How do I understand D2L Brightspace Quiz Statistics?

How do I understand D2L Brightspace Quiz Statistics?

So, you gave your class a quiz and you see some information that speaks about statistics.  What exactly do the various statistic values mean and how can this information be used to change the way I teach and evaluate classroom learning?  The information below will help you with this.   

Viewing quiz statistics 

View and export quiz statistics and reports to a CSV file for data analysis. The CSV file contains all pertinent information on the quiz so that you can query, sort, and evaluate the data without being connected to D2L Brightspace. In this view, you can see a list of quizzes for your course. The average grade for each quiz displays beside the quiz name. 
The Statistics option on the menu besides a quiz in con
  1. On the Manage Quizzes page, click Statistics from the context menu of the quiz you want to view. 
  2. On the View Statistics page, click the User Stats, Question Stats, or Question Details tabs to view statistics broken down by user or by question. 
  3. Click Export to CSV file if you want to save the quiz statistics on your computer.  Note: The system will export the statistics only from the tab you are currently viewing.
The Statistics menu as selected

Understanding User Stats 

User Stats CSV files contain performance data by user, including: the user’s Org Defined ID, username, first name, last name, quiz score, the value the quiz was graded out of, the user’s score as a percentage, and the class average. 
Tip:  Create a column to calculate the median score on the quiz to consider the class’s performance from a different perspective. Use the formula <=median(x1:x5)> to calculate the median. 

Understanding Question Stats 

Question Stats CSV files contain data about the average score on questions by points and percentage. 
The question title, text, bonus status, and difficulty level are included in the CSV file so that data can be analyzed without referring back to D2L Brightspace. 

Tip:  You can sort, query, hide, and delete data to help your analysis and create charts or graphs to visually represent trends. 

Understanding Question Details 

Question Details CSV files contain detailed information about each question in the quiz, including a list of all of the answers provided for each quiz attempt, how many users chose each possible answer, the total number of responses, and the average score on the question. Question Details reports can help you evaluate trends in answers and look for questions that were unclear or difficult for a number of users. 
The question title, text, bonus status, and difficulty level are included in the CSV file so that data can be analyzed without referring back to D2L Brightspace. 

Tip:  Create a column that calculates the average score for all question attempts as a percentage by dividing the Average Score column by the Out Of column and multiplying by 100. Next, create a custom filter for the new Attempt Average column that displays only rows where the attempt average is less than 51%. This way you can quickly review questions that users struggled with and adjust grades or your lesson plans accordingly. 

Data exported for question details

Question Type 

 What is exported 

 Multiple Choice 

 All of the possible answers and the number of responses for each answer. 

 True and False 

 All of the possible answers and the number of responses for each answer. 

 Written Response 

 All of the responses provided listed on separate rows. 

 Short Answer 

 The correct answer for each blank and an additional row for all other answers, and the number of responses for the correct answer versus other answers. 

Multi-Short Answer 

 The correct answers for each blank and an additional row for all other answers, and the number of responses for the correct answer versus other answers. 

 Fill in the Blanks 

 The correct answers and an additional row for other answers, and the number of responses for the correct answer versus other answers. 

 Multi-Select 

 All of the possible answers and the number of responses for each answer. 

 Matching 

 All of the possible matches and the number of responses for each match. 

 Ordering 

 All of the answers in the order match and the number of responses for each match. 

Arithmetic 

 Questions broken down by results and units. Also lists which users had both results and units correct, only results correct, only units correct, and neither correct. 

Significant Figures 

 Questions broken down by results and units. Also lists which users had both results and units correct, both results and units correct as well as significant figures, only results correct, only results and significant figures correct, only units correct, and neither results or units correct. 


Statistics by Question Type and Question Collection

Statistics are available for the following question types.   

Question Type 

Average Grade 

Standard Deviation 

Point Biserial 

Discrimination Index 

T/F 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes* 

Yes 

M/C 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes* 

Yes 

M/S 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Matching 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

Ordering 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

WR 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

SA 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

MSA 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

FIB 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

2+2 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

x10 

Yes 

Yes 

No 

Yes 

* Note: There can only be one answer worth 100%; all other answers must be worth 0%. 

