Basic Graphing

To create an interactive response question, begin by either creating a new test in Aware or navigating to an existing test.   

Note: Assessments with interactive response questions may be printed as test booklets only. Answer documents are not available for these question types. This test is not scannable, nor will it have student IDs, class numbers, or any other information. Teachers must use the Enter Answers feature to manually input student responses for students taking a paper version of the assessment.

Creating a Basic Graphing Question

In a basic graphing question, students plot points on a plane. TEA suggests basic graphing for use in math assessments, but this feature is available for any assessment. 

Quick Guide

1. When working on an assessment, go to the Questions tab and do the following:
   • If this is the first time adding a question, select the Interactive Item Types button.
   • If adding more questions, select the Plus sign and choose Interactive Item Types from the drop-down menu.
2. Select Basic Graphing.
3. Use the text box and controls to enter the basic graphing prompt.
4. Select Continue.
5. Using the Settings for Graphing section, configure the basic graph.
6. When complete, select Create / Update.

Illustrated Guide

Step 1: When creating or editing an assessment in Aware, navigate to the Questions tab and do the following:

• If this is the first time adding a question to the assessment, select the Interactive Item Types button.
• If you want to add more questions to an existing assessment, select the Plus sign above or below an existing question and choose Interactive Item Types from the drop-down menu.

Step 2: On the Choose your interaction type step, select Basic Graphing from the available question types.

Step 3: On the Construct your question step, use the text box and controls to enter a prompt for the basic graphing question.

Step 4: Review the prompt and select Continue to move on to the next step.

Step 5: On the Add interactions to the question step, using the Settings for Graphing section, configure the basic graph using the following settings:

• Set the range of the Axis Minimum anywhere between -30 and 0. Set the range of the Axis Maximum anywhere between 3 and 30. If minimum and maximum numbers conflict with each other, a graph will not appear until a suitable range is set.
• Optionally set the X Axis Title and Y Axis Title.
• Use the Show Arrow slider to show or hide the end arrows on the X and Y axis lines.
• Under Answers, set the Maximum # of Dots between 1 and 4. If desired, set the Extra Answer Choice Intervals for fractions between 1 and 2. Test authors are required to set at least one dot as an answer. Plotted points will disappear if an axis is minimized too far and must be replotted. Click on plotted dots to remove them, or drag and drop them to a new point on the graph.
• Toggle on Draw Lines Connecting 2 Points to provide a visual cue, but lines do not indicate a correct answer themselves. In basic graphing, the dots must match precisely to be marked as correct. Lines that include arrows indicate the lines are continuous.

Keyboard operation of the basic graph is also possible, but the dots must be plotted somewhere on the graph first to be selected. Once plotted dots exist, select Add interactions to the question, then press the Tab key to select the nearest dot. Move the dot along both axes using the directional arrow keys. When ready, press the Tab key to select the next dot.

Best Practice: Eduphoria recommends a line be drawn between a maximum of two plotted dot answers only. If there are four plotted dots, lines may look different depending on the order in which test authors plot each dot. Lines are automatically drawn between the first and second plotted dots and the third and fourth plotted dots.

Step 6: Review the preview and then select Create or Update to save the assessment question.

Student Experience

Students see the basic graphing question during testing. 

Scoring

Aware offers three types of scoring for basic graphing items: points per task, partial credit, and correct/incorrect. You can adjust scoring options when creating assessments and learn how Selecting Scoring Rules for Assessments aligns with STAAR redesign options for math assessments.

Data Analysis

Viewing Responses in Quick Views

Question Type is available in Quick Views. Access Quick Views through the navigation bar or through the Quick Views card.

Once in Quick Views, use the search field to find and select the assessment(s) you want to analyze. Choose the Student Individual Responses template from the drop-down menu. Select Apply to continue.

For interactive item types, the Correct / Incorrect column displays the type of question and the number of correct responses out of the total number of possible responses. Teachers can view the exact question asked on the Enter Answers screen and modify student answers if needed.

Show or Hide the Question Type Column

If the table does not display the question type, you can customize which columns appear or do not appear from the Edit menu. Select the Columns tab, and then expand the Responses folder. Drag the Question Type option to the empty space on the right side of the screen. Then, select Update to apply your changes. For more information, see Editing Data Views as a Teacher.

The Question Type column shows the type of question asked and the corresponding question number.

Allowing Teachers to Answer and Score Assessment Questions

For district- and school-level tests, the Questions teachers can answer and score option must be set to All Questions to enable editing privileges. Locate this setting in Administration > Collection > General Settings when authoring or editing an assessment in Aware.

Additional Information

Visit the Interactive Item Types FAQ for more information.