QTI
The IMS Question and Test Interoperability specification (QTI) defines a standard format for the representation of assessment content and results, supporting the exchange of this material between authoring and delivery systems, repositories and other learning management systems. It allows assessment materials to be authored and delivered on multiple systems interchangeably. It is, therefore, designed to facilitate interoperability between systems.[1]
The specification consists of a data model that defines the structure of questions, assessments and results from questions and assessments together with an XML data binding that essentially defines a language for interchanging questions and other assessment material. The XML binding is widely used for exchanging questions between different authoring tools and by publishers. The assessment and results parts of the specification are less widely used.
Background
QTI was produced by the IMS Global Learning Consortium (IMS GLC), which is an industry and academic consortium that develops specifications for interoperable learning technology. QTI was inspired by the need for interoperability in question design, and to avoid people losing or having to re-type questions when technology changes. Developing and validating good questions can be time consuming, and it's desirable to be able to create them in a platform and technology neutral format.
QTI version 1.0 was materially based on a proprietary Questions Markup Language (QML) language defined by QuestionMark, but the language has evolved over the years and can now describe almost any reasonable question that one might want to describe. (QML is still in use by Questionmark and is generated for interoperability by tools like Adobe Captivate).
Version 2.0 was finalized in 2005 and addressed the item (that is, the individual question) level of the specification only. A draft version of Version 2.1, which covered the structure of tests and results, was also released in 2005. But because Version 2.0 did not address test-level issues and was not compatible with Version 1, and because 2.1 was still under development, adoption of Version 2 was retarded. This was compounded in 2009 when IMS GLC withdrew the Version 2.1 draft and advised the user community that the only version "fully endorsed" by IMS GLC was 1.2.1, in effect also deprecating Version 2.0. Despite this, after several more drafts, 2.1 was finalized and released in 2012.
The current version is 2.2, which was finalized in 2015, and has subsequently had two minor revisions, 2.2.1 and 2.2.2, the latest of which was in November 2017. Version 2.2 updated and improved integration with W3C standards such as HTML5, SSML, PLS, CSS, ARIA, and MathML, and otherwise made relatively small changes to the Version 2.1 core specification.
Version 2.x is a significant improvement on Version 1, defining a new underlying interaction model. It is also notable for its significantly greater degree of integration with other specifications (some of which did not exist during the production of v1): the specification addresses the relationship with IMS Content Packaging v1.2, IEEE Learning Object Metadata, IMS Learning Design, IMS Simple Sequencing and other standards such as XHTML. It also provides guidance on representing context-specific usage data and information to support the migration of content from earlier versions of the specification.
Certification
IMS offers certification of compliance to QTI standards, as noted in the table below. However, it is only offered to members of the consortium, which costs US$1,000 to US$7,500 per year.[2]
Timeline
| Date | Version | Comments |
|---|---|---|
| March 1999 | 0.5 | Internal to IMS |
| February 2000 | 1.0 public draft | |
| May 2000 | 1.0 final release | |
| August 2000 | 1.01 | |
| March 2001 | 1.1 | |
| January 2002 | 1.2 | |
| March 2003 | 1.2.1 addendum | |
