learningequality · AlexVelezLl · Aug 19, 2026 · Aug 19, 2026 · Aug 19, 2026 · Aug 14, 2026
diff --git a/contentcuration/contentcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/constants.js b/contentcuration/contentcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/constants.js
@@ -34,14 +34,14 @@ export const Orientation = Object.freeze({
  * 2. QuestionType -> The type editors will select per assessment item.
  *    It's different from AssessmentItemType because we will extend this for all
  *    new question types without confusing it with values stored in the database
- *    (all of these will be assessment item type: "qti"). Value is related to how
+ *    (all of these will be assessment item type: "QTI"). Value is related to how
  *    Studio presents different question options to users in the UI.
  *
  * 3. InteractionType (QtiInteraction) -> The actual interactions defined by QTI,
  *    and the ones that dictate how to parse and what descriptor we will use.
  *    Each QTI interaction can have multiple related question types (e.g., choice
  *    can be singleSelect or multiSelect), but all of them will have assessment
- *    item type "qti".
+ *    item type "QTI".
  */
 
 /**
@@ -66,7 +66,8 @@ export const QTI_INTERACTION_TAGS = Object.freeze(Object.values(QtiInteraction))
  * by the broader Studio assessment system, not by this editor.
  */
 export const AssessmentItemTypes = Object.freeze({
-  QTI: 'qti',
+  // Matches the value the API stores and returns (le_utils exercises.QTI).
+  QTI: 'QTI',
 });
 
 /**

diff --git a/...ntcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/interactions/textEntry/__tests__/parse.spec.js b/...ntcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/interactions/textEntry/__tests__/parse.spec.js
@@ -243,6 +243,28 @@ describe('buildTextEntryInteractionXML', () => {
       expect(doc.querySelector('qti-item-body')).not.toBeNull();
     });
 
+    it('leaves no xhtml namespace on the prompt markup', () => {
+      // The prompt comes from the HTML parser; an explicit xmlns on it makes the whole
+      // item fail schema validation on the server.
+      const { bodyXml } = buildTextEntryInteractionXML(
+        { prompt: '<p>What is <strong>H2O</strong>?</p>', answers: [], expectedLength: 0 },
+        QuestionType.FREE_RESPONSE,
+        FREE_SCHEMA,
+      );
+      expect(bodyXml).not.toContain('http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml');
+    });
+
+    it('keeps the prompt before the interaction', () => {
+      const { bodyXml } = buildTextEntryInteractionXML(
+        { prompt: '<p>Question</p>', answers: [], expectedLength: 0 },
+        QuestionType.FREE_RESPONSE,
+        FREE_SCHEMA,
+      );
+      expect(bodyXml.indexOf('Question')).toBeLessThan(
+        bodyXml.indexOf('qti-text-entry-interaction'),
+      );
+    });
+
     it('contains a <qti-text-entry-interaction> element', () => {
       const { bodyXml } = buildTextEntryInteractionXML(
         { prompt: '', answers: [], expectedLength: 0 },

diff --git a/...tcuration/contentcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/interactions/textEntry/parse.js b/...tcuration/contentcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/interactions/textEntry/parse.js
@@ -199,15 +199,10 @@ export function buildTextEntryInteractionXML(state, questionType, declarationSch
     children: [interactionEl],
   });
 
-  // Build body children: prompt HTML nodes (if any) followed by the interaction paragraph.
-  const bodyChildren = [];
-  if (prompt) {
-    const promptDoc = parseXML(`<!DOCTYPE html><body>${prompt}</body>`, 'text/html');
-    bodyChildren.push(...promptDoc.body.childNodes);
-  }
-  bodyChildren.push(interactionParagraph);
-
-  const bodyEl = buildXmlNode({ tag: 'qti-item-body', children: bodyChildren });
+  // The prompt is authored HTML, so it goes in through innerHTML: buildXmlNode parses it
+  // and adopts the result into the item's namespace.
+  const bodyEl = buildXmlNode({ tag: 'qti-item-body', innerHTML: prompt || '' });
+  bodyEl.appendChild(interactionParagraph);
   const bodyXml = serializer.serializeToString(bodyEl);
 
   // Build the response declaration.

diff --git a/...tentcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/serialization/__tests__/assembleItem.spec.js b/...tentcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/serialization/__tests__/assembleItem.spec.js
@@ -2,6 +2,7 @@
 // HTML and do not work reliably on strict XML elements generated by serialization.
 /* eslint-disable jest-dom/prefer-to-have-attribute, jest-dom/prefer-to-have-text-content */
 import { buildXmlNode, assembleItemXml } from '../assembleItem.js';
+import { parseItem } from '../parseItem.js';
 
 const serializer = new XMLSerializer();
 
