Definition
With the Categorize question type, you can ask students to place items into categories and assess them on a variety of concepts (different types of numbers, species, when historical events took place). To create one.
Create a Categorize question
Click on the blue + button
Choose "Categorize" from the Question types
Add items for students to drag into categories
Enter category labels
Drag items into one category to set the answer key. This enables auto-grading!
(By default an item will only be available to drag into a category one time. If you'd like to reuse answer choices and drag them into multiple categories, toggle on "Reuse Answer Choices")
You can add additional categories and/or items by clicking on " Add draggable Item" or "Add new category" below each!
Reuse Answer Choices
By default, reusing answer choices will be disabled. Once an item has been dragged into a category it is no longer available to be dragged again (on the student's end - once the item is dragged it disappears from the list of items).
You have the option to toggle on "Reuse Answer Choices" to allow the same item to be dragged multiple times. When toggling this button on, items will not disappear from the list and students will be able to drag them into multiple categories.
Note: Once this button has been toggled on you won't be able to toggle it off unless you remove the items you've dragged multiple times from their categories first.
Adjust question settings
Students will not be able to submit their work without providing an answer
Randomize Order (Paid Teacher/School & District license only)
If you have a Paid Teacher plan or are a member of an organization with a School & District license you can also randomize* the order of the answer choices to mix things up a bit.
Note: When randomizing the order, the randomization will appear only on the students' end. The teacher's version will remain in the original order, including within the Preview mode. The responses tab for the teacher will also present the answers in the original order.
Add a whiteboard style box for your students to showcase their work
Switch scoring method for this question from auto-grading to a rubric based grading.
Switch on the ability to allow **Partial Credit for Categorize question types to take auto-grading up a notch by allowing your students to get credit for answering part of the question correct:
You can also add hints for your students, and tag the question to standards.
*Partial Credit
How we grade the "Allow Partial Credit" feature in Categorize questions
When you select “Allow Partial Credit”* you can choose between subtracting points for incorrect answers, or not subtracting points for incorrect answers.
If you choose to subtract points for incorrect answers, students’ scores will be auto-graded like this:
Let's take a look at an example of how this works in practice. Here is a Categorize answer key:
Here are some examples of student responses to this Categorize question, along with their auto-graded scores.
Student A
Student B
Student C
If you choose not to subtract points for incorrect answers:
Let's take a look at an example of how this works in practice.
Here is the same Categorize answer key as before:
Here are the same examples of student responses to this Categorize question, along with their auto-graded scores, when choosing not to subtract points for incorrect answers.
Student A
Student B
Student C
CHANGE TO PARTIAL CREDIT FORMULA (June, 2023)
Based on consistent feedback from teachers and students, on June 16, 2023 we have updated how partial scoring calculates for Categorize questions.
Previously, the point value of the question is distributed across all answer choices (correct or incorrect). After the update, the point value is distributed across the correct answers only. This update brings these question types' Partial Credit formula in alignment with the way Partial Credit is calculated for all other question types on the Formative platform.
🙋🏽♀️ What to expect now that the new formula is in effect?
The new partial credit formula is the default for any new activity created, as well as any existing activities when assigned to new students/classes.
🙋🏻 What will happen to my previously graded activities?
As long as no new activity is registered for a previously graded question, the scores granted in the past will not change. However, if a new activity is registered on a specific question (i.e. a new response by a student, an edit of a previously entered response, assigning the same activity to additional students, etc.) the scores previously granted will adjust to reflect the new formula.
If you want your old scores to be saved unchanged yet assign the same activity to new students/classes we recommend duplicating the activity and assigning the new clone to new students/classes instead.
🙋🏿♂️ My students' scores on an activity changed, why?
If a new activity is registered to an already graded Multiple Selection, Categorize, Hot Text or Hot Spot question that had "Partial Credit" toggled on, the Partial Credit algorithm will default to the new formula. Your students' scores on these questions changed because a new activity was registered - either one of the students provided a new response, edited an existing response, or the activity was assigned to new students.
What's Next?