Grading Guidelines for Fill in the Blank Questions
Students frequently ask questions about how fill in the blank questions (FITB) are graded.
- Answers containing additional text or characters beyond the correct answer will be marked incorrect.
- Numerical answers are often graded within a range of the correct value except for exact numbers (i.e. 6 protons in carbon) or when indicated otherwise in the question.
- Questions with “word banks” should be answered only with those choices given. Spelling matters!
The following instructions are examples of what could be included in questions.
- Report your answer to the correct number of significant figures.
- Used on questions to test your knowledge of significant figures. Only answers with the correct number of significant figures will be considered correct.
- Report your answer with three significant figures. (Number of significant figures may vary.)
- To be correct, answers must include exactly the number of significant figures given.
- Report your answer with two decimal places. (Number of decimal places may vary.)
- To be correct, answers must include exactly the number of decimal places given.
- Do NOT include units in your answer.
- Units should NOT be included in your answer to receive credit for a correct numerical value.
- For answers in scientific notation, use the format 2.2e2 or 2.2e‐2
- If the question says the number must be in scientific notation, then numbers not in scientific notation will be marked incorrect.
- If the questions says the number must be in decimal or standard form, then numbers in scientific notation will be marked incorrect.
- If there is no requirement either way, answers that are equivalent will be graded the same regardless of format (i.e. 345 and 3.45e2 are equivalent).
- When using scientific notation is used, it must be in the correct format (i.e. one digit to the left of the decimal place).
Grading Guidelines for Other Questions
Other types of questions
- Multiple choice questions are graded as right or wrong. No partial credit.
- Multiple answer (i.e. pick two) questions are graded as right or wrong. No partial credit.
- Multiple fill in the blank or multiple dropdown questions can receive partial credit based on the number of correct answers.