KB856928 | HOW TO: Grade Constructed Response Items from an Online Test

KB856928 | HOW TO: Grade Constructed Response Items from an Online Test

This lesson will guide you through grading a constructed response item on an assessment administered online. This means that students typed in a response, which Illuminate stores but does not grade for a user. The user must manually enter these scores. There are two ways to see these scores for grading: (1) by Question or (2) by Grid.

Before you begin this lesson, make sure to:

  • Have administered an assessment online to students
  • Have items or questions to enter scores for such as constructed response or question with a rubric value
  • Permission to Enter/Edit scores in the accessed assessment

Where to Start


1. Select the Assessments tab.

2. Click View Assessments. Once on the list, click on the title of the test you would like to enter scores for.


1. Click on the Administration tab, then click Enter / Edit.


2. Use the search filters to find the students you wish to enter/edit grades for. Depending on your role, you may need to select a school, teacher, course and section from the filters.

3. You can also choose to view all students or students with/without data using the View dropdown.

4. Click Find Students.  

The user must manually enter these scores. There are two ways to see these scores for grading: by Question or by Grid. Each one has unique abilities based on your needs to review and grade student scores.


1. Click By Grid at the top of the page. This view will show you written responses for an entire list of students at once.

2. Click Constructed Responses to jump to constructed response questions and see student written responses.

3. Use the arrow keys to move between questions.

4.  Review the question rubric (Itembank assessments only): Click Show Question and the question/rubric will display in a separate window.

5. Enter the student's score in the scoring column to the right of the student's name. You can use the dropdown or type the score directly into the box.

6. Autosave: Once you Enter/Edit scores, the page will Autosave if the Autosave box is checked. If this is unchecked, you can manually save by pressing the blue Save button after you are done entering your scores.


Scores will be instantly rescored and updated within the assessment's Overview page and Reports. in addition to the student's portal information, if using Illuminate's Home Connection Parent/Student Portal.

Created by Illuminate