The distractor rationale feature allows test and question designers to set a pre-defined explanation per answer option and thereby provide tailored feedback to test-takers based on the answer option they have selected. So, as an example, a test-taker that selects option A will receive a different on-screen prompt than a student that selects option B.
Depending on the use case, feedback can be provided at the end of the test (or after the marking period for synchronous assessments), but where this feature can become even more powerful is if used in conjunction with the "allow participant to verify the answer to the question". In doing so, feedback can be provided to students in real-time in order to create dynamic formative-style assessments where test-takers are encouraged to consider any errors they have made as they work through the exercise.
Consider the simple example below:
If the test-taker selects option A and checks the answer they are presented with the following prompt:
Changing the answer to option B, the on-screen prompt would change accordingly:
Whilst the above is a very simple example, for more complex questions distractor rationale becomes useful for question-setters to be able to highlight common errors in reasoning, interpretation and understanding and start to provide enriched and more personalised feedback to test-takers.
The distractor rationale feature is currently available on the following question types:
- Multiple choice - block layout
- Multiple responses
- Standard MCQ
- Fill in text with drag and drop
- Fill in text with drop-down
- Fill in text
For further information on how to set up a question with distractor rationale please see the article on Using the Question Editor for FLOWmulti Assignments.