A. Creating a New Test:
1. On the Test Search page, click Create New Test.
2. Once you have 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 for the test you are 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 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. Select the profession to which you want to assign the test.
*Provider Level: This is the provider level for which the exam will be created. This field is critical and will limit the content that can be pulled onto the test to that considered appropriate for the selected program level.
Note: If you are administering this test online, it can only be added to classes at 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.
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Quiz: This test type is available for group testing. It is the only test type that allows automatic test retakes.
Test: This test type is available for group testing.
Module Exam: This option will allow questions to be pulled from our high-stakes bank.
Final Exam: This option will allow questions to be pulled from our high-stakes bank.
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Entry Assessment: This option allows schools to administer custom entry assessments. Any exam created with this test type can be taken only through the student's "Current Assessments" section on their homepage and will not be automatically recorded in the grade book. These assessments are available for review by admins/instructors by selecting "Student Assessments" for the class.
Test Instructions- 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.
Example: "You can use your notes for this test."
Personal Test Notes - These notes are intended for your personal use only.
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.
3. When you have completed the fields on the Test Settings page, select the green Create option at the bottom of the page.
4. Once the test settings have been saved, an additional tab, Question Criteria, will be opened. This is where you will begin querying banks for the questions you would like to appear on your test.
Note: You can add as many question criteria as you want, provided the test does not exceed 200 questions. If you delete a criteria, it will remove the questions that were added to the test as a result of that search.
a. Pull Questions By Curriculum
- Select the options for the curriculum you want to pull questions from.
- Questions: The number of questions that will be randomly selected based on the settings selected for this pull.
- Question Bank: Select which bank you want to pull questions from (Platinum's, your school's, or yours).
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Scenario Based Questions: These options are for a mix of both scenario-based and non-scenario-based, or for it to be turned on or off.
- Any: Both scenario and non-scenario-based questions.
- Off: No scenario-based questions will be included.
- On: Only scenario-based questions will be added.
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Bloom Levels: Select which bloom level(s) you would like included in the search.
- Info: For more information on bloom levels and what each one is, click here.
- Curriculum: Select which curriculum you want to pull the questions from. Then, check the checkbox for the sections of that curriculum you want to pull from.
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Once you are satisfied with your selection, select Save Criteria.
b. Pull Questions by Text, Keyword, or ID
- Fill in the options as needed.
- Questions: The number of questions you want to pull.
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Question Bank: Select which bank you want to pull questions from (Platinum Validated Questions, Platinum High-Stakes Questions, your school, or yours).
- Note: The Platinum High-Stakes question bank is only available for module and final exams.
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Bloom Levels: Select which bloom level(s) you would like included in the search.
- Info: For more information on bloom levels and what each one is, click here.
- Question Format: Uncheck any question format you do not want to be included.
- Search By: Select if you would like to search by question, keyword, or ID.
- Search: The word or phrase you want to search by. Every character counts in your search, so ensure your capitalization is exact, and there are no invisible spaces at the end of your entry.
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Once you are happy with your selection, select Save Criteria.
c. Pull Questions From My Active Tests
- Select the options you want to search for in your active tests.
- Questions: The number of Questions you want to pull.
- Select A Test to Merge: Select the exam you want to pull onto this exam.
- Scramble Questions: Select if you want the questions to pull in the same order as the original exam or to be mixed up.
- Once you are satisfied with your selection, select Save Criteria.
d. Create Progression From Active Test
- This function allows Instructors to import a test already administered to their students and remove questions they answered correctly overall, leaving only the items they did not perform well on. Once these questions are isolated, new or 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.
- Select the required info to create a progression criteria.
- Select an Active Class: Select the class you want to create the exam for.
- Select the Source Test: Select the exam you want to create the progressive exam from.
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Once you are happy with your selection, select Save Criteria.
Once you have selected the criteria, two additional tabs will appear. Test Questions will show the questions pulled by the question criteria, and Test Blueprint will show the curriculum breakdown of those questions. See below for more details.
5. Test Questions: Select the tab to review the questions pulled from your selected question criteria. From here, you can customize your test using the available tools, including removing, replacing, excluding, and banning questions on this page.
Replace- This option to the right of each question removes the current question and replaces 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 display a screen with up to 5 additional questions that meet the criteria set in the previous steps, allowing you to select one to replace the current question.
Remove: This will remove the current question from the test without replacing it.
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Exclude: This will remove the current question from the test, making it unavailable.
(When this option is selected, you will be asked to confirm the action.) -
Ban: This will prevent the current question from being used in the future. It will not appear again when building new tests. (When this option is selected, a warning message will appear asking you to confirm the action.)
Remove Selected: If you would like to remove multiple questions at once, you can place a check mark to the left of the questions you would like to remove and select the Remove Selected button at the top of the page.
6. Test Blueprint: This shows how the questions pulled onto the exam fall into the curriculum(s).
Tabs: Clicking the different tabs will show the numbers based on the curriculum you select.
- Note: The curriculum(s) seen will vary by profession.
Curriculum: The subsection of the curriculum, its curriculum identifier, and its description next to it.
Total: The sum of the number of questions that fit that subsection.
Export Results: Clicking this button allows you to export the results for this exam.
7. Finalizing 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 (Manage Tests). Your newly finalized test will appear at the top of your list in green.
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.