IUP provides optical test scoring services to faculty.

Test Scoring Services, housed at the IT Support Center in Delaney Hall, offers test scoring of tests via optical-scanning forms. University faculty can administer tests on general-purpose answer sheets and have them scored.

Processing of exams begins with a faculty member dropping off the Exam Packet(s) to be scored and ends when the faculty member or designee picks up the results at the IT Support Center.

Test Scoring Process

Preparing the Exam for Scoring

Please follow these steps in organizing your Test Request Form, Test Header Sheet, Answer Key(s), and Students' Answer Sheets with their responses. On the Test Header Sheet and all General Purpose Answer Sheets, do not make any stray marks on these forms. These forms are scanned and stray marks on the sheets can cause scanning problems for the IT Support Center.

  1. Select the Exam Type on the Test Scoring Request Form
  2. Complete the Test Header Sheet
  3. Complete the Answer Key or Answer Keys if a multiple version exam was selected
  4. In your envelope, place the forms in the following order:
    • Test Scoring Request Form
    • Test Header Sheet
    • Answer Key(s)
    • Students' General Purpose Answer Sheets
  5. Seal the envelope and deliver to the IT Support Center for scoring

Drop-Off and Pick-Up Procedures

Dropping Off Exam Packet(s)

Please take the Exam packet(s) to the IT Support Center located in Delaney Hall. You can drop them off at the front desk during normal hours of operation. There is also an after-hours drop box for your convenience located in the vestibule of the IT Support Center.

  • When the Exam Packet(s) are dropped off, an ihelp ticket is created for tracking purposes. This ihelp ticket can be updated with any questions or concerns as needed by the faculty member.
  • When the Exam has been scanned and processing is complete, the faculty member will receive an email message containing the batch number and the folder location on the Dispatch Share where they can retrieve the results.

Picking Up the Exam Packet(s)

When the scanning and scoring process has been completed, the faculty member receives the email with the Batch number and folder location for the results.

  • The faculty member can use the link in the email to retrieve the results.
  • Exams are picked up from the front desk at the IT Support Center during our regular business hours. The faculty member should be prepared to provide photo ID or the batch number from the email in order to pick up the results. If the faculty member is sending someone to pick up the results, the person picking up the results must have the batch number for the exams to be picked up.
  • A signature indicating the exam has been picked up along with the Job IDs of the exams is required.
  • The ihelp ticket will be closed by the staff at the IT Support Center, and the faculty member will then receive an email from ihelp stating that their exam(s) have been picked up. The ihelp ticket will also provide the name of the person who picked up the exam if it was not the faculty member.
  • Please be prompt in picking up exam results, especially if you have requested reports to be printed. Remember, all reports are generated and available on the Dispatch Share. From the Test Request Form, you can select certain reports to be printed.

Processing of Exams

An ihelp ticket is created for each set of exams dropped off. If you have dropped off more than one exam packet on a single visit, one ihelp ticket is created. These tickets are created for exam tracking purposes. If you have any questions, feel free to update the ihelp ticket.

Exams are processed and scored in the order they are received at the IT Support Center.

Email Notification

For each exam processed, the faulty member will receive an email message that contains the following:

  • Batch number of the exam
  • A link to the folder containing the reports and results file
  • Information about mapping a drive to access the folder

Output in the Exams Folder on the Dispatch Share

Output Folder

Test scoring output will be saved to your Exam results folder on the Dispatch Share. The Exam folder is a subfolder to a folder that is your Username. Each Exam folder has additional sub-folders that reflect the term the exam was processed for.

Each time an exam is processed, a folder is created within the term folder. The name for the folder is the Subject Course Section field on the test header sheet combined with the job ID (assigned automatically by the IT Support Center) as the folder name.

The email notification you receive after your exam has been processed indicates the batch number, along with a link to access the folder containing the reports and results file. You can click on the link to access the contents of the folder. If you are off campus, you must connect to the Virtual Private Network (VPN) before you can access the files.

If you are not connected to the VPN from off campus and you try to access the files, you will receive this error:

  • 403 - Forbidden: Access is denied. You do not have permission to view this directory or page using the credentials that you supplied.

Accessing the Folder

You can also access this folder by mapping a drive, replacing your username for USERNAME.