@@ -142,6 +143,38 @@ describe('assembleItem', () => {
         buildXmlNode({ tag: 'qti-simple-choice', children: ['x'], innerHTML: '<p>y</p>' }),
       ).toThrow('mutually exclusive');
     });
+
+    it('leaves no xhtml namespace on the markup it appends', () => {
+      // The QTI schema expects inline content in the namespace the item root declares, so
+      // an explicit xmlns from the HTML parser makes the whole item invalid on the server.
+      const node = buildXmlNode({
+        tag: 'qti-simple-choice',
+        innerHTML: '<p>Lima</p>',
+      });
+      expect(new XMLSerializer().serializeToString(node)).toBe(
+        '<qti-simple-choice><p>Lima</p></qti-simple-choice>',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('drops an xhtml namespace already carried by stored content', () => {
+      const node = buildXmlNode({
+        tag: 'qti-simple-choice',
+        innerHTML: '<p xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Lima</p>',
+      });
+      expect(new XMLSerializer().serializeToString(node)).toBe(
+        '<qti-simple-choice><p>Lima</p></qti-simple-choice>',
+      );
+    });
+
+    it('keeps a foreign namespace, which QTI expects declared', () => {
+      const node = buildXmlNode({
+        tag: 'qti-prompt',
+        innerHTML: '<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mi>x</mi></math>',
+      });
+      expect(new XMLSerializer().serializeToString(node)).toContain(
+        '<math xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML">',
+      );
+    });
   });
 