| September 2003 | 2.0 charter | Initiation of working group |
| January 2005 | 2.0 final release | |
| January 2006 | 2.1 public draft | |
| July 2006 | 2.1 public draft version 2 | |
| March 2009 | 2.1 draft withdrawn, 2.0 deprecated | |
| September 2012 | 2.1 final release | |
| September 2015 | 2.2 final release | |
| November 2017 | 2.2.2 revision of 2.2 |
Applications with IMS QTI support
| Name | QTI version | Type of tool | Comment | License | Certified |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| APIS (Assessment Provision through Interoperable Segments) (project page) | 2.0 | assessment item rendering and processing engine | Apache, BSD, MIT | No | |
| Aqurate | 2.1 | authoring tool | no longer supported, superseded by QTItools (Mathqurate and Moodle plugin)[3] | BSD | No |
| ATutor | 1.2, 2.1 | LCMS | QTI 1.2; QTI 2.1 export remains experimental [4] | GPL | No |
| Canvas by Instructure | 2.1 | LMS | 2.1, Import and export of QTI files, Support of authoring, item banking, and content delivery | AGPL | Yes[5] |
| Chamilo | 1.2, 2.0 | LMS/LCMS | export QTI 1.2 & 2.0, import QTI 2.0 (1.2 disabled by default but available) (supports SCORM 1.2) | GPL | No |
| Cognero | 1.2, 2.0 | online assessment system providing online authoring, delivery, sharing, and reporting | QTI 2.1, Import and export QTI 1.2, export QTI 2.1 [6] | Proprietary | No |
| Colgo | not stated | authoring tool and delivery system | can export IMS QTI, an online tool provides QTI 1.2 import | Proprietary | No |
| Desire2Learn | 1.2 | LMS | can export IMS QTI 1.2, an online tool provides QTI 1.2 import | Proprietary | No |
| Dokeos | 1.2, 2.0 | LMS/LCMS | export QTI 1.2 & 2.0 (1.2 disabled by default but available) (supports SCORM 1.2) | GPL | No |
| Eqiat | not stated | web-based authoring tool | Creative Commons | No | |
| FastTest | 1.2, 1.2 (Pearson), 2.1 | Single ecosystem for item authoring, form assembly, Angoff studies, online delivery, reporting, psychometric analysis, and computerized adaptive testing with item response theory | Supports both imports and exports | Proprietary | No |
| GradeMaker | 2.2 | High stakes exam authoring tool for national Awarding Bodies and Higher Education with comprehensive workflow, versioning and auditing. | Supports exports to QTI file and publishing direct to test players | Proprietary | No |
| ILIAS | not stated | LMS | supports SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 | GPL | No |
| IMC - more than learning | 1.2 | LMS | Supports both imports and exports | Proprietary | No |
| Inspera Assessment | 2.1 | Digital e-Assessment tool supporting authoring, delivering, marking and reporting, as well as providing learning analytics, computerized adaptive testing with item response theory. | Supports exporting and importing tests and items in QTI 2.1. The tests and items authored in Inspera's system are stored and conducted using QTI 2.1 | Proprietary | No |
| itslearning | 2.1 | LMS | Supports QTI import, has export functionality (not certified) | Proprietary | Yes[7] |
| Learnosity | 2.1 | Suite of APIs, including assessment item rendering, assessment delivery, authoring and reporting tools | supports both imports and exports | Proprietary | No |
| Lectora | not stated | authoring tool | supports AICC, SCORM 1.2 and SCORM 2004 | Proprietary | No |
| Mathqurate | 2.1 | authoring tool | specialized for mathematical content | BSD[8] | No |
| Metacoon | 1.2, 2.1 | LMS (using the editor of the ONYX Testsuite) | GPL | No | |
| Moodle | not stated | LCMS | supports adaptive questions; QTI 2.0 export is still unfinished | GPL | No |
| newAPIS | 2.1 | assessment item rendering and processing engine; includes a web editor and a web player of the assessments | started as a fork of APIS (see above) | GPL | No |
| OpenOLAT | 2.1 | LMS / LCMS | Implementation based on QTI 2.1, import/export QTI 2.1 supported, 12 different question types. | Apache | No |
