1. Create or edit an item.
2. On the Create/Edit Item page, click Select Subject to select a subject, and then click Low Grade and High Grade to select a grade range for the item. The names for these dropdown menus change to reflect the selections.
3. Click Select Standard Alignment and select the appropriate standards. Use the dropdown menus or search box to locate standards.
4. Click Add Passage to create a new passage or link to an existing passage in an item bank. Passages provide information needed to answer the question or a series of questions, such as a reading passage, graph, or map. Multiple passages may be assigned to a single item, and each passage may be paired to several items. Passages can be linked to items in the same bank or a different bank. If you create a new passage for an item in a bank, it will be saved to the same bank as the item.
5. Click in the Question Content field to enter the test question in the content editor.
Using the content editor
1. Click in the Question Content area to enter the test question.
2. Use the content editor buttons to format, spell check, insert media files, insert equations, and so on. Hover over an icon to see each button's function.
3. Optional: For the Text to Speech accommodation, you can provide alternate text to be read aloud in place of a selected word, math equation, image, audio file, or table. To do so, select the item you want to provide alternate text for, and then click the Alternate Text icon and enter the alternate text to be read aloud. You cannot select more than a single line of text. For tables, alternate text can be entered for content within the table or the entire table (in Table Properties). If alternate text is entered for both, only the alt text for the entire table will be read. You can remove alternate text for a single word or click the Clear All Text to Speech icon to remove all alternate text for the test item. You can use alternate text to improve the pronunciation of certain words. See the phonetic spelling guide.
4. Optional: Click the Grade Level Vocabulary button to view Grade Level Vocabulary reference sheets. This button is available to districts that have uploaded grade-level vocabulary reference files for the item's grade level.
6. Enter the correct answer in the Answer Field as a whole number, decimal, or fraction. Answers can be mixed numbers, for example 1 3/4, with a space between the whole number and the fraction. For mixed numbers, students must include a blank column between the whole number and the fraction on the answer grid. Make sure that the test question is written so that students understand how to enter the answer correctly on the grid.
   • Whole Number Answer: If a whole number is entered as the answer, a checkbox appears. Enable it if you want the response to be correct only if all digits in the answer are in the correct column.
   • Decimal Answer: If a decimal is entered as the answer, a checkbox appears. Enable it if you want a column dedicated to the decimal point. Preview the question to make sure the decimal pre-populates correctly.
   • Fraction Answer: If a fraction is entered as the answer, the Answer Grid Preview reflects this automatically, and two additional checkboxes appear. They allow you to require the fraction to be entered exactly as you entered it or to allow a decimal equivalent to the fraction to count as correct.
   • Columns: The columns field adjusts automatically, based on what is entered in the Answer field. It is not possible to enter a smaller number of columns, but it is possible to enter a number of columns greater than is necessary to enter the answer correctly. For example, if the answer is -54.2345, then the Columns field automatically adjusts to 7 (can be increased to 8). If the answer is 2, then the Columns field automatically adjusts to 1 but can still be increased to 8. If you include more columns than are required to answer the question, the student can begin their answer in any column (unless the "Answer must be entered with each digit in the column corresponding to its mathematical place" checkbox is selected for a whole number).
   • Points: This field defaults to 1. Adjust it higher as needed. Points possible can include up to two decimal places.
   • Answer Grid Preview: A preview of the correct response appears here. Check to make sure decimal points, fractions, column numbers, etc., display correctly.
7. Select the appropriate Grid Response Options to appear on the grid:
   • Show Positive/Negative Sign: A bubble for the positive sign and a bubble for the negative sign will appear on the grid. These two bubbles appear in a column that precedes the answer bubbles. If the answer you entered is a negative number, this option is automatically selected.
   • Show Fraction (/): A fraction row will appear on the grid. This option is automatically selected if the answer you entered is a fraction.
   • Show Decimal Point: A decimal point row will appear on the grid. If the answer has a decimal point and you opted to pre-populate the decimal point, then this option is automatically deselected and grayed out, as there is no need to select it. If the answer has a decimal point, and you opted not to pre-populate the decimal point, then this option is automatically selected and grayed out.
