Ordering

Create an Ordering question

Use an ordering question when you want students to arrange a set of items into one correct sequence.

Ordering questions work well for:

• stages in a process;
• events in chronological order;
• steps in a procedure or calculation;
• items ranked by magnitude or priority;
• components arranged along a pathway; or
• actions ordered according to a rule.

Use this format only when one sequence is clearly defensible. If two steps can occur in parallel, several orders are equally valid or the answer depends on context, revise the task or choose a question type that allows students to explain their reasoning.

Before you create the question

Start with the learning outcome and decide what the sequence represents. Identify the rule students must apply—for example, earliest to latest, smallest to largest or first action to final action.

Write the complete correct order before authoring the question. Check it with a subject expert or authoritative source when the sequence is consequential.

Ordering can assess more than memorisation when students must interpret a scenario or apply a process. However, arranging labels does not demonstrate that students can perform the procedure or explain why the sequence matters.

Create the question

1. Enter a short, distinctive Question's title.

   Use the title to identify and manage the item in the Question Bank. Do not put information here that students need in order to answer the question.
2. Enter the task in Question's description.

   State exactly how students should order the items. Identify the starting and finishing direction, such as earliest to latest, lowest to highest or first step to last step.
3. Enter the items in the Answers section.

   Enter each step or item in a separate answer field.
4. Arrange the answers in the correct order.

   Drag and drop the answer rows until they show the intended correct sequence. LAMS uses the order you author as the answer key.
5. Select Add another answer when you need another item.

   LAMS provides three answer fields initially.
6. Add feedback, review the advanced settings, tag the relevant learning outcome or outcomes, and select Save.

Write effective ordering items

• Include only items that belong to the same sequence.
• Make every item concise and independently understandable.
• Use parallel grammar and a consistent level of detail.
• Avoid numbering, dates or wording that reveal the order unless interpreting those cues is the intended task.
• Do not include phrases such as after step 2 or finally when they give away the answer.
• Avoid overlapping items or steps with unclear boundaries.
• Keep the list short enough to read, compare and move comfortably on the devices students will use.
• Ensure that the first and last items are not obvious while the middle of the sequence remains arbitrary.
• Use images, formulas or specialist notation only when they remain readable and operable in the delivered question.

Check that one order is valid

Ask whether knowledgeable students could defend another sequence. Common sources of ambiguity include:

• steps that may occur simultaneously;
• procedures that allow interchangeable middle steps;
• tied values or priorities;
• different disciplinary conventions;
• missing conditions or assumptions; and
• processes that are iterative rather than linear.

If alternatives are valid, specify the convention in the question, revise the items or use another format. Do not mark a reasonable sequence as wrong merely because it differs from the one entered in LAMS.

Add feedback for students

The feedback panel contains three optional fields.

Field	What to enter
General feedback	An explanation, diagram, reference or worked sequence useful to every student.
Feedback shown on any correct response	Reinforcement or an explanation of why the complete order is correct.
Feedback shown on any incorrect response	Guidance that helps students reconsider the ordering rule or a commonly confused transition.

The editor does not show a separate field for partially correct sequences. Write incorrect-response feedback that remains useful across different arrangements rather than assuming one particular error.

Good feedback explains the relationship between adjacent steps and the principle governing the order. For a procedure, identify why one action must occur before another. For a ranking, explain the comparison rule.

Check the settings of the activity that uses the banked question, because that activity determines when students can see feedback.

Configure the advanced settings

Default question grade

Enter the overall mark or weight for the question. The interface accepts an integer, for example 1, 5 or 10.

The authoring screen does not state whether the receiving activity awards partial credit for partly correct sequences. Preview and test several arrangements before use, including:

• the completely correct sequence;
• one pair of adjacent items reversed;
• the correct items in reverse order; and
• a substantially incorrect sequence.

Set the weighting only after confirming the scoring behavior. If method or partial understanding must receive marks, ensure that the LAMS calculation represents your assessment plan or use a format that supports explicit analytic marking.

Penalty factor

Enter the penalty that should apply in a context where students can make another attempt. The field accepts a floating-point number.

Use a penalty only when it serves a clear assessment purpose. Its effect depends on how the receiving LAMS activity handles attempts, so test it before use and explain it to students in advance.

Learning outcomes

Search by outcome name or code, then select every learning outcome for which the ordering task provides meaningful evidence.

Tag the outcome at the level actually assessed. Correctly arranging supplied steps demonstrates recognition of sequence, but it does not necessarily demonstrate independent recall, explanation or practical performance. A scenario-based task may assess application when students must interpret the situation to determine the order.

Avoid tagging every broadly related outcome. Across an assessment, review the distribution of questions by outcome, cognitive demand and weighting.

Consider accessibility and usability

Ordering depends on moving items. Preview the student view and confirm that students can complete the task with:

• a keyboard rather than a pointer alone;
• screen-reader or other assistive technology;
• touch input on a small screen; and
• zoom or enlarged text.

Do not use visual position, colour or drag-and-drop dexterity as unintended parts of the construct. Provide an appropriate alternative or adjustment when the interaction prevents a student from demonstrating the intended knowledge.

Long answer text can make dragging and comparison difficult. Split a complex task into smaller sequences or choose another question type when all items cannot be reviewed comfortably together.

Use ordering questions within a programme of assessment

Treat an ordered sequence as one data point. It can efficiently check whether students recognise chronology, progression or procedural dependencies, but it may not show why the order is correct or whether students can carry out the process.

Combine ordering with feedback, a short explanation, a worked task or practical observation when the learning outcome includes reasoning or performance. Higher-stakes decisions should draw on multiple sources of evidence rather than one ordered list.

Review the question after use

• Check whether students interpreted the ordering direction correctly.
• Identify pairs or transitions that students frequently reverse.
• Investigate whether an alternative order is defensible.
• Check whether wording revealed the sequence unintentionally.
• Review whether the number and length of items created unnecessary interface difficulty.
• Confirm that the scoring treated near-correct arrangements as intended.
• Review accessibility issues reported by students.
• Record substantive revisions as a new version so materially different sequences are not treated as the same question.

Final check

Before you save or deploy the question, confirm that:

• the task measures a tagged learning outcome at the intended cognitive level;
• the description states the ordering rule and direction;
• one sequence is clearly defensible;
• the answer rows are in the correct authoring order;
• wording and formatting do not reveal the answer;
• the number and length of items are manageable;
• correct, near-correct and incorrect sequences score as intended;
• feedback explains the governing relationship or process;
• the interaction is accessible on the target devices; and
• you have previewed the complete student experience in the receiving LAMS activity.