A student who has completed the assessment can always review their Detailed Test Results — correct or incorrect score per question — by returning to the Course Details page and clicking View Test Results. 

Frequently Asked Questions