How to set the Scoring type
For most automarked tasks, authors can choose from three possible Scoring types.
We’ll use the table and example below to illustrate the differences.
| Exact match | Partial match | Partial match per response |
Description | Learners must get all parts of the task correct to get the points for the task. | Each correct response is worth a proportion of the value in Points. | Each correct response is worth the value in Points. |
Score in example below(if points set to 1) | 0/1 | 0.5/1 | 2/4 |
The example above was based on setting the Points for the task to 1, but you can set any numerical value.
Tip: When setting the Points for a task, if you wanted a task like the above to be worth 2 points total if a learner got it entirely correct:
If using either Exact match or Partial match, use the total number of points for the task (e.g. 2).
If using Partial match per response, calculate what each response should be worth (e.g. 2/4 = 0.5).
Note: The Classification, Ordering, and Choice matrix task types have further scoring types available (see the Knowledge base articles for those tasks to see scoring options).
How to set Penalty points for incorrect answers
When you set a value for Penalty points, that value is deducted from a learner’s score for each incorrect response.
Note: The lowest score a learner can get is zero. That is, if they have more penalty points than points for correct answers, they’ll have a score of 0, not a negative score.
Penalty points are the most useful in multiple select and choice matrix task types where, without penalty points, a learner could select all the responses and receive the full points for that task.
Let’s take a look at an example.
This example has 3 correct responses - Travel slower, Are colder, Have longer orbits - and 3 incorrect responses.
| Exact match | Partial match | Partial match per response |
Description | Learners need to get all parts of the task correct to get the points for the task. | Each correct response is worth a proportion of the value in Points.
Each incorrect response deducts a proportion of the Penalty points. | Each correct response is worth the value in Points.
Each incorrect response deducts a the value in Penalty points. |
Score in example above(If both Points and Penalty points set to 1) | 0/1 | 0.33/1 | 1/3 |
Score in example above(If both Points and Penalty points set to 3) | 0/3 | 1/3 | 3/9 |
Score in example above(If Points set to 3 and Penalty points set to 1) | 0/3 | 1.66/3 | 5/9 |
How Penalty points work with Partial match
If we set the Points for this task to 3 and the scoring type to Partial match, learners would get 1 point for each correct answer (3 divided by 3 correct responses = 1).
Penalty points match the scoring type. So, if you’ve chosen Partial match, then the value in Penalty points is also divided by the number of correct responses. So if you set it to 3, each incorrect response will deduct 1 point.
So for a response like the above. Learners will get 2 points for their correct responses, but have 1 point deducted for the incorrect response and will receive a score of 1/3.
If you set Penalty points to 1, they’d be deducted 0.33 for their incorrect response and get a score of 1.66/3.
How Penalty points work using Partial match per response
Using the same example task and response above, if we set the Points for this task to 3 and the scoring type to Partial match per response, learners would get 3 points for each correct answer. When using Partial match per response, the value in Penalty points is what is deducted for each incorrect response.
So for a response like the above. If you set both Points and Penalty points to 3. Learners will get 6 points for their correct responses, but have 3 points deducted for the incorrect response and will receive a score of 3/9.
If you set Penalty points to 1, they’d be deducted 1 for their incorrect response and get a score of 5/9.
Tip: For both Partial match and Partial match per response, if for an incorrect response, you want learners to lose half the points they would get for a correct response, set Penalty points to half the value for the Points for the task. The same applies for any other proportions e.g. if you want incorrect responses to be worth 25%, set your Penalty points at 25% of the value you enter in Points.
How Penalty points work using Exact match
The only scores available for the Exact match scoring type are 0/x (points for the task) or x/x. So this makes the Penalty points calculations very simple - if learners have any incorrect response(s), their score will be 0/x.
How to see what score a learner would get
Currently authors don't see a score when they try out a task or quiz in Create because we don't treat author attempts as submissions. Instead to see the score a learner would get for given responses, authors should to publish the course and get themselves added as a learner.