The Chart Question allows learners to create or modify Bar Charts, Line Charts, Histograms, Dot Plots, and Line Plots. Authors have the option to pre-populate the chart with as much or as little data as desired.

Figure 1: Chart Question example.

Create a Question

Enter the Question stem into the Compose question area. Below you will see the Chart section where you can specify basic chart parameters:

You can add a chart title by inserting it in the Name field. The Max Y-Axis value defines the maximum height of the Y-axis of the chart.

In the Chart Data section, you can add a name for the chart and add data for each individual point. In the Data section click on +Add for each point on the chart and specify the details:

You can then add label names for the X and Y-axis in the X-axis label and Y-axis label fields.

Below you will see the Points section where you can add data for each point in the chart.

• Label - add a label for chart bars.
• Value - insert a value for the point. This is the initial value the point will be set to when the learner sees the Question.
• Interactive - this option is turned on by default and allows learners to interact with the point. Turn this option off if you don't want learners to be able to move the point.

Click on +Add to add more points to the chart. Click on the delete icon beside a point if you want to remove it.

Figure 2: Adding data to the chart Question.

You can now configure validation for your Question. Follow these steps to set up score and correct response:

• Insert value in the Point(s) box to set up a mark for the Question. Default value is set to 1.
• In the Correct tab you will see the chart you just created. In order to validate the Question, you must provide correct data for each point in the chart. Drag each point in the chart to its correct value. See the example in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Question validation.

Only Exact Match scoring is available in Chart Questions.

Note that when you are previewing the scoring of a Chart Question, any unattempted responses will be highlighted with a grey exclamation mark -- see 'Bar 3' in the Question below:

Figure 4: Bar 3 is unattempted, and therefore marked with a grey exclamation mark.

More options

Scoring

Under the Scoring section, you can apply different scoring options to your Question.

• Unscored/Practice usage type - Enabling this option will remove all scoring from the Question.
• Penalty point(s) - The value entered here indicates marks that will be deducted from the learner for an incorrect response.
• Check answer button - If this is enabled, a "Check answer button" will appear to the learner alongside the Question; clicking this button will indicate to the learner if their answer is correct or incorrect, but it will not tell them the correct response. This can be useful for informal assessment.
• Check answer attempts - The value entered here will indicate how many times the learner can use the "Check answer button". A value of 0 indicates an infinite number of times.
• Minimum points if attempted¹ - Points awarded to the learner for attempting the Question, regardless of a correct or incorrect response.

Layout

Under Layout section, you can select a chart type. There are various types to choose from:

Bar chart

Line chart

Histogram chart

Dot plot

Line plot

Snap To Grid option defines how the data point is placed on the nearest grid line when the learner is moving the data point.

You can also set a Threshold, the distance a point can be from the valid score and still be marked as correct.

The author can allow learners to add points to the chart and interact with them. When Add Point is enabled learners will see an Add Data button on the left side of the chart toolbar. By clicking on it they will be able to add a new bar.

Ignore Order option should be enabled when points order can be ignored.

Authors can set additional options that can be available for learners when interacting with points:

• New Point Name - Enables the author to specify the default name of all new data points added by the learner.
• Resize Point - this allows learners to resize points on the chart.
• Edit Point Label - Allows learners to edit the data point labels.
• Delete Point - Allows the learner to delete a data point.
• Order Point - Allows the learner to re-order the data points.

Multicolour Bars - Enable this if you want bars to have different colors. The option is currently only supported for histograms and is enabled by default. Order Point has to be disabled.

Show Axis Gridlines - Determines whether axis gridlines should be displayed on the chart.

'Extra' options

The extras section in the authoring interface allows you to add more information about the Question, information that we refer to as metadata.

There are a number of fields available: acknowledgements, contains math, distractor rationale, distractors, instructor stimulus, rubric reference, sample answer, and stimulus (review only).

To learn more about the options shown in the Extras section, see Understanding the Extras Section of the Question Editor.

1. Note: “Minimum points if attempted” replaces the earlier label “Minimum score if attempted”. Version added: v2026.1.LTS