QTI Format Explained: What QTI Is, How It Works, and Which LMSes Support It
FO
Formswrite Team
May 19, 2026
QTI Format Explained: What It Is, How It Works, and How to Create One
If your LMS asks you to upload a "QTI .zip" and you have never made one, this page is for you. It explains what the QTI format actually is, what is inside a QTI file, the difference between QTI 1.2 / 2.1 / 2.2, which LMSes accept which version, and the practical path to going from a Word doc or spreadsheet to a working QTI package.
What QTI stands for
QTI = Question and Test Interoperability. It is an open standard managed by 1EdTech (the organization formerly known as IMS Global). The point of the standard is to let question banks move between learning management systems without re-typing.
You will see QTI in three contexts:
- Importing - most LMSes (Canvas, Moodle, Brightspace, Blackboard, Sakai, Schoology) accept a QTI .zip on import.
- Exporting - most LMSes can also export your existing quizzes as QTI, so you can move them to another system.
- Integration - assessment platforms (Learnosity, Questionmark, TAO) speak QTI natively as an interchange format.
QTI is one of the more successful interoperability standards in EdTech. It is not perfect, but every major LMS supports at least one version of it.
What is inside a QTI file
A QTI file is not a single XML - it is a .zip package containing multiple files. Unzip one and you will see:
my-quiz.zip
├── imsmanifest.xml ← package index
├── assessmentTest.xml ← the test/quiz definition
├── items/
│ ├── q-001.xml ← one XML per question
│ ├── q-002.xml
│ └── …
└── media/
├── diagram-1.png
└── …
imsmanifest.xmlis the index. It lists every file in the package and how they relate. If the manifest is missing or malformed, the entire import fails.assessmentTest.xmldescribes the test as a whole - sections, time limits, scoring.items/*.xml- one file per question. Each contains the stem, the answer choices, the correct answer, scoring rules, and optional feedback strings.media/- embedded images, audio, video referenced by individual items.
This structure is what makes QTI portable: the manifest tells the importing LMS exactly what is in the package, and the LMS reassembles the quiz from those parts.
QTI 1.2 vs QTI 2.1 vs QTI 2.2
There are three versions you might encounter:
| Version | Year | Where you see it |
|---|---|---|
| QTI 1.2 | 2002 | Older Canvas exports, Blackboard Classic, some legacy systems. Lots of XML hand-rolled into it over the years. |
| QTI 2.1 | 2012 | The mainstream version. Canvas, Brightspace, Moodle, and Blackboard Ultra all accept it. Use this if you have a choice. |
| QTI 2.2 | 2015 | Adds support for "Portable Custom Interactions" (drag-drop, hotspots, drawing). Required by Learnosity and a few next-gen platforms; ignored by most LMSes. |
Practical guidance:
- If you are importing into a major LMS, export as QTI 2.1. Universal support.
- Only use QTI 2.2 if the target system explicitly asks for it (drag-drop interactions, portable custom items).
- QTI 1.2 is legacy. Generate it only if you are stuck with a system that does not understand 2.1.
Which LMSes accept QTI
| LMS | QTI 1.2 | QTI 2.1 | QTI 2.2 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Canvas (Instructure) | Yes | Yes | Partial |
| Brightspace (D2L) | No | Yes | Partial |
| Moodle | Yes (legacy) | Yes | No |
| Blackboard Ultra | Yes | Yes | No |
| Blackboard Original | Yes | No | No |
| Sakai | Yes | Yes | No |
| Schoology | Yes | Yes | No |
| Learnosity | No | Yes | Yes |
| TAO | Yes | Yes | Yes |
QTI 2.1 is the safest export choice for cross-LMS work.
Question types QTI supports
QTI itself supports a broad set of question types. The catch: not every LMS supports every QTI question type. The intersection that survives a round-trip through any major LMS:
- Multiple choice (single answer)
- Multiple response (multiple answers)
- True / false
- Short answer / text entry
- Essay / extended response
- Fill in the blank (cloze)
- Matching pairs
Anything more exotic (hotspot, drag-and-drop, drawing) is QTI 2.2 territory and may not import cleanly.
