[New Quizzes] Partial Credit for Multiple Answers WITHOUT Penalty

Please offer the option to restrict students' answer selection to X number of choice selections and offer partial points for correct answers ONLY without deducting points for incorrect answers. The penalty option right now is killing my student scores! 

For example: I have a 2 point question that requires students to select 4 answers (each being worth 1/2 point). A student will select 4 answers but only 3 of them were the correct answer. They SHOULD receive the 1.5 points for the correct answer. But instead they receive only 1 point. 

 

If the issue is the half points- then please correct this and allow half points, or let US KNOW THAT THE SYSTEM WON'T CALCULATE HALF POINTS!

Added to Theme

Provide more flexible grading options Theme Status: Identified

55 Comments
David_chem
Community Explorer

@Stef_retired 

Is this being worked on? I can not find that it is even being considered. Is there a way to up vote this idea?

I also noticed calculation might be an issue. Here is a suggested mathematical function.

Total points = [(total correct selected) - [(total incorrect selected) - (total correct missed)]]*(points per correct answer)

where (total incorrect selected) - (total incorrect missed) > 0

This work as the following: Questions has three right selections, and student select two correct and two wrong (total of four selected). If each right was worth 1 point, the student would be penalized for selecting too many (Total points = 2 - (2-1) = 1). But if they only select one wrong answer, there would be no penalty (total points = 2 - (1-1) = 2).

This will solve the problem of over penalizing with out allowing for selecting all answers and still getting all the points. It also gives flexibility for value of questions without forces a fixed penalty or point value per choice.

Stef_retired
Instructure Alumni
Instructure Alumni

@David_chem The product manager for New Quizzes has been actively soliciting feedback from our users, and she identified the handling of partial credit as one of the key issues. Please read through  Quizzes Planned Priorities and Roadmap 2021 and feel free to add your comments there.

kerstin
Community Explorer

Yes - please allow multiple answer questions to have partial credit with NO penalty!  We are having to manually grade these and it is very cumbersome. Thank you for considering this needed upgrade.

arummel
Community Member

We would like to assign full points when a student selects one of a few correct answers in a Multiple Answer question in New Quizzes. Is there a way to do this?

cvalle
Community Participant

I think Multiple Answer questions should just be treated as a series of true false questions. You either check the box or you don't, and you get the point or you don't. So if a question is worth 4 points with 3 correct options and you select all 4 you would get 3 points. 

nancym
Community Explorer

I would rather this be an optional, but not mandatory, setting.     Sometimes the student is required to answer entirely correctly, that is, no partial credit.    In classic quizzes, “entirely correct” is not an option, and I have to regrade all.  

SofiaToivonen
Community Explorer

I agree with @cvalle. There are many teacher at our university asking for this type of functionality!

KateChristie
Community Explorer

We are about to switch from Blackboard to Canvas. In the pilot program this is one thing that is really irking me. I am spending hours of work manually grading what was automatically graded in Blackboard (partial credit i.e. for matching). Please fix.. It really should work and it's frustrating that someone from the Canvas community Team said it was working a year ago.. it's not.

cvalle
Community Participant

I understand the logic behind applying a deduction for selecting incorrect options but I think it would be great if there were simply a toggle to make it grade as a series of true/false for those of us who want that. Using a stimulus is not a good solution because you cannot save to an item bank as a whole unit.

DavidMcCabe
Community Member

Will you please consider adding a third option for the new multiple select quizzes where you distribute all points across all possible answers so that students both receive credit for (1) choosing correct answers and (2) not choosing incorrect answers. Therefore, a multiple select question with 5 possible answers should be worth 5 possible points and each of the answers (both correct and incorrect) are weighted to be counted: points for choosing a correct answer and points for NOT choosing an incorrect answer.

Please correct the manner in which the Multiple Select questions are graded in Canvas. Currently the manner is to load the entire score value into the "Correct" answers. However, students are penalized in two ways: they are deducted points for (1) choosing incorrect answers and (2) not choosing correct answers.

Here is a better way: distribute the points across *all possible answers.* This way students receive credit for choosing correct answers and the receive credit for not choosing incorrect answers. If there are five possible answers, then distribute the credit across *all POSSIBLE answers*. If there are 5 possible answers, but only 2 correct answers, the points should be distributed across all 5 answers. The students should receive credit for choosing the 2 correct answers and credit for not choosing the 3 incorrect answers.
Otherwise you have the scenario as such: a student chooses the 2 correct answers and also chooses 2 incorrect answers. The points then cancel each other out, and the student receives not credit for that multiple select question. A more sensible way of calculating score, if the quiz-maker assigns 5 total points for 5 possible answers, and the student then chooses the 2 correct answers (+2) and choose 2 incorrect answers (-2) and does not select 1 incorrect answer (+1), then the student ends up with a total of 3 out of 5 total possible points.

Otherwise these multiple select questions are worthless and it results in students being endlessly frustrated for not receiving any points for questions for which they have selected some correct answers.

Thank you for your time and consideration,
DM