diff --git a/common/lib/capa/capa/inputtypes.py b/common/lib/capa/capa/inputtypes.py
index 58a3ed8b12..c8efa1dfe3 100644
--- a/common/lib/capa/capa/inputtypes.py
+++ b/common/lib/capa/capa/inputtypes.py
@@ -325,7 +325,7 @@ class OptionInput(InputTypeBase):
         Convert options to a convenient format.
         """
         return [Attribute('options', transform=cls.parse_options),
-                Attribute('inline', '')]
+                Attribute('inline', False)]
 
 registry.register(OptionInput)
 
diff --git a/common/lib/capa/capa/templates/optioninput.html b/common/lib/capa/capa/templates/optioninput.html
index 4beaf20cf8..0ef3b6cfe4 100644
--- a/common/lib/capa/capa/templates/optioninput.html
+++ b/common/lib/capa/capa/templates/optioninput.html
@@ -1,4 +1,6 @@
-<form class="inputtype option-input">
+<% doinline = "inline" if inline else "" %>
+
+<form class="inputtype option-input ${doinline}">
    <select name="input_${id}" id="input_${id}" aria-describedby="answer_${id}">
       <option value="option_${id}_dummy_default">  </option>
       % for option_id, option_description in options:
diff --git a/common/lib/capa/capa/tests/test_inputtypes.py b/common/lib/capa/capa/tests/test_inputtypes.py
index 1b319aa4d2..95cc13e142 100644
--- a/common/lib/capa/capa/tests/test_inputtypes.py
+++ b/common/lib/capa/capa/tests/test_inputtypes.py
@@ -55,7 +55,7 @@ class OptionInputTest(unittest.TestCase):
                     'options': [('Up', 'Up'), ('Down', 'Down')],
                     'status': 'answered',
                     'msg': '',
-                    'inline': '',
+                    'inline': False,
                     'id': 'sky_input'}
 
         self.assertEqual(context, expected)