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QTI Packages

Instructors and course builders may rely on third-party content to build their curriculum and complement materials such as textbooks. To help ensure compatibility, publishers and other content creators develop this material using industry standards.

Industry standards ensure that learning management systems are ready and able to process this content. The IMS Global Learning Consortium established the Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) standard to support compatibility between questions and a course, regardless of the learning management system.

What's supported in a QTI package?

  • Blackboard supports certain questions types in a QTI package: True/False, Multiple Choice, Fill in the Blank, and Essay.

  • If a question contains embedded media, HTML 5 and HTML object tags are imported. HTML5 is exported.

  • Question metadata such as tags, categories, and alignments aren’t supported and aren't imported or exported.

  • Questions using the optional QTI response processing are skipped and not imported.

  • When question configuration options don’t match, Blackboard prioritizes fidelity of the question and answer text over settings. For example, some exam systems allow differing partial credit allocations to be set per possible answer response, whereas Blackboard maintains a list of correct answers. In this case, all answer options are imported as correct so they can be reviewed for continued applicability in Blackboard.

Tip

Because different assessment tools have different features and varying media, HTML, and equation handling capabilities, you should always review and test questions after transfer between solutions.

Import a QTI package as a question bank

  1. On the Content menu for your course, select Manage banks in the Details & Actions section of the side panel.

  2. Select the plus icon to add a question bank.

  3. Select Import from QTI 2.1 package.

  4. Browse your computer to locate the QTI package.

  5. Select Submit.

After the system processes your file, you can edit the questions in the bank. When you're ready, add the questions to a test.

Use questions in a test

  1. Create a new test or open an existing test.

  2. Select the plus icon to add a question.

  3. Select Reuse Question.

  4. Select the questions you want to use and select Submit.

Export a question bank as a QTI package

Just like they’re imported into Blackboard, QTI packages are exported as question banks.

Caution

Fill in the blank question types must be configured for exact answers/blanks. Fill in the blank questions with the contains or match a pattern answer type results in the question being excluded from the export.

  1. On the Content menu for your course, select Manage banks in the Details & Actions section of the side panel.

  2. Create the question bank or ensure that the bank you want to export exists already.

  3. On the main Question Banks page, select the ellipsis for the question bank you want to export.

  4. Select Export QTI 2.1 Package.