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Managing Archived Questions in Your Assessments

What “Archived” questions mean for you and your assessments!

Written by Jasmine Glasper-Nuñez

We’re always improving InnerOrbit assessments based on research, feedback, and student data. That means questions may be archived, updated, or replaced with new standards-aligned items.

📌 Seeing a pop-up with “Replace” or “No Thanks”?
This means one or more questions in your assessment have been archived. You don’t have to replace them. Your assessment will still work as it is.

  • Click Replace to swap in an updated question.

  • Click No Thanks to keep your assessment as is.

You can always come back and replace questions later.


Archived Questions Overview

We archive a question when we’ve improved our question bank. A question may be archived because it was:

  • Updated to better align with standards

  • Replaced by a newer version that’s more accessible and engaging

  • Retired to keep assessment quality high

Should you replace it? It depends on your goals:

  • Replace if you want the most current, accurate questions. This is recommended when possible.

  • Keep if you’re comparing results across years using the exact same questions, or you’re mid-year and don’t want to change your assessment.


How to Handle Archived Questions

When you see the “Archived” notification in your assessment, you have 2 main options:

Option 1: Update Your Assessment with Suggested Replacement Questions

To replace an archived question, follow these steps:

  • Locate the Assessment:

    • Navigate to the assessment with archived questions.

  • Access Archived Questions:

    • Click the “Archived Questions” tab in your assessment.

    • Select the “Find and Add New Questions” button.

  • Review Replacement Questions:

    • Phenomena assessing the same standard (with the same type of question: 1D, 2D, or 3D) will appear.

To replace the archived question, find the question that suits your assessment and click “Replace with this Question.”

❗ Keep in mind: Once you delete archived questions, they will no longer be accessible on InnerOrbit.

  • To keep the question, click “Skip this Question.”

  • Save Changes:

    • Click the green “Save” button at the bottom of the page to apply your updates.

⚠️ Important Note: Replacing a question may add a new phenomenon to your assessment if the original phenomenon has also been archived. In such cases, updated questions from new phenomena will be available for selection.

Option 2: Keep Archived Questions in Your Assessment

You can choose to retain archived questions in your assessment, or replace only specific ones. To do so, follow these steps:

  1. Click the “No Thanks” button on the archived question notification.

  2. To replace only certain questions:

    • Navigate to the question you want to replace.

    • Click the “Find and Add New Questions” button.

    • Select “Skip this Question” for any questions you’d like to keep.

  3. Save Changes:

    • Don’t forget to click the green “Save” button to ensure your updates are applied.


Data Considerations

  • If you replace archived questions:

    • You may see small shifts in results since newer questions are clearer and more precise.

    • Your historical data stays the same. Results from prior school years will remain intact.

  • Year-to-year comparisons:

    • If your goal is to compare performance across years using the same exact items, you may choose to keep archived questions in place and avoid updating questions mid-year.

ℹ️ Please Note: Questions are sometimes archived to correct inaccuracies or improve alignment, so updating to the suggested replacements is still recommended when possible.


💬 Need more help?

For additional assistance, click on "Send us a message" in the site chat or email us support@innerorbit.com.

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