8. Select the Gridded Answer Entry option for TestNav. This determines how gridded test questions will appear in TestNav. The Bubble Grid option displays a bubble layout similar to a printed answer sheet, and the Text Box option displays a single text box in which students can enter their answer. The number of columns determines the number of digits that can be entered in the text box.
9. Click Preview to see the item as it will appear for students when taking an online test, and then select one of the following preview options. Note: Previewing a new, unsaved item will save it to your Personal Bank. If a new passage was created as well, it will also be saved to your Personal Bank. After previewing the item, you will have the option to Save to Another Bank, which will move the item and (optionally) linked passages to the designated bank.
   • In TestNav: Select to preview the item in TestNav without text-to-speech. Composite tasks display in TestNav with both activities on the same page. For tasks with more than two activities, the previewer displays which activity in the task (testlet) you are on. In the TestNav previewer, all tools and accommodations will be shown when you preview items, not just those that are selected, so it is recommended to preview the entire test in TestNav to view the test as students will see it.
   • In TestNav with Text to Speech: Select to preview the item in TestNav with text-to-speech enabled. This option will take longer to process than other preview options. Note that if you have already previewed speech-to-text and not made changes to the item, the text-to-speech feature will also be available in the "In TestNav" preview option.
   • In preview, you can enter answers to verify that scoring works correctly.
10. Click Save Changes for an existing item or Save to Bank for a new item. If you previewed a new item or edited an item from your Personal Bank, click Save to Personal Bank or Save to Another Bank to move the item to the appropriate bank (you will be asked if you want to move linked passages as well).

• Teacher Explanations: Provide information about an answer choice that will be visible to teachers when reviewing test results in the Student Profile or Item Details (for supported item types).
• Student Explanations: Provide information about an answer choice that will be visible to students and parents when reviewing test results in the student portal.
• Teacher Instructions: Provide information on how to administer a test item. Teachers can download these instructions on the Test Details page.
• Formula reference sheets: A single formula sheet can be attached to a test item to provide math formulas, the periodic table, units of measure, etc. to students. Click the Select button under Formula Reference Sheet (note that tests may use a default reference sheet for the entire test). Formula sheets can be PDF, PNG, GIF, or JPG files up to 1 MB in size. In online tests, a reference sheet is opened from the Exhibit button.
• Tools and Manipulatives: Select an option to allow test-takers to use a manipulative, such as a ruler or calculator, on a test item. For more information see About Tools and Manipulatives.
• Grade Level Vocabulary: If your district has uploaded grade-level vocabulary reference files, you can view them in the Question Content editor by clicking the Grade Level Vocabulary button.
• Text to Speech: The Text to Speech accommodation is supported in TestNav. Text to Speech must be enabled in both Test Properties and a student's PNP to be available for a student. For the Text to Speech accommodation, you can provide alternate text to be read aloud in place of a selected word, math equation, image, audio file, or table. To do so, select the item you want to provide alternate text for, and then click the Alternate Text icon and enter the alternate text to be read aloud. You cannot select more than a single line of text. For tables, alternate text can be entered for content within the table or the entire table (in Table Properties). If alternate text is entered for both, only the alt text for the entire table will be read. You can remove alternate text for a single word or click the Clear All Text to Speech icon to remove all alternate text for the test item. You can use alternate text to improve the pronunciation of certain words. See the phonetic spelling guide.
• Links to external sites: In the text editor for the question content, select the text for the link and click the Insert/Edit Link button to add a link to an external website. Links to unsecure (HTTP) websites require browsers to be configured to use mixed content, and are not recommended.
• Add media: For information on adding media files (such as images, MP3 audio files, and MP4 video files) to test items, see Add Media to Test Items.
• Alerts and messages: Messages will appear on the screen for any actions that need to be completed as well as informational warnings. See Edit Items for information on specific alerts and warnings. When creating a test, you do not need to resolve required alerts before returning to the Test Detail page; however, the test cannot be scheduled until all required steps (alerts) have been completed.
• Symbols and special characters: Symbols and special characters are available via the Equation editor () or Special Characters () functions in the question content editor. Do not use cut and paste to move selected symbols from your Clipboard. While symbols created using this method may render correctly on the Item Detail and Test Detail pages, they may not appear correctly online.

To view or edit the following fields, click Additional Properties. For items that have been purchased from external vendors, these fields are imported. Your system may have up to three additional custom properties for items.