(4) Using PrairieLearn

In this tutorial, we’ll practice using PrairieLearn and see how the scoring system works. Before completing this tutorial, please make sure you’ve signed up for PrairieLearn as described in the Course Tools Registration page.

PrairieLearn Welcome Assessment

Go to our course PrairieLearn page and click on the “Welcome” assessment. You should see something like this:

Nothing you do in this welcome assessment will hurt your grade at all! This is just for practice.

Question 1 (no variants; earn points once)

Click on the first question. You should see something like this:

1. Note the question in the left/main area. In the upper-right you can see that the assessment (the three questions combined) is worth 26 points, and you currently have 0 / 26. Below that, still on the right, you can also see that this particular question has a value of 3, and you currently have – / 3 for this question.
2. Just to see what happens, choose “17” and click “Save & Grade”. You’ll be told you got the question wrong and your total points for the assessment and this question are still 0.
3. Change your answer to 4, hit “Save & Grade” again, and observe that you got it right and your total points for the assessment and this question are now 3.
4. Click the “Next question” button on the right to go to question 2.

Question 2 (variants; earn points once)

If you did question 1 as above, you should see something like this (likely with different numbers) for question 2:

1. Note that your total points is now 3 / 26 for the assessment, because you answered question 1 correctly. For question 2, you can see that its value is 3, and you currently have – / 3.
2. Choose an incorrect answer and click “Save & Grade”. You’ll then see a “Try a new variant” button. Click it and a new version (variant) of the question will appear. You get to try again to earn the points with this variant.
3. Answer the question correctly. You will receive the points for the question. You should see “Total points: 6/26” for the assessment as a whole, and “Total points: 3/3” for question 2.
4. You can still click “Try a new variant” to practice some more, but no more points will be awarded. Points are never taken away either.
5. Click “Next question” when you’re ready to move on to question 3.

Question 3 (variants; mastery-based scoring)

If you’ve been following this tutorial sequentially, you should see something like this (again, likely with different numbers) for question 3:

This question has variants, and you can (and should) earn points multiple times. Observe:

1. On the right, the text “Value: 3” indicates that you can earn 3 points for answering this variant of the question correctly.
2. Also note “Total points: – / 20” for this question, indicating the question (across its many variants) is worth a total of 20 points. So you’ll need to answer several variants correctly to earn the full 20 points.
3. Go ahead and answer incorrectly for a couple variants. Observe that your points don’t rise.
4. Answer correctly once. Your total points for the assessment should now be 9/26, and your total points for this question should be 3/20. Also note that the “Value” on the right is now 6! Try a new variant.
5. Answer correctly again. Your total points for the assessment should now be 15/26, and your total points for this question should be 9/20. Also note that the “Value” on the right is now 9! Try a new variant.
6. Answer incorrectly. You don’t lose any points. For all PrairieLearn questions, you will never lose points you’ve already earned! But when you try a new variant, the “Value” on the right is reset back to 3.
7. Keep this up as you please, until you’ve achieved the full 20 points for the question, and thus 26/26 for the assessment as a whole.

This is called mastery-based scoring:

• If you’ve mastered a concept and can consistently answer the questions correctly, you probably don’t need lots of practice on it. Thus, the above system will give you more points for each consecutive correct answer, and you’ll get to the maximum quickly.
• If you’re struggling with a concept, that’s ok! This is all for practice. Ask for help as needed, and keep trying until you get full points and feel confident in the concept. The scoring system will give you fewer points per correct answer until you start getting questions right more consistently.

PrairieLearn Assignments

We have two kinds of PrairieLearn assessments in this course:

• C01 through C24
  • These are sets of multiple choice questions that we’ll do in class.
  • C01 is for lecture L01, etc.
  • They’ll only be available during class time, and you’ll get credit for completing them during class in person. Remote options are not available.
  • You’ll have limited attempts on these, but they’re intended to be easy points for everyone in class. Open neighbors, open notes, asking me is all encouraged.
  • This is where your attendance grade will come from.
  • See syllabus for details.
• P01 through P24
  • There are sets of questions (multiple choice, fill-in-the-blank, short-answer, and coding) to be done post-lecture.
  • P01 is for lecture L01, etc.
  • Many of these questions will have variants and will be scored like welcome question 3. Others will be like welcome question 2 and 1.
  • With enough engagement with the material and practice, you will have the opportunity to get full credit on all of these questions. This is for your practice and learning!
  • To be most prepared for lecture N (where N=01, 02, … or 24), I recommend you do P(N-1) before lecture N meets. For example, do P05 before L06 meets. For precise due dates, check the schedule.

PrairieLearn Summary

• Some questions are exam-like: For P01 through P24, some questions are meant to get you up to speed on a topic after the corresponding lecture. Some questions are more difficult and representative of some of the questions you’ll see on an exam.
• Answer questions in any order: You may complete an assessment’s questions in any order you wish, though they are loosely designed to be done in order.
• You can stop and come back: You don’t have to do an assessment all in one sitting! You can close your browser, use a different computer, whatever. Your progress is always saved.
• Scoring varies: Check each question to see if it’s a mastery-based scoring question, or just a “get it right once” question. Go for full points on all questions!
• Once earned, points are never lost: You can always try more variants with no risk. Do so!
• Check the Assessment Overview: For a summary of points earned and remaining points for an ongoing summary: look at the main page of the assessment, or click “Assessment Overview” in the upper-right when looking at a question.
• Watch the due time: Make sure you finish before 11:59 PM (US Eastern Time) on the due date listed on the schedule.

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Copyright and Academic Integrity

© 2026 Steven Bogaerts.

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.

All materials provided for this course, including but not limited to labs, projects, notes, and starter code, are the copyrighted intellectual property of the author(s) listed in the copyright notice above. While these materials are licensed for public non-commercial use, this license does not grant you permission to post or republish your solutions to these assignments.

It is strictly prohibited to post, share, or otherwise distribute solution code (in part or in full) in any manner or on any platform, public or private, where it may be accessed by anyone other than the course staff. This includes, but is not limited to:

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Asking questions by posting small code snippets to our private course discussion forum is not a violation of this policy.