Question attributes describe important information about each question. Completing these attributes as fully as possible makes the question bank more useful and helps PrimeExam generate better exams.
The more complete the question information is, the more effectively PrimeExam can select questions using the exam generation tools.
For example, the Exam Generator Wizard can use question type, difficulty, topic, resource, and other attributes when selecting questions for an exam.
See Random Exam Wizard.
Question attributes are usually edited in the Question Editor, which can be opened from the Question Bank window.
See Question Editor.
Question Type
The question type identifies the kind of question.
Common question types include:
- Multiple choice
- True/false
- Fill-in
- Short answer
- Essay
The question type affects how the question is edited, displayed, and used when generating exams.
Difficulty Level
The difficulty level indicates how hard the question is.
Difficulty values can be used by the Exam Generator Wizard when creating exams. For example, an exam may be configured to include a mix of easier and harder questions.
Completing the difficulty level helps PrimeExam create exams with a more appropriate balance.
Stem
The stem is the main question text.
The stem may contain plain text, mathematical notation, or a mixture of both.
For mathematical notation, use the PrimeExam math editing tools.
See Symbol Editor.
Answer
The answer is the expected answer for the question.
For some question types, the answer may be short text. For others, it may be longer explanatory text.
The answer is especially important when printing answer keys or reviewing exam content.
Like the question stem, the answer may contain plain text, mathematical notation, or a mixture of both.
See Symbol Editor.
Choices
Choices are used with multiple-choice and true/false questions.
For multiple-choice questions, each choice represents a possible answer.
One or more choices may be marked as correct, depending on the question type and how the question is intended to be used.
For true/false questions, PrimeExam uses the available choices to represent the true and false answer options.
Index Group
The index group is used to identify questions that are similar enough to be considered the same question for exam generation purposes.
Most questions have their own unique index value.
However, two or more questions may be so similar that they should not appear together on the same exam. In that case, they can be placed in the same index group.
Questions in the same index group are treated as related versions of the same question.
PrimeExam assigns an index value when a question is created. The user can later match two or more similar questions so they belong to the same index group.
See Matching Similar Questions.
Topics
A question may be assigned to zero or more topics.
Topics describe the subject matter covered by the question.
Topic assignments are useful when searching, organizing, filtering, and generating exams.
The Exam Generator Wizard can use topic information to select questions from specific subject areas.
Resources
A question may be associated with zero or more resources.
Resources may include textbooks, websites, or other reference materials.
Associating questions with resources can help identify where the question content came from or which course material the question supports.
Images
A question may be associated with zero or more images.
Images can be used when the question depends on a diagram, graph, picture, or other visual material.
Image associations help keep question content organized and make it easier to locate questions that rely on visual resources.
Why Attributes Are Significant
Completing question attributes makes the question bank more powerful.
Well-completed attributes help PrimeExam:
- Search and filter questions more effectively.
- Generate exams that match specific criteria.
- Avoid placing overly similar questions on the same exam.
- Build answer keys.
- Organize questions by topic, resource, difficulty, and type.
When adding or editing questions, it is usually worth completing as many attributes as possible.