How to create a QTI file from a document
If you have your questions in Word, Google Docs, PDF, or a CSV, you have three options:
1. Hand-write the XML
Possible, painful. A 25-question multiple-choice quiz is about 600 lines of XML, plus the manifest. One missing
<responseDeclaration> and the import fails with a cryptic error. Practical only for very small tests or as a learning exercise.2. Use a free university converter
Several universities publish free QTI converters online (Kansas State, NYIT, UIW, Dartmouth's GIFT2QTI). They work for the specific input format their authors chose - usually a particular CSV layout or the GIFT plain-text format. If your document already matches that format, this is a fine free option.
3. Use a document-aware converter like Formswrite
Drop in a Word doc, PDF, Google Doc, or CSV - Formswrite parses it, extracts the questions, and exports a valid QTI 2.1 package. The advantage is you do not have to reformat your source material to match a template. See the QTI converter guide for the full walkthrough, or the LMS-specific guides: Canvas, Brightspace, or CSV question banks.
Verifying a QTI file before you upload it
A common headache: you generate a QTI file, upload it, and the LMS rejects it with a vague error. To debug:
- Unzip the file. Confirm
imsmanifest.xmlis present at the root. - Validate the manifest against the 1EdTech schema. Any XML validator works.
- Check item count. Open
assessmentTest.xmland count<assessmentItemRef>elements - they should match the number of items initems/. - Try a one-question test. If a 100-question import fails, export just one question as QTI and try that. If one works and 100 fails, the problem is a malformed item; if neither works, the problem is the manifest.
Formswrite's exporter runs schema validation before download, so you usually do not need this manual step - but it is useful to know when you receive a QTI file from somewhere else.
QTI vs alternatives
- GIFT (Moodle's plain-text format) - simpler to write by hand, Moodle-only.
- Canvas CSV format - Canvas-only, no portability.
- Aiken format - Moodle-only, multiple-choice only.
- QTI 2.1 - verbose XML, portable across LMSes.
QTI's value is portability. If you are committed to one LMS forever, the native format is shorter. The moment you migrate or distribute to multiple LMSes, QTI is the right choice.
FAQ
Can I open a QTI file in Word?
No - it is a zip of XML. Unzip it and you can read the XML in any text editor, but it is not designed for direct editing.
Will a QTI 2.1 file work in Canvas New Quizzes?
Yes. Canvas decides which engine to import into based on the course settings, not the QTI file itself.
What is the difference between QTI and Common Cartridge?
Common Cartridge is a broader package format that can contain QTI quizzes alongside other course content (pages, files, links). If you only have a quiz, export QTI. If you are exporting a whole course, export Common Cartridge.
Can I round-trip - pull questions out of one LMS as QTI, edit them, push back?
Yes. Most LMSes export their question banks as QTI 2.1. Edit in Formswrite or another tool, re-export, and re-import.
Is QTI still actively maintained?
Yes. 1EdTech publishes occasional updates and the format remains the de facto interchange standard for educational assessment.
Related guides
- Don't have the quiz written yet? The AI Quiz Generator creates questions from any PDF, Word doc, or slide deck - and exports straight to QTI 2.1 in one flow.
- Source is a PDF specifically? Jump to the PDF to Quiz Generator - covers OCR, equation handling, and large-document batching before the QTI export.
- Want to skip QTI entirely and use Google Forms instead? PDF to Google Forms converts a PDF directly into a working Google Form - no QTI step.
- QTI Converter Online: Free Tool to Convert Any Document to QTI - when the quiz exists in Word, PDF, or Google Doc form.
- Canvas Quiz Converter: From Word, PDF, or Text - Canvas-specific QTI import steps.
- Brightspace Quiz Import from Word - D2L Question Library workflow.
- CSV to QTI Converter Guide - spreadsheet column conventions + batch Python recipe.
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