How do I create assessments as a teacher?

Updated by Gayle McKee

Teacher-created assessments have different settings than School Administrator- or District-created assessments. The following instructions are for Teacher-Created Assessments.

On your teacher dashboard, click on Assessments in the left-hand navigation bar and select Create Assessment in the menu bar on the left-hand side of your screen.

On the pop-up screen, give your assessment a name and select your subject.

Teacher Created Assessments

Option 1: Question Bank

Select how you would like to search for questions, whether it is from our full item bank using Domain and Standard, questions associated with a passage using Passage Questions, or questions you have authored using My Authored Questions.

Domain, Standard and Question Type
  • To search for and select questions by Domain and Standard, click the Domain and/or Standard buttons. In the drop-down menus, choose the domain(s) and standard(s) for which you would like to add questions. You also have the option to search for questions by type or search by keyword (matching all entered terms or matching any entered terms). Questions that match your search filters will display below.
The list of displayed questions will be sorted by Domain and Standard and will be in groups of 20. To see more questions, click on the forward area at the bottom of the list.
  • Press the Plus sign (+) in line with the question that you would like to choose for your assessment. If you want to preview a question, click on the Eyeball and it will appear in a preview pane.
Passages
  • You can also include questions associated with Passages.
  • You have several filter options available. You can filter by Domain(s) and Standard(s), Question Type, Passage Catagory and Keyword(s). You also have the option to filter for only Multi-Passage questions, meaning you will only be given questions where students have to compare/contrast two passages.
  • Click on the title of the passage in order to view it.
  • Click on View All Questions in order to see a list of questions associated with the passage that match the filtered terms you chose. Add questions by clicking on the (+) sign on the far right side.
My Authored Questions
  • You can also include questions that you have authored yourself by clicking on the My Authored Questions tab

Option 2: Question Quick Pick

The program will randomly select questions for you based on the blueprint for your state's assessment, creating an assessment that mirrors your state's test on that subject. This is an ideal option for creating BOY diagnostics, pre-tests, or reviews before the end of the year.

  • Click on the Question Quick Pick tab. Choose the length of your assessment. The pie chart on the right will show the blueprint for your state's assessment. The program will randomly choose questions for you according to this blueprint.
Note Regarding the Test Blueprint: If this is a state-tested subject, the blueprint will match the state test. If this is a non-tested subject, the blueprint is divided evenly based on the number of standards in each domain.

Option 3: Build by Standard

  • Click on the Build by Standard tab. You can expand each domain to select how many questions from each standard you want to include in your assessment. The blueprint at the top keeps a cumulative record of how many questions you've selected.
  • Preview Tab: Scroll up to the top and click Save and Preview. This will take you to a final preview screen where you can make last-minute edits to your assessment and select your desired assessment settings.

Settings

  • Student Experience
    • View Item Results dropdown menu:
      • View No Detail - The students only see their overall score and a list of the weakest standards.
      • View Questions Only - The students can see their overall score and can review the questions, but they cannot see the correct answer choices.
      • View Questions and Answers - The student can see their overall score and can review the questions, the correct answer choices, and the answer explanations.
    • Randomize Question Order - This option with shuffle the questions for all of the students to mitigate cheating.
    • Allow calculator (if applicable) - Teachers can allow students to have access to a Desmos online calculator for Math, Science, and Social Studies tests. There are calculator options: Four-function, Scientific, and Graphing.
      The Allow Calculator option is only available when creating Math, Science, and Social Studies assessments. It is not available for Reading or ELA assessments.
  • Sharing and Permissions
    • Share Assessment: Toggle this setting on if you would like to make this assessment viewable to other teachers on your campus so that they may assign it to their students.

Assessment Preview

  • You can change the order of the questions by clicking and dragging the dots next to the left of the question.
  • You can have the system replace an item with another item from the same Standard by clicking the Preview or Replace link to the right.
  • You can also completely remove an item from your assessment by clicking the "Trash Icon" on the far right.

Save your Assessment

Save Assessment

  • Once you've previewed your assessment and you are satisfied with your choices, you can save it by clicking Save Assessment. You will be taken to the Assessment Bank screen. Your new assessment will be on the list. You can return to this screen and assign it later, and if you opted to allow teachers to view and/or assign the assessment, teachers will find it in the Full Assessment Bank tab.

Save and Assign

  •  If you are ready to assign it to students now, click Save and Assign instead. This will take you to the assignment screen where you can choose a start date and a due date and the students that will get this assignment.

Assigning Your Assessment

If you've chosen to Save and Assign, you'll be taken to the Assignment Builder. This is where you will assign the assessment to students.

  • Save and Assign

    Click on the tickbox next to the  Class name to assign to all students in the class. Click on the caret next to the class(es) to which you are assigning this assessment to see a student list. Then check the box(es) next to the names of the student(s) that will get the assigned assessment. You can also choose which students will get assessment accommodations (reduced answer choices, text-to-speech, and language) by checking the appropriate boxes. Click Save and Continue.
  • On the Settings tab, set a start date and a due date for the assigned assessment.
    Note: If you choose a Start Date in the future, students will only be able to see and begin it starting on the date you have chosen.
    Students may work on an Assignment after the due date, but the task will show in pink on their home screen and their result will show in pink in your gradebook. Teachers also have the ability to lock an assignment or assessment in order to prevent students from working on it after a due date.

  • Click Save and Assign

Save Assessment

How do I find an Assessment that I've saved and how do I assign it later?

  1. You can revisit and view your assessment by going back to your teacher dashboard. Click Assessments and then select Assessment Bank.
  2. Find the assessment that you'd like to assign in the list and click on the icon under the Assign column. This will take you to the Assignment Builder. From this point on, follow the same steps assign that were mentioned above.
You can click the icon in the Action column for additional assessment options such as generating an answer key, duplicating the assessment, exporting the results, previewing the assessment, printing, or displaying in projector mode for whole class instruction.

How did we do?