Create a Simple Assessment

Create a Simple Assessment using multiple choice, true false, and short answer questions.

Brooke Fodor avatar
Written by Brooke Fodor
Updated this week

Simple Assessments are one of the four types of assessment formats offered in Otus. They are best for when you need a quick and basic assessment that is easy to create and score.

Great for:

  • Quick Checks

  • Exit Tickets

  • Comprehension Checks

Available question types:

  • Multiple Choice

  • True/False

  • Short Answer

Student example view:


Create the Assessment

  • Step 1: From your Assessments module, select Create Assessment.

  • Step 2: Select Simple from the Otus Assessment options.

  • Step 3: Enter an assessment name, select an assessment type, and choose a grading scale.

  • Step 4: Select Create.


Add Questions

  • Step 1: Select + Add Question.

Do you see a second option that says "Generate Question"? That is the AI tool for Simple Assessments! For more information, click here.

  • Step 2: Choose Multiple Choice, True/False, or Short Answer.

Multiple Choice

  1. Type your question here. You can make your text bold, italicized, or underlined. There is a character limit of 300.

  2. If you'd like to add an image, audio recording, video recording, or YouTube video, select the respective icon.

    1. Images, Audio Recordings, and Video Recordings that are being added from your device can be up to 30MB in size.

    2. Audio and video recordings that are done directly in Otus can be up to 5 minutes in length.

  3. Enter answer choices here - answer choices can only contain text.

  4. Select the checkbox to indicate a Correct Answer. If you choose more than one correct answer, it is all-or-nothing scoring; the student must select all correct answers in order to earn full credit.

  5. Click the "x" to remove an answer options.

  6. Click + Answer Option to add additional answer options.

  7. Select Link Standard to link standard(s) to a question (optional).

  8. Determine the point value (for points-based assessments only). Point values can include decimals to the tenth place.

  9. Click the Add Question button at the top right.

💡 Tip: If you are unable to see the Link Standard or Points field, you will need to scroll down or zoom out a bit.

True/False

  1. Type your question here. You can make your text bold, italicized, or underlined. There is a character limit of 300.

  2. If you'd like to add an image, audio recording, video recording, or YouTube video, select the respective icon.

    1. Images, Audio Recordings, and Video Recordings that are being added from your device can be up to 30MB in size.

    2. Audio and video recordings that are done directly in Otus can be up to 5 minutes in length.

  3. Select True or False as the correct answer.

  4. Select Link Standard to link standard(s) to a question (optional).

  5. Determine the point value (for points-based assessments only).

  6. Select Add Question.

Short Answer

  1. Type your question here. You can make your text bold, italicized, or underlined. There is a character limit of 300. The character limit for the student's answer is 1000 characters.

  2. If you'd like to add an image, audio recording, video recording, or YouTube video, select the respective icon.

    1. Images, Audio Recordings, and Video Recordings that are being added from your device can be up to 30MB in size.

    2. Audio and video recordings that are done directly in Otus can be up to 5 minutes in length.

  3. Select Link Standard to link standard(s) to a question (optional).

  4. Determine the point value (for points-based assessments only).

  5. Select Add Question.

Auto-grading is not available for short answer questions, so no correct answer will be entered when building the question.


Editing the Assessment

Hover over a question to see the editing options.

If a standard is attached, you'll see the beginning of the description of the standard.

  • Copy icon: duplicate the question.

  • Pencil icon: edit the contents of the question, including the standard.

  • Trashcan icon: delete the question.

  • Move icon: move the question(s) into a different order on the assessment.

💡 Tip: If you've already assigned the assessment, any edits you make to the draft will update on the assigned version. You do not have to re-assign the assessment.


Otus Live Video

Click to view a video from our Otus Live series on how to create and assign a Simple Assessment.


FAQ and Troubleshooting

Click to view FAQ and troubleshooting details.

If I make edits to the assessment, do I have to reassign the assessment for students to see the edits?

No, you do not have to reassign. Any edits you make to the draft will update on the assigned version that the students will see.

For multiple-choice questions, can I use images in the answer choices?

Using images in answer choices for Simple Assessments is not possible at this time. If you'd like to include images in answer choices, we recommend creating an Advanced Assessment.

Can you use math symbols on a Simple Assessment?

Using math symbols in Simple Assessments is not possible at this time. If you'd like to use math symbols, we recommend creating an Advanced Assessment.

Are there file size limits and/or file type restrictions when adding images, video, and audio?

For more information on adding images, videos, and audio to Simple Assessments, including file sizes and types, click here.

For short answer questions, is there a word or character limit?

Student responses to short answer questions have a limit of 1000 characters.

Can I add more than one attachment per question?

No, you can only have one piece of media attached to a single question.

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