Create and edit drop-down list questions

Updated 19 Feb 2024

With a drop-down list question you define the available answer choices. Students then use a drop-down list to select their answer.

When creating or editing your question, you can switch among sections at any time. However, you may need to complete one section prior to opening another. If this is the case, a message appears directing you to enter the required information. You can click a section or subsection's bar to expand or collapse it.

The course saves your input as you enter it. To preview your question at any time, click Preview.

To view an example of the question type, click Sample Question.

  1. As you add an activity or while you are editing it, click Add Questions > Create New Question on the Questions page.

    - or -

    From the Today's View or any other page within a course, click Course Materials > Manage Question Bank and then click Add Course Materials.

    Notes

    • The best way to add activities (create assignments) is with the Course Materials Wizard. To access the wizard, select Course Materials from the menu bar. This wizard lets you add assignments by taking you to the Course Materials Library, copy materials from another course using the Course Materials Library, and manage your content library. Refer to Using the Course Materials Wizard for more information.
    • You can also add activities from the Course Materials Library and then move them to the My Course list where you can set appropriate scheduling. Use the Course Materials wizard to access the library.
    • Another option is to add an activity to the My Course list. If you do that, you will be prompted to save the new activity to the Course Materials Library. In this case, navigate to and select the Course Materials Library folder where you want to save the activity and then click Add and Close.
  2. Click Drop-down list.

    A page appears with the following sections:

    • Questions & Answers
    • Hints
    • Preferences
  3. In the Edit Question subsection, enter a Question title of up to 100 characters to identify the question in the Question Bank.
  4. Enter the Number of rows, which defines the number of answer choices. The default is 3.
  5. Enter the Number of columns, which defines the number of options in the drop-down list for each answer choices. The default is 3.
  6. Add a question narrative.
  7. Enter and format the question in the content editor.
  8. Add the answer choices:
    1. Click the Add Choice subsection.
    2. In Enter choice pane, enter each answer choice.
    3. Click Edit to format each choice in the content editor.
    4. In Enter option pane, enter the drop-down list options for the choices.

      To add more choices and options, click Add. To delete a choice, select it, and click Delete.

  9. Click the Add Answer subsection and enter a score and feedback for each answer choice.
    1. Enter the Score for each answer choice and drop-down option combination. Since each answer choice and option combination has its own score, you can either assign partial credit to any given combination or, as shown in the example, you can use all or nothing scoring, where there is only one correct Choice-Option combination and all the other combinations receive a zero.

      There are three columns. The one on the far list shows the answer choices (such as "Which planet is closest to the sun?"). The column in the middle shows a text field with the answer option. For example, "Jupiter" or "Mercury". The last column shows the score for each answer choice and option combination. For example, the answer of "Jupiter" has a score of 0, while the answer "Mercury" has a score of 1.
    2. Enter Feedback for each answer choice and drop-down option combination.
    3. Click Edit to format the feedback in the content editor.
    4. To shuffle the choice order for the question, select Shuffle choices.
  10. Add any hints you want to include for the question.
  11. Set the question's preferences.
  12. Click Save and Close.

On the Questions page, you can use the question's options menu to edit, delete, or try out the question. If you have access to the Course Materials > Manage Question Bank page in the course, you have access to additional question options, such as Preferences and Tryout.

  1. When creating or editing an activity, select Edit from the question's options menu on the Questions page.

    - or -

    From within a course, click Course Materials > Manage Question Bank and select Edit from the question's options menu.

  2. Make your changes.
  3. Click Save and Close.