The Sort List Question type allows learners to arrange items into their correct order by dragging the items from the Source area to the Target area. See example in Figure 1.

learners can drag, highlight, and move items between/within the lists using the arrows.

Figure 1: Sort List Question example.

Create a Question

Enter a Question stem in the Compose question area. In the List section below enter the items you want your learners to sort as shown in Figure 2. Click the +Add button to add more items to this Source list.

Figure 2: Sort List Question basic parameters.

This list represents the Source list with elements that must be ordered in the target area.

Follow these steps in order to configure Question validation:

• Insert a value in the Point(s) box to set up a mark for the Question.
• The Correct tab holds the list of elements to be ordered. To validate the Question simply arrange the elements in the expected order. See example in Figure 3.

Figure 3: Sort List Question validation.

More options

Under the More options button, in Scoring section, you can change formatting settings, scoring types and apply different styles to your Question.

Scoring

The following scoring types are available in Sort List Questions:

• Exact Match - Learner must answer all parts of the Question correct to receive a mark.
• Partial Match Per Response - Each response item will be marked individually and marks will be awarded if responses are in the correct position. Each response element will be awarded an individual score.
• Partial Match - Each response item will be marked individually and marks will be awarded if responses are in the correct position. The overall Question score will be divided between the response items

Other Scoring options:

• 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

You can then also toggle Drag Handles. They appear on the left of the list elements and can be disabled.

'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