  • PC Users:\\its.iup.edu\share\dispatch\USERNAME
  • Mac Users:smb://its.iup.edu/share/dispatch/USERNAME

See How to Map the Standard IUP Network Drives for information on mapping drives. If you are not on campus, you will need to make a connection to the virtual private network (VPN) before you can access the files. See Virtual Private Network (VPN) for information on connecting to the VPN.

You can also access the results by utilizing your web browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, or Chrome). The format is https://dispatch.iup.edu/username/exams/ where username is your username.

 

Report Names and Descriptions

The test scoring system provides a variety of reports. Based on the test type, these reports are generated for all tests by default.

Nine reports are generated for a standard exam, with five available for printing by the IT Support Center. For exams with multiple versions, only three reports are generated, with two available for printing by the IT Support Center. All reports can be viewed online by the faculty member.

The table below describes each report.

Report Name and Description

Available to Print

Available Online

Available with Multiple Versions

101 Student Statistics Report
Student name, ID, exam score (one line per student). Report is in alphabetical order by student's name.
X X X
104 Test Statistics Report
Maximum score, minimum score, mean score, mean percent, range, standard deviation, variance, percentiles, confidence, intervals and test reliability statistics.
X X
105 Student Response Report
Chart with correct and incorrect answers by student and question. Report is in alphabetical order by student's name.
X X
106 Condensed Test Report
Response frequencies for each question along with correct group responses, non-distractors, and point biserial data.
X X
201 Detailed Item Analysis
Responses, frequency, percent, and point biserial data for each question, including a graph.
X
203 Item Analysis Graph Report
Responses, frequency, and percent for each question, including a graph.
X
204 Condensed Item Analysis Report
Response, frequency, and percent who responded with graphs for each question. Also shows responses that were chosen more than the correct response.
X
207 Test Item Statistics Report
Summary statistics for each question, including number of correct, incorrect and non-responses, point biserial data, and percent correct.
X X
301 Student Grade Report
Individual report for each student showing the student's name, ID, score, percent score, the student's response to each question, and the correct response.
X X X

Exam Results File

For each exam that is processed, a file containing the exam results will be created in Excel format. The file name is Results.xls. This file is saved in the exam's results folder on the Dispatch Share.

The file is a summary of the scores for each person that took the exam.

The file will contain the following fields:

  • Subject Course Section (from the field on the Test Header Sheet)
  • Instructor Last Name(from the field on the Test Header Sheet)
  • Instructor First Initial (from the field on the Test Header Sheet)
  • Job ID - this is the ID number assigned to the exam by the IT Support Center
  • Sub Tests, Formula Scoring, and Factor fields - part of data, usually not used
  • Student's Last Name (as completed by Student on Answer Key)
  • Student's First Initial(as completed by Student on Answer Key)
  • Student's Middle initial(as completed by Student on Answer Key)
  • Student ID number(as completed by Student on Answer Key)
  • Seat number(as completed by Student on Answer Key)
  • Number correct
  • Number incorrect
  • Number missing
  • Percent score
  • Total Score

Backing up Exam Results

If you wish to keep a copy of your test scoring results for your own records, you will need to copy the files to another secure location on the network, such as your H drive. You should not copy these files to portable devices such as flash drives, CDs, or DVDs.

To backup your exam results, it's best to copy the entire folder for a specific exam. Copying the entire folder (not just the folder contents) will prevent overwriting a file with the same name. You can also copy your entire folder (with your username) at the end of a semester, instead of individual exam folders.

To copy the folder, you will need to map the drive using the path as indicated, substituting your own username for USERNAME:

  • PC Users: \\dispatch.iup.edu\dispatch$\USERNAME
  • Mac Users: smb://dispatch.iup.edu/dispatch$/USERNAME

See How to Map the Standard IUP Network Drives for information on mapping drives. If you are not on campus, you will need to make a connection to the virtual private network (VPN) before you can access the Dispatch Share. See Virtual Private Network for information on connecting to the VPN.

Purge Cycle for Exam Results

The exam results folders will be purged by term, on a cycle similar to the project directory. After the spring and fall semester, any exam folder that is older than one academic year, plus a semester, will be deleted.

For example, when fall 2018 is about to begin, the Spring 2017 folder will be deleted. When the spring 2019 term is about to begin, the Fall 2017 folder will be deleted. This cycle will allow you time to back up files from previous semesters.