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Revise Multiple Choice Question Creation Process

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This feature request is part of (Project) Revision of Test Question Creation.

1 Initial Problem

The set of questions available has grown organically over many years. There are redundancies and inconsistencies and the forms to edit the questions are based on a lot of custom code based on the legacy forms featuring many unique concepts, like forms that are rendered by javascript on the client.

There is a clear need to bring this process back in alignment with the current way of doing things in ILIAS, to remove redundancies, and rectify inconsistencies.

Having too many question types that do not offer solutions to clearly distinguishable problems is confusing and makes using the ILIAS harder to learn. For the question types "Multiple Choice (Single Answer)" and "Multiple Choice (Multiple Answers)" the similarity is already visible in their names. It is today possible to create a question of the "Multiple Choice (Multiple Answers)" that actually behaves like a question of the type "Multiple Choice (Single Answers)", but has a subtly different (and actually wrong) presentation as it is presented as a set of check boxes instead of a radio input.
Questions of the type "KPrim" on the other hand are fundamentally incompatible with the other "Multiple Choice" types, as they are very narrowly defined and do not offer the liberties of these other types. Marking has to be defined for a fully correct answer and may also been awarded for answers that are three quarters correct, but never under any other circumstances. KPrim questions must always have four answer options to be valid, never more, never less. These requirements make it impossible to also integrate this question type here.

2 Conceptual Summary

  • We propose to unify the question types Multiple Choice (Single Answer)" and "Multiple Choice (Multiple Answers)".
  • This Feature Request follows the guidelines set by Revision of ILIAS Test Question Creation Process and fleshed out for the anser form type "Cloze" in Revise Cloze and Long Menu Question Creation Process.
  • This request is only concerned with question creation and structure. The form to answer a question will basically stay as is and only undergo some minor tweaks.
  • The form to set up the answer form will offer an input to choose how many answer options can be selected. The amount will define the presentation of the form: If only one answer option can be selected the answer form will be offered as radio group if multiple selections are allowed, a set of checkboxes will be shown. The default for this input will be empty, allowing all options to be selected.
  • Answer options will offer an input to add a text for the option allowing for markdown and an input to add one single image. At least one of the two needs to contain information.
  • The answer form will offer two ways to award points:
    • either a single input for the whole form allowing to select the answer options to be correct or wrong
    • or inputs per answer option as they are offered today in the type "Multiple Choice (Multiple Answers)".
  • If points are awarded for the whole answer form, it will be possible to select more correct options then are allowed to be selected. If all selected answer options are in the set of correct answer options, the points will be awarded. It will only be possible to change points and to mark answers as incorrect once a test contains responses as otherwise all correct responses would become incorrect.
  • Existing questions will be migrated to the latter type of marking.

3 User Interface Modifications

3.1 List of Affected Views

  • All views of `assMultipleChoideGUI` and `assSingleChoiceGUI`

3.2 User Interface Details

Form to add basic answer form properties. Compared to the current implementation there is no input to change the editor for the text in answer options. The Form now offers an option to change marking to either award points for the whole question or still keep the current option to award points per answer option.
Form to add/edit the answer options, if the question is set to award points as a whole. It shows three input field per option one two add a text, one to add an image, one to select if the answer is correct.
Form to add/edit answer options, if the question is set to award points as a whole. The form should have a second button during the creation process that allows to finalise the question and create a new one in one go, but this is not yet possible and needs to be discussed with the UI-Coordinators
Form to add/edit answer options, if the question is set to award points per option. It shows four input field per option one two add a text, one to add an image, two to input the points awarded if the answer was selected and if it wasn't.
Form to add/edit answer options, if the question is set to award points per option.
The entry view of an existing question. Showing first a `StandardPanel` containing the "Basic Answer Form Properties". A button "Edit Basic Answer Form Properties" leads to a view to edit the properties (see first screenshot). Below a button allows to add an answer option and below this a `DataTable` shows the answer options. It contains `StandardAction`s to edit the options leading directly to the corresponding views and an option to delete the answer option(s). The screenshot show an answer form where points are awarded for the whole form, if points would be awarded per answer option, the column "Answer is Correct" would be replaced by two columns "Points When Checked" and "Points When Unchecked".

3.3 New User Interface Concepts

The introduction of a column type "Image" for the data table will be discussed with the UI-Coordinators. See Revision of ILIAS Test Question Creation Process for overarching changes.

3.4 Accessibility Implications

The forms to create questions are based on legacy-ui-forms with a lot of custom inputs that have a huge amount of accessibility issues. By moving these forms to KS-Forms a lot of the issues should be resolved. Additionally it will be easier to address future accessibility issue.

4 Additional Information

4.1 Involved Authorities

If this request is related to multiple components, please list both authorities for all related components.

4.2 Technical Aspects

4.3 Privacy

This feature request doesn't change the data that is collected and also doesn't change how it is presented. It clarifies the storage of answers by users answering questions, by doing so it will improve the understandability and the structure of the data thus making it easier to control the data's lifecycle.

4.4 Security

By moving to KS-Forms and restructuring and clarify the storage of data, the data will be easier to control and user inputs in the KS-Forms will be more consistently validated and sanitized on output.

4.5 Contact

Person to be contacted in case of questions about the feature:  Kergomard, Stephan [skergomard]. For questions about the funding, please contact: Strassner, Denis [dstrassner]

4.6 Funding

Funding status and funding parties are listed in the block 'Status of Feature' in the right column of this page.

If you are interested to give funding for this feature, please get into contact with the person mentioned above as 'Contact'.

5 Discussion

6 Implementation

Feature has been implemented by {Please add related profile link of this person}

6.1 Description and Screenshots

{ Description of the final implementation and screenshots if possible. }

6.2 Test Cases

Test cases completed at {date} by {user}

  • {Test case number linked to Testrail} : {test case title}

6.3 Privacy

Information in privacy.md of component: updated at {date} by {user} | no change required

6.4 Approval

Approved at {date} by {user}.

Last edited: 24. Nov 2025, 13:29, Kergomard, Stephan [skergomard]