Question statistics are available for questions contained within quizzes using the following features.  

Question Condition 

Average Grade 

Standard Deviation 

Point Biserial 

Discrimination Index 

In Question Pool** 

No 

No 

No 

No 

Quiz Shuffle** 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

In Folder Section 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

In Root section 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Question has Randomized Response option 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 

Yes 


** Important: Questions contained in a Question Pool do not produce item analysis statistics.  If appropriate for your quiz, you can randomize the question order of all questions using the Quiz Shuffle feature. 

What are the available quiz statistics and where are they located? 

Standard Deviation 

  1. (Class) Standard Deviation – indicates how much the class scores vary from the average, ranging from 0% to 100%. A high standard deviation indicates that scores are spread out from the average, whereas a low standard deviation indicates that scores are close to the average. Note: Standard Deviation displays a "0.00" value when all users have the same quiz score. 
  2. (Question) Standard Deviation – indicates how much the individual quiz question score varies from the average quiz question score. Standard deviation increases as less people answer a specific question correctly. Note: Standard Deviation displays a "0.00" value when all users give the same answer a specific question, correctly or incorrectly. 

Discrimination Index 

The Discrimination Index indicates how well a question differentiates between higher and lower performing students by subtracting the question's Lower 27% from its Upper 27%. The higher the difference, the better the question discriminates between high and low performing students. For example, the discrimination index on question 1 is 66.67%-50%=16.67%. It can range from -100% to 100%, with high values indicating a “good” question, and low values indicating a “bad” question. 
Note: A negative value indicates that more low performing students are correctly answering the question than high performing students. This would most likely indicate a flawed quiz question. 

Point Biserial 

The Point Biserial calculates any possible correlation between the question score and the total quiz score. Similarly to the discrimination index, the point biserial correlation coefficient relates individuals’ quiz scores to whether or not they got a question correct.  It measures the strength of the correlation between the two values, and shows either a positive or a negative relationship.  It ranges from -1.00 to +1.00 with high values indicating a “good” question, and low values indicating a “bad” question. 
Note: Point Biserial displays a "N/A" value when all users answer a specific question correctly. 

User Stats, Question Stats, and Question Details 

In Quiz Statistics, these statistics are available to assist instructors to evaluate how well students perform on quiz questions. 
  1. User Stats tab - includes the standard deviation with the class average for the overall quiz.
  2. The user stats tab
  1. Question Stats tab - includes standard deviation, discrimination index, and point biserial per question, as well as the standard deviation with the class average for the overall quiz. 
The Question Stats tab
  1. Question Details tab - includes standard deviation, discrimination index, and average grade achieved per question.

    • Related Articles

    • Quiz Questions using Kaltura MediaSpace

      Would you like to ensure that students view the materials and lecture? Do you want to actively engage them with the content? With quiz questions, you can do just that!  Kaltura MediaSpace allows you to record lectures that are imported into D2L ...
    • How do I make a D2L Brightspace Checklist?

      Students love Checklists! If you build it, they will come. A checklist is a way to highlight important or required assignments, readings, discussions, quizzes, or other items for the students to complete. The to-do list allows students to check off ...
    • Creating Awards in D2L BrightSpace

      Awards are way to give kudos to students for accomplishing certain tasks in D2L Brightspace.  Giving an Award 1. Log into D2L Brightspace and go to Assessments – Awards in one of your classes.  2. Click Course Awards.   3. D2L Brightspace includes ...
    • How do I allow multiple attempts on a quiz?

      An instructor may choose to provide students with multiple attempts on quizzes for a few reasons.  First, the instructor is interested in allowing the student an opportunity to learn by quizzing.  Second, the instructor is interested in allowing the ...
    • Rubrics and Assignments in D2L Brightspace

      Faculty grading is made easy using rubrics! A rubric is an evaluation tool or set of guidelines used to promote the consistent application of learning expectations, learning objectives, or learning standards in the classroom. There are two types:  ...