QTI 3 and Assessment | Member Resources | Public Documents | Background |
Digital assessment is made easier if there’s a standard format for the exchange of test questions and structures, scoring information, the ability to analyze results, and ways to accommodate learners’ personal needs and preferences. 1EdTech's assessment work has enabled the move to digital assessment as a more responsive and reliable alternative to paper-based testing. This is especially important at a time when most institutions are looking to eliminate or greatly reduce the use of paper in classrooms within the next few years.
Question & Test Interoperability® (QTI®)—the de-facto standard for e-assessment interoperability—identifies and defines the formats, protocols, and points of interoperability that save users and suppliers time and money in the development, delivery, and outcomes of assessments. In addition, 1EdTech e-assessment initiatives include open interoperability solutions for accessibility requirements, integration of computer adaptive testing platforms for advanced, personalized testing, and online proctoring for remote, secure assessments.
 |
AccessibilitySupports compliance with federal requirements to meet the needs of all students as stated in section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, and the 2017 update of Section 508 that requires WCAG 2.0 AA compliance. More recent versions of QTI also support accommodations commonly used in K–12 assessments. |
 |
Content OwnershipInstitutions can own and maintain their assessment content using item banks in the open, interoperable QTI format that supports content portability as needs change. |
 |
Flexibility: Online and PaperInstitutions can move to 100% digital assessments or maintain paper exams as necessary with QTI. |
 |
Item InnovationPortable Custom Interactions (PCI): updates to the specification, which provides a standard way of authoring and delivering interactive or technology-enhanced question items. |
 |
Learning Platform IntegrationComputer Adaptive Testing specification, a new standard for establishing interoperability between adaptive testing engines and assessment delivery platforms to adapt a test to students' understanding of the subject matter. Learning Tools Interoperability® (LTI®) complements QTI by providing a way to integrate testing or an externally hosted assessment system with a student portal or learning platform, like an LMS, and then returning results or scores upon completion. LTI can also provide integration points for other parts of an assessment system such as item authoring, item previewing, test taker reviewing for scoring, etc. Proctoring Services: establishes a standard way of proctoring exams by integrating test platforms with proctoring services/systems, taking advantage of the rich LTI model in wide use across learning management systems and external tools. |
 |
Results Data and AnalyticsImportant but perhaps underappreciated part of QTI is the ability to capture and exchange assessment results data called QTI Results Reporting—conformance certification testing is coming soon. The Caliper Analytics® standard provides a basic profile for capturing event data related to assessments (and other learning data) and is currently working to expand its capabilities by defining a richer QTI Caliper profile. (coming soon) |
 |
Savings: Time and MoneyLower cost of ownership for institutions and assessment programs from high stakes to formative assessments. |
 |
Volume and ScaleTens of millions of tests and their associated items have been created, transferred, delivered to students and scored using QTI across the world. |
Are Your Products 1EdTech Certified?Ensuring that your educational technology tools are 1EdTech certified is the best way to establish a plug-and-play ecosystem, allowing your systems and content to work together seamlessly, giving you more choice, and reducing your total cost of ownership. |
Question & Test Interoperability (QTI)
As institutions and organizations look to procure interoperable QTI-based content or systems, it is important to include specific language in RFPs around 1EdTech conformance certification.
For additional information about conformance certification and language to include in an RFP, please see the Suggested QTI Requirements for Institutional RFP & Procurement Agreements primer.
What’s New in QTI 3
- Improved presentation interoperability
- Web-friendly markup allows implementations to use standard web components in QTI structures
- Accessibility better supported by integrating APIP back into the base QTI specification and incorporating the relevant W3C specifications and accessibility best practices
For additional details, view the high-level comparison of the latest QTI Versions. You can also learn more by watching this VIDEO.
Public Documents
- QTI Specification Documents
- APIP Specification Documents
- PARCC APIP Profile Documents
- Student Learning Data Model
Some resources are available to 1EdTech members only (1EdTech login required to access all of the resources available). If you cannot find what you want, try the Technical Resources Search or go to the forum and post a message for the community.
Member Resources (login required)
QTI Conformance
Visit the QTI Conformance Certification page for access to information about requesting and meeting QTI certification requirements.
1EdTech conformance certification for Question and Test Interoperability (QTI) is available for 1EdTech Contributing, Affiliate, and eAssessment Alliance members. Learn more to begin taking advantage of the benefits of certification.
Help Us Shape the Standard!
The following are the active project group/task force forums where discussions, documents, and agendas/minutes are posted:
- QTI forum
- Computer Adaptive Testing forum
- Proctoring forum
- Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium forum
Student Learning Data Model
- The 1EdTech Student Learning Data Model visualizes a digital ecosystem interconnected with real-time data. Log in with your 1EdTech member credentials to access specification-level Mapping and Discovery in the tool.
Background
