Every item in an assessment is a frozen copy
Whether you import an item from the library or create a new one from inside the builder, the assessment stores a snapshot of the item taken at that moment: its question text, options, answer key, configuration, and rubric reference. From then on, the copy in the assessment and the item in the library live independently.
This also means an item created from the builder exists in two places afterwards: the reusable original in your library, and the frozen copy attached to the assessment.
Edits in the builder stay in the assessment
Opening a question with the builder's edit action rewrites the assessment's copy only — the edit modal says so directly: changes apply to this assessment only, and the library copy stays as it is. Use it freely to tailor wording, options, points, or the required flag to one assessment without touching the version other assessments rely on.
Points and the required flag are per-assessment settings on the copy. Library-level organization — skills, folders, and tags — is not edited from the builder; manage those on the library item itself.
Edits in the library apply to future uses only
The isolation works in both directions. Editing an item on the Items page updates the library original, but assessments that already imported it keep the copy they took — nothing ripples into a running or published assessment behind your back. The next time you import that item into an assessment, the copy reflects the updated version.
Why copies, not live links
An assessment is a record of exactly what candidates saw and answered. If library edits flowed into every assessment that used an item, a wording fix in your library could silently change a live assessment mid-cohort — and your results would no longer match the questions on record. Frozen copies keep each assessment stable and auditable while leaving the library free to evolve.
Bring a copy back in line with the library
There is no automatic sync. If a copy in an assessment should match an updated library item, remove the copy in the builder and import the item again — the fresh import snapshots the current library version. In the import modal, the "In assessment" badge shows you which items the assessment already holds.
At a glance
- Adding an item to an assessment freezes a copy of it at that moment.
- Editing a question inside the builder changes that assessment only — the library item stays as it is.
- Editing a library item changes future uses only — assessments that already hold a copy keep theirs.
- Items created from inside the builder are saved to your library and attached as a copy, so the same rules apply.
- To pick up the latest library version, remove the copy and import the item again.