| Online Learning And Training | 1.2 | LCMS | QTI 2.1 compliance can be achieved with ONYX as plugin | Apache | No |
| ONYX Testsuite | 1.2, 2.1 | assessment suite, consists of authoring, delivery and reporting tool | based on QTI 2.1, import/export QTI 1.2, import Blackboard/WebCT/OLAT | Proprietary | Yes[9] |
| ONYX WebEditor | 1.2, 2.1 | online authoring tool (incl. converter and item-bank) | based on QTI 2.1, import/export QTI 1.2, import Blackboard/WebCT/OLAT | Proprietary | Yes[9] |
| QADE - QTI Assessment Delivery Engine | 2.1 | Delivery System | QTI 2.1 | ? | No |
| QTI Magic | 2.1 | authoring tool | QTI 2.1 PD2 | ? | No |
| qti-player | 2.1[10] | delivery system | no longer developed | MIT | No |
| qtimigration | 1.0, 2.0 | converts QTI v1 to QTI v2 | BSD | No | |
| QTI-SDK | 2.0, 2.1, 2.2 | Software Development Kit aiming at providing tools to manipulate and deliver QTI assessments. | An IMS QTI Software Development Kit for PHP 5.5 and higher supporting a wide range of features described by the IMS QTI specification family. | GPL | No |
| QTItools | 2.1 | comprises a software library, a Moodle plugin, and applications for authoring, playing and validating QTI assessments. | BSD | No | |
| QTIWorks | 2.1 | system for managing, verifying and delivering assessments | BSD | No | |
| QuestBase | not stated | authoring tool and delivery system | free online tool that can import IMS QTI | ? | No |
| QuestionMark Perception | not stated | authoring tool and delivery system | can export IMS QTI, an online tool provides QTI 1.2 import | ? | No |
| Question Writer 2.0 Publisher Edition | 1.2 | authoring tool | exports as QTI 1.2 and SCORM 1.2 | Proprietary | No |
| Question Writer 3.5 Professional | 1.2 | authoring tool | exports as QTI 1.2 and SCORM 1.2. Also specific QTI export for Pearson VUE. | Proprietary | No |
| Qyouti | not stated | prints tests on paper and scans them for analysis | ? | No | |
| Really Managing Assessment | 2.1 | assessment authoring, delivery, feedback and management system | mobile iOS and Android QTI 2.1 off-line player | ? | No |
| Rialms | 1.2 | LMS | supports adaptive, interactive questions | ? | No |
| Sakai | 1.2 | LMS | import and export QTI 1.2 [11][12] | ECL | No |
| SharePoint LMS | 1.2 | LMS | can export IMS QTI 1.2, an online tool provides QTI 1.2 import | ? | No |
| TAO [13] | 2.1 | computer-based assessment platform | Only package to achieve all four areas of compliance within a single platform, Content (Validity of the packages produced/ingested), Authoring (Ability to author and export valid QTI Items & Tests), Delivery (Ability to deliver QTI Items & Tests), Item / Test Bank (Ability to store, import, export QTI Items & Tests) | GPL | Yes[9] |
| Uniqurate | 2.1 | authoring | BSD | No | |
| Classera | 2.2 | authoring | BSD | No | |
See also
References
- Effective Practice with e-Assessment guide, p.44
- Alliance membership
- "QTItools wiki". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14.
[...] Aqurate has since been superseded by Mathqurate For Assessr-like capabilities, you can use the QTIEngine Moodle plugin. [...]
- ATutor Question and Test Interoperability Support in ATutor Wiki.
- http://www.imsglobal.org/cc/statuschart.cfm
- "Cognero Features". cognero.com. Madeira Station LLC. 2013. Archived from the original on 2014-04-07. Retrieved 2013-08-09.
[...] imports QTI 1.2 and exports QTI 1.2 and 2.1 [...]
- http://www.imsglobal.org/cc/statuschart.cfm
- fetlar: project that includes Mathqurate.
- "IMS GLC: CC/LTI Conformance Directory". imsglobal.org. IMS Global. Retrieved 2014-06-08.
- "AboutQti". code.google.com. 2010-05-07. Retrieved 2014-06-09.
- Sakai Import-Export Features.
- Tests and Quizzes (aka. SAMigo).
- http://www.taotesting.com
External links
- IMS Global Learning Consortium: IMS Question & Test Interoperability Specification
- List of software that implement QTI