Definition
A Free Response question (formerly known as Essay) is similar to a Short Answer but it additionally provides the same rich text options that you have when editing a question (i.e. image/drawing, video/screen record, audio, numeric, and more) as well as additional formatting options for your students to get creative! Free Response questions are limited to 100,000 characters so students have plenty of room to express their thoughts.
Add a Free Response Question
Click on the blue + button to open the 'Add Item' window
Choose "Free Response" from the Free Questions list
Type a question or prompt. Your students will be able to type their response!
Optional: You can set correct answer(s) for auto-grading.
Adjust question settings
Students will not be able to submit their work without providing an answer to this question
Case Sensitive
when this is toggled on, auto-grading will only count the student's answer as correct if they provide an answer identical to your answer key, including usage of upper or lower letters.
Accept student answers that include your answer key, even if they're not identical
Allow Partial Credit (Paid Teacher / School & District feature only)
Give point values to answers that are on the right track! This grading is designed to support your students' learning journey by encouraging and allowing more accurate feedback. Check mark this option, and then head back to your previously entered answer choices to fill out the point value you'd like to award to each one of them
Add a whiteboard style box for your students to add their work to
Change grading method to a rubric
Display Word Count
Toggle on "Display Word Count" to allow both your students and yourself to keep track of their word count. If you enable this feature, the students' word count will appear on their response tiles.
You can also add hints for your students and tag the question to standards
Want access to Paid Teacher / School & District features? Find out more here.
Formatting and Styling
Tip: Teachers and students can highlight text for formatting options such as sub/superscripts, fractions, bullet points, hyperlinks, change color and more!
Drag and drop content into the question
Any file you would normally add using the blue plus sign can now be added by dragging and dropping from your device, making it easier than ever to provide your students with the materials they need. Students can also drag and drop files into a Free Response answer.
Students' View:
Students will see a text box in which they can type (including styling and adding hyperlinks), and add attachements (see below).
If you've toggled on "Show Your Work", added a Rubric, or enabled Word Count - they will all be accessible for your student:
Students can type and can add to enhancements to their answers by clicking on the "blue plus sign". They can insert: audio, emojis, images, our math keyboard, upload videos (*this includes links from YouTube, Vimeo and Google video) and files less than 100 MB.
For students to record video submissions using the Free Response question:
Click on the blue plus sign (in the right hand corner)
Select "Video"
Students will be able to access all video options including recording a new/live video to respond to the question/command
Click "Record video" and the red dot to start/end recording
When finished, click "Add video" and the video will upload inside the text box
File Upload to questions
File uploads of less than 100 MB are now supported in all question types. Students will be to upload any file type.
Grade Free Response Questions with Luna
Use Luna to help score student responses with a rubric while keeping teachers in control of the final grade.
What Is Grade with Luna?
Grade with Luna helps teachers score free response questions faster and more consistently.
When a student submits a written response, Luna can review the question, the student's answer, and the rubric. Luna then suggests rubric levels and provides a short explanation for each rubric decision.
Teachers can review Luna's suggested grade, adjust it if needed, and continue grading from the Results page.
When Can I Use Grade with Luna?
Grade with Luna is available for supported free response questions from the Results page.
To use Grade with Luna:
The activity must have student responses.
A single student response must be selected.
The question must have points available.
The question must use a rubric, or Luna must generate one first.
If a question does not already have a rubric, Luna can help generate one. Teachers review and save the rubric before Luna uses it to grade the response.
How Grade with Luna Works
Open the activity's Results page.
Select a free response question.
Select a student's response.
In the grading sidebar, select Grade with Luna.
If the question does not have a rubric, review Luna's suggested rubric and save it.
Luna reviews the student response against the rubric.
Review the suggested rubric levels and explanations.
Adjust the grade if needed.
Note: If the response has already been graded, the button may appear as Regrade with Luna.
What Luna Reviews
Luna can use the following information when suggesting a grade:
The question text
Related passage or parent-question content
The student response
The rubric criteria and levels
Images included in the question or related content
Images included in the student's response
For student response images, Luna treats visible work as part of the student's answer. This can include uploaded pictures or screenshots of written work.
Rubrics and Grade with Luna
Grade with Luna uses a rubric to suggest a grade.
If a rubric already exists, Luna uses that rubric directly. If no rubric exists, Luna can generate a draft rubric based on the question and point value.
Teachers should review the generated rubric before saving it. After the rubric is saved, Luna can use it to grade the selected response.
Reviewing Luna's Suggested Grade
After Luna grades the response, the rubric shows Luna's suggested level for each criterion.
Luna also provides short explanations to help teachers understand why each level was or was not selected. These explanations are intended to help the teacher review the grading decision.
Teachers can still adjust the rubric levels or score after Luna grades the response.
Teacher Control
Luna is a grading assistant. Teachers remain responsible for the final grade.
Teachers can:
Review Luna's suggested rubric levels
Read Luna's explanations
Adjust the selected rubric levels
Regrade with Luna if needed
Edit the rubric separately
Override the final score
Tips for Best Results
Use clear question wording.
Add a rubric before grading when possible.
Review generated rubrics before saving.
Check image-based student work carefully.
Adjust Luna's suggestion when the student response needs teacher judgment.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Luna automatically grade every student response?
No. Grade with Luna is used from the Results sidebar for a selected student response.
Can Luna grade without a rubric?
Luna needs a rubric to grade. If the question does not have one, Luna can generate a draft rubric first. The teacher reviews and saves the rubric before Luna grades the response.
Can I change Luna's suggested grade?
Yes. Teachers can adjust the rubric levels or score after Luna suggests a grade.
Can Luna review images of student work?
Yes. Luna can consider images included in the student's response, including visible handwritten work or uploaded pictures.
What happens if a response was already graded?
Teachers can use Regrade with Luna to ask Luna to review the response again.
Is the grade final when Luna suggests it?
No. Luna helps apply a rubric and suggests a grade, but teachers remain in control and can review or adjust the grade.