If you're looking for information on how to create a test, try this article here.
When administering linear tests through our program there are many options you can utilize to determine how you would like your tests to be deployed. This article will explain those options in detail.
Whether you are adding the test to the class via your class's Tests tab or the Manage Tests section of your instructor account, your choices are pretty much the same.
However, if you are adding a test via your Manage Tests section, you will start with a Class dropdown where you will choose the class you are adding to the test.
As for the remaining fields, these are the setting options you will set or choose to use:
Start Date: and Start Time: This is the date and time you would like students to be able to begin testing. Before this point, the test will appear on the student's "upcoming" tab, after this point, it will move to the student's "Current" tab so that they can access the test.
End Date: and End Time: This is the date and time the test will be "due". This will be the last point at which a student could begin taking your test. It will also be the point at which students' overall grades will be impacted by their scores on this test and by default their results will become available to them. If the student has not started the test by now the test will move to their "Missed" test tab and they will be unable to access the test.
Start/Resume Limit: This is the total number of times the student can enter this test for this attempt. You can select a number from 0 and up. Putting in 0 makes this unlimited. This means your students can start the test, leave, come back, and continue the test again from where they left off as many times as they would like. If you set the number to 1, it would mean that the student could start the test but if they left the test for any reason the program would not allow them to return to their test.
Please Note: Since this includes power outages and internet service interruptions, we do not suggest setting this limit to 1 unless you are administering the test in a controlled environment.
Minutes Allowed: This is the length of time in minutes you will allow the students to take the test. This timer begins upon selecting the first question and does not stop if a student leaves the test or logs out of the program. If left to zero, then students will have unlimited time to take this test.
Note: Once the timer starts, it will not stop. So, if there are 30 minutes entered into this field and a student takes part in the test for 15 minutes and gets kicked out because of a network or computer issue for 15 minutes, once the student tries to resume this test it will not let them because the timer has run out. You can choose to allow the student to return to the test, but you will either have to award them a retest or adjust the Minutes Allowed setting.
Enforce Time Settings: When this box is left unchecked, a student can start their exam up to the end date/time of their exam and will be allowed to continue to take the exam until the timer has been reached, they leave the exam or completion. When checked, a hard stop will be enabled and the exam will end at the set date/time.
Enable 'Previous' Button: By default, students take tests one question at a time always moving forward, however, checking this box will put a 'previous' button in their test so they can go back to the previous question and potentially change their answer.
Using this setting will cause a warning at the bottom of the window saying, "Warning Selecting "Enable 'Previous' Button" may invalidate your test results."
Please note: As students back up over questions, the program will visually remove their responses. This means if the student backs up 100 questions, they will have to reenter those 100 responses to get back to where they were.
Require Platinum Secure Testing: When the Platinum Secure Testing checkbox is checked, it will require that the device that the students are testing on has downloaded and run the Respondus Lockdown Browser. When your students use Platinum Secure Testing, they are unable to go to another URL or access other applications.
Students can sometimes have problems installing the software, but we do have a troubleshooting article for secure testing here. As well as more detailed instructions on how to install and run secure testing here. As stated in the secure testing instructions for students it can be run on a Windows computer, an Apple Mac Computer, or an iPad.
Randomize question order for each student during testing: When this box is checked it will randomize the order in which the questions will appear for each student. When selected it does trigger a warning message (Warning Selecting "Randomize question order for each student during testing" may invalidate your test results.). This setting can discriminate against test takers with high anxiety.
Show Student Results Immediately: When this box is checked it will give each student their results as soon as they finish the test. This could potentially allow a student who takes the test first to give answers to others. If left unchecked this means that the results will only be available to students once the test is closed.
Student Test Results Detail Level: This allows you to pick how much information students will get about their performance. There are 4 levels, each level includes the previous levels.
- Level 1 - Score Only Review: Once the student gets his/her results it will only show the score they achieved on this test.
- Levels 1,2 - Extended Review: This option will show the student when they started and ended the test as well as how they performed on the test based on Bloom levels, Cut Score, and Reading Level.
- Levels 1,2,3 - Curriculum Breakdown: This option adds in a full curriculum breakdown showing the topic areas that were included on the test, how many questions appeared in those areas, and percentages of how the student performed on the topics. This will give students a better idea of which areas they did well, and which could use some review.
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Levels 1,2,3,4 - Full Question/Answer/Annotation Review: This final level gives a full question/answer section at the end along with annotations for each question.
- Notice: The Levels 4—Full Question/Answer/Annotation Review will no longer be available after February 1, 2025 for all exam types. Click here for more info.
- Note: Level 4 is not be available for Platinum premade tests or tests that contain questions from our Platinum High-Stakes Question bank.
Student Test Password: Putting anything in this field will put a password on this test. Any student who tries to take this test will have to enter the password you've entered here. Leave blank to require NO Password. This can be great if you have to give a student a re-test, so you could only give that one student the password so that no one else takes the test on accident.
Note: you can change test settings later on if you need to. These options are always up to the instructor or administrator. Platinum will never change these settings at the request of a student, but can at the request of the instructor or admin.