   describe('innerHTML — HTML5 void elements (TipTap regression)', () => {
@@ -248,4 +281,79 @@ describe('assembleItemXml', () => {
     expect(doc.querySelector('parsererror')).toBeNull();
     expect(doc.querySelector('qti-assessment-item').getAttribute('title')).toBe('Plain Title');
   });
+
+  describe('namespaces', () => {
+    const MATHML_NS = 'http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML';
+    const QTI_NS = 'http://www.imsglobal.org/xsd/imsqtiasi_v3p0';
+
+    // buildXmlNode gets this right on its own, but the body is handed here as a string
+    // and parsed again, so the declaration has to survive that too. A <math> that ends
+    // up inheriting the QTI namespace makes the server reject the whole item.
+    it('keeps a foreign namespace declared inside the body', () => {
+      const prompt = buildXmlNode({
+        tag: 'qti-prompt',
+        innerHTML: `<p>What is <math xmlns="${MATHML_NS}"><mi>x</mi></math>?</p>`,
+      });
+      const interaction = buildXmlNode({
+        tag: 'qti-choice-interaction',
+        attrs: { 'response-identifier': 'RESPONSE' },
+        children: [prompt],
+      });
+
+      const xml = assembleItemXml({
+        identifier: 'item-math',
+        title: 'T',
+        language: 'en',
+        bodyXml: serializer.serializeToString(interaction),
+        responseDeclarations: [],
+      });
+
+      expect(
+        new DOMParser().parseFromString(xml, 'text/xml').querySelector('math').namespaceURI,
+      ).toBe(MATHML_NS);
+    });
+
+    // An interaction the author did not touch is handed back exactly as parseItem read
+    // it, still carrying the item's own declaration. Re-declaring the same namespace is
+    // redundant but valid, and it must not cost the foreign one nested inside.
+    it('assembles a body whose root already declares the QTI namespace', () => {
+      const xml = assembleItemXml({
+        identifier: 'item-math',
+        title: 'T',
+        language: 'en',
+        bodyXml:
+          `<qti-choice-interaction xmlns="${QTI_NS}" response-identifier="RESPONSE">` +
+          `<qti-prompt><p>What is <math xmlns="${MATHML_NS}"><mi>x</mi></math>?</p></qti-prompt>` +
+          `</qti-choice-interaction>`,
+        responseDeclarations: [],
+      });
+
+      const doc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(xml, 'text/xml');
+      expect(doc.querySelector('parsererror')).toBeNull();
+      expect(doc.querySelector('qti-choice-interaction').namespaceURI).toBe(QTI_NS);
+      expect(doc.querySelector('math').namespaceURI).toBe(MATHML_NS);
+    });
+
+    it('preserves MathML through a parseItem round trip', () => {
+      const original =
+        '<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>\n' +
+        `<qti-assessment-item xmlns="${QTI_NS}" identifier="item-math" title="T" adaptive="false" time-dependent="false" xml:lang="en">` +
+        '<qti-item-body><qti-choice-interaction response-identifier="RESPONSE">' +
+        `<qti-prompt><p>What is <math xmlns="${MATHML_NS}"><mi>x</mi></math>?</p></qti-prompt>` +
+        '</qti-choice-interaction></qti-item-body></qti-assessment-item>';
+
+      const item = parseItem(original);
+      const xml = assembleItemXml({
+        identifier: item.identifier,
+        title: item.title,
+        language: item.language,
+        bodyXml: item.interactions[0].bodyXml,
+        responseDeclarations: item.interactions[0].responseDeclarations,
+      });
+
+      expect(
+        new DOMParser().parseFromString(xml, 'text/xml').querySelector('math').namespaceURI,
+      ).toBe(MATHML_NS);
+    });
+  });
 });
diff --git a/...entcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/serialization/__tests__/convertedItem.spec.js b/...entcuration/frontend/shared/views/QTIEditor/serialization/__tests__/convertedItem.spec.js
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+/**
+ * The editor's read/write pair against what the converter actually emits.
+ *
+ * These read the converter's own fixtures rather than a copy, because the bug this file
+ * exists to catch was a disagreement between the two: `testingFixtures.js` is hand-written
+ * and carries no grading declarations, so nothing noticed that a converted item loses its
+ * scoring rules on the first save.
+ */
+// Disabled because jest-dom's matchers are built for HTML elements and reject the strict
+// XML nodes this serialization produces — same reason as assembleItem.spec.js.
+/* eslint-disable jest-dom/prefer-to-have-attribute */
+import fs from 'fs';
+import path from 'path';
+import { parseItem } from '../parseItem';
+import { assembleItemXml } from '../assembleItem';
+
+const FIXTURES = path.join(__dirname, '../../../../../../tests/utils/qti/fixtures');
+
+const read = name => fs.readFileSync(path.join(FIXTURES, `${name}.xml`), 'utf8');
+
+const rebuild = item =>
+  assembleItemXml({
+    identifier: item.identifier,
+    title: item.title,
+    language: item.language,
+    bodyXml: item.interactions[0].bodyXml,
+    responseDeclarations: item.interactions[0].responseDeclarations,
+    hints: item.hints,
+  });
+
+describe('a converted single-selection item', () => {
+  const original = read('single_selection');
+
+  it('is read with the language the converter wrote', () => {
+    expect(parseItem(original).language).toBe('en-US');
+  });
+
+  it('writes the language back as xml:lang, the attribute QTI declares', () => {
+    const xml = rebuild(parseItem(original));
+    expect(xml).toContain('xml:lang="en-US"');
+    expect(xml).not.toContain(' language="');
+  });
+
+  it('keeps its scoring outcome and response processing', () => {
+    const xml = rebuild(parseItem(original));
+    const doc = new DOMParser().parseFromString(xml, 'text/xml');
+    expect(doc.querySelector('parsererror')).toBeNull();
+    expect(doc.querySelector('qti-outcome-declaration').getAttribute('identifier')).toBe('SCORE');
+    expect(doc.querySelector('qti-response-processing').getAttribute('template')).toBe(
+      'https://purl.imsglobal.org/spec/qti/v3p0/rptemplates/match_correct',
+    );
+  });
+
+  it('puts the children in the order the schema fixes', () => {
+    const xml = rebuild(parseItem(original));
+    const order = [...xml.matchAll(/<(qti-[a-z-]+)/g)]
+      .map(m => m[1])
+      .filter(tag =>
+        [
+          'qti-response-declaration',
+          'qti-outcome-declaration',
+          'qti-item-body',
+          'qti-response-processing',
+        ].includes(tag),
+      );
+    expect(order).toEqual([
+      'qti-response-declaration',
+      'qti-outcome-declaration',
+      'qti-item-body',
+      'qti-response-processing',
+    ]);
+  });
+});
+
+describe('an item this editor wrote', () => {
+  it('keeps xml:lang, the spelling this editor uses', () => {
+    const xml = assembleItemXml({
+      identifier: 'i',
+      title: 't',
+      language: 'es',
+      bodyXml: '<qti-choice-interaction response-identifier="RESPONSE"/>',
+      responseDeclarations: ['<qti-response-declaration identifier="RESPONSE"/>'],
+    });
+    expect(xml).toContain('xml:lang="es"');
+  });
+
+  it('omits the language rather than inventing one', () => {
+    const xml = assembleItemXml({
+      identifier: 'i',
+      title: 't',
+      language: '',
+      bodyXml: '<qti-choice-interaction response-identifier="RESPONSE"/>',
+      responseDeclarations: [],
+    });
+    expect(xml).not.toContain('xml:lang');
+    expect(xml).not.toContain('language=');
+  });
+
+  it('scores nothing when there is nothing to answer', () => {
+    const xml = assembleItemXml({
+      identifier: 'i',
+      title: 't',
+      language: 'en',
+      bodyXml: '<qti-item-body><p>Just text.</p></qti-item-body>',
+      responseDeclarations: [],
+    });
+    expect(xml).toContain('qti-outcome-declaration');
+    expect(xml).not.toContain('qti-response-processing');
+  });
+});