Creating an Exam from Start to Finish:
1. Start in your Instructor role for EMSTesting or Platinum Tests.
2. Select the Manage Tests tab from the red toolbar.
3. You will be taken to the Test Search page. Click Create New Test.
4. Once you've selected to create a new test, you will be taken to the Add A New Test menu on the Test Settings tab. Enter the basic information about the test you're creating.
Note: Fields marked with a * are required.
*Test Name - This is how your students will refer to the test. It is the name displayed under their 'Current Tests' menu on the Student homepage as well as the grade book.
*Test Title - This will display at the top-center of the page if you print off the tests to administer on paper or keep them as hard copies for your records.
Reference - This field is not required, but can be used as an additional descriptor.
*Test Status - This drop-down defaults to 'Draft' when you're building a new test. You do not need to adjust this field as it will update automatically once you finalize your test.
*Program Type - This field will only appear if you are an Instructor assigned to classes for multiple professions. Here you will select which profession to assign the test to.
*Provider Level - You will need to select a provider level from the drop-down options. This field is critical and will limit the content that can be pulled onto the test based on content considered appropriate for the selected program level.
Note: If you are administering this test online, it will only be available to add to classes of the same program level.
*Test Type - This will determine how the program grades your test based on the values set in your grade book for the specified test type.
Test Instructions- This field is optional. If you are administering this test online, the text entered here will appear on the students 'Test Instructions' page before they begin the test and can be used to convey any additional notes.
For example: "You can use your notes for this test."
Personal Test Notes - these notes are just for you.
Share this Test with other instructors in my school - Placing a check in this box will allow other instructors in your school to import a copy of the finalized test into their 'Manage Tests' menu to administer in their classes.
5. When you have completed the fields on the Test Settings page, select the green Create option at the bottom of the page.
6. Once the test settings have been saved, an additional tab, Question Criteria will be opened. This is where you will build querying banks for the questions you would like to appear on your test.
Note: You can add as many question criteria areas as you want, so long as it does not exceed 200 questions. If you delete the criteria area, it will remove the questions that were added to that section.
- A. Pull Questions By Curriculum
- When you select Pull Questions By Curriculum you will enter how many questions you want to pull for this search criteria into the Questions field. If your school has custom questions, you can select your school question bank from the Question Bank drop-down, otherwise, it will default to Platinum's Validated Questions.
- Below that, you can select the curriculum you'd like to use, and depending on your selection, you will have the option to select the individual topics and modules you'd like to pull questions from.
- Once you are happy with your selection, select Save Criteria.
- B. Pull Questions by Text, Keyword, or ID
- When you Pull Questions By Text, Keyword, or ID you will enter the number of questions you would like to pull in the Questions field. If your school has custom questions, you can select your school question bank from the Question Bank drop-down otherwise, this defaults to Platinum Validated Questions. Select your bloom levels from the Bloom Level drop-down and how you would like to initiate your search from the Search By drop-down.
- In the blue field below, type in the variable by which you'd like to search.
- Once you are happy with your selection, select Save Criteria.
- C. Pull Questions From My Active Tests
- When you Pull Questions From My Active Tests you will enter the number of questions you would like to pull from the selected test in the Questions field and select the name of the test you would like to pull them from using the Select A Test to Merge drop-down. You can choose to scramble the questions, but by default, this is turned off.
- Once you are happy with your selection, select Save Criteria.
- When you Pull Questions From My Active Tests you will enter the number of questions you would like to pull from the selected test in the Questions field and select the name of the test you would like to pull them from using the Select A Test to Merge drop-down. You can choose to scramble the questions, but by default, this is turned off.
- D. Create Progression From Active Test
- When you Create Progression From Active Test you will select an active class where the test is associated from the Select an Active Class drop-down and the name of the test you'd like to import from the Select the Source Test drop-down. When you select to save the criteria, questions from the original test will be imported to the new test.
- This function allows Instructors to import a test already administered to their students and remove questions they performed well on overall, leaving only the items they did not perform well on. Once these questions are isolated, new/upcoming curriculum/content can be added to the test. This allows Instructors to move forward in the curriculum without leaving behind items students have not yet mastered.
- Once you are happy with your selection, select Save Criteria.
Once you have picked your criteria and saved an additional tab, Test Questions will be opened. On the same Question Criteria page, you should receive a screen detailing the items found.
7. Select the Test Questions tab to review the questions pulled from your selected question criteria. From here you can customize your test using the tools available including removing, replacing, excluding, and banning the questions on this page.
From the image above
Replace- This option to the right of each question to remove the current question and replace it with another that fulfills the criteria you selected in the previous steps.
To the right of the replace option is a drop-down arrow that brings up additional options.
Choose - This will bring up a screen with several questions that meet the criteria set in previous steps, allowing you to choose one to replace the current question.
Remove - This will remove the current question from the test without replacing it.
Exclude - This will exclude the current question from the test, making it unavailable for use.
(When this option is selected, you will be asked to confirm the action)
Ban - This will ban the current question from being use within the school as a whole. It will never appear again when building new tests.
(When this option is selected, a warning message will appear asking you to confirm the action.)
To remove multiple questions at once: You can place a checkmark to the left of the question(s) you'd like to remove and select the 'Remove Selected' link at the top of the page.
8. Finalizing Your Test. Once you have reviewed all of the questions on the 'Test Questions' tab and are satisfied with the test, you can select the Finalize Test button at the top.
Once the test has been finalized, you will be returned to the Test Search page (or Manage Tests page). Your newly finalized test will appear at the top of your list in green. If your test appears yellow instead, it has not been finalized.
Note: A test cannot be added to a class if it is not finalized. If your test appears in yellow, you must select the edit option beside the test name and finalize it on the Test Questions tab.
Now that your test is finalized, it can be printed and administered to your students as a paper and pencil test or added to an active class to be administered online through the site.