Over the past few months, many instructors have shared with us how the ExamView suite of products has saved numerous hours preparing/grading assessments, helped to improve student performance, and saved money.

Schools are saving thousands of dollars in paper/photocopying costs by switching from paper tests to computerized tests, and teachers are getting more timely information. Please take a few minutes to review the articles in this newsletter to find out how ExamView can make a difference.

Last month we released our TitleTrack search engine. With just a few clicks you can search our database of over 2000 titles to see if your textbook includes ExamView question banks.

Enjoy the summer!

Sincerely,

President
FSCreations, Inc.

Rick McCarty has used ExamView for several years to help "at risk" students. Learn how he has successfully improved student results and saved money.

Kenneth Toth describes how he has been able to help students achieve at a higher level while effectively leveraging precious time and resources using the suite of ExamView products.

• Instantly find textbooks that offer ExamView question banks.
  
  
• Pearson NCS releases scanning solution that works with ExamView
  
  
• QuickTake for the Macintosh just released.
  
  
• More publishers than ever are using ExamView. Find out wh

by Tim Fahlberg, Adjunct Professor of Mathematics,
Northwest College, Tim.Fahlberg@CoolSchoolTools.com 

Creating Dynamic Social Studies Questions
If you have been following my column over the past year and half, you know that ExamView is a great tool to create dynamic questions for math and science. However, its capabilities extend beyond math and science into social studies, language arts, foreign languages, and many others subject areas. This month we'll explore how to create dynamic social studies questions.

Getting Started
I encourage you to read and study the ExamView My Way article in the April 2003 newsletter. This article provides a primer for understanding dynamic questions. If you want to learn how to create dynamic math questions, check out the Dynamic Corner article in the September 2003 newsletter.

Before you begin, click here to download the following question bank (Dynamic Corner-Part III.bnk) Windows or (Dynamic Corner-Part III) Macintosh. The bank includes the sample questions. (Remember that you will need ExamView 4.0 or a more recent version.)

Example 1: Identify the President
As you can see, this multiple choice question shown below includes the question and a rationale. The rationale is an explanation of how to determine the correct answer. You can present this information to students during an online test or study guide at that 'teachable' moment. You can provide a little help or step-by-step instructions -it's up to you.

Who served as president of the United States ... (Question #1)

Who served as president of the United States ... --"Variables

Who served as president of the United States ... -- Algorithm Definitions

A Closer Look at the Algorithm Definitions
Below is an explanation of the algorithms used in this question. The names you use for the algorithm definitions (or variables) are not critical as long as you do not use function names. As for the functions (e.g., list, range, choose, etc.), you can get a detailed description by reviewing the online Help information in the program.

Notes: [1] To view the variables, first double-click a question. Then choose the Algorithm Definitions option from the Edit menu. Double-click any variable to view the entire description. For example, select RationaleList to see the following: list("President Lincoln was elected to two terms of office. The war began and ended during his administration.","Andrew Johnson became president after Lincoln was assassinated following the Civil War.","This war with Great Britian began when Jefferson was president and ended when Madison was president."). [2] To simplify the algorithms, the number of possible alternatives was limited to three for demonstration purposes.

• WhichEvent, EventList, TheEvent are variables used to generate a random event from a list of three events.
  
• CorrectList, Correct are variables used to generate the correct aswer to the question.
  
• R1List, R1, R2List, R2, R3List, R3 are variables used to generate the three distracters (wrong answers) when the multiple choice version of this bimodal question is used.
  
• RationaleList, Rationale are variables used to generate and display the rationale for the correct answer depending upon which random event was chosen.
  
• SCRAMBLE = TRUE is a special variable that causes the program to randomly scramble the answer choices each time you recalculate a question.

Example 2: Identifying Foundational Documents
As you review the algorithms for this question, you will see that the choose function is used extensively. The algorithms identify what information appears in the table, identifies the correct answer choice, and sets the correct rationale.

Highlight the question and choose to recalculate it using the calculator found on the toolbar. Notice how the "?" appears in the table to indicate the missing document. You could use this model for other similar kinds of questions.

Choose a document to complete the table. (Question #2)

Choose a document to complete the table. -- Algorithm Definitions

A Closer Look at the Algorithm Definitions
To make this question different from question #1 you could use an "if" statement for Doc1, Doc2, and Doc3. For example,

The first parameter of the If statement is the condition. If the condition is true, the second parameter is assigned to the variable. If the condition is false the third parameter is assigned to the variable. In the case of Doc1, if WhichDoc is equal to 1 then Doc1 would be equal to ?. If WhichDoc is equal to 2 or 3, Doc1 is equal to Magna Carta.

Example 3: Completing a Time line
This question demonstrates how you can turn a static time line into a dynamic one by using an algorithm to display a particular image. When you "recalculate" the question, you will see how the time line and the choices change.

Complete the time line (Question #3)

Complete the time line – Setting up the display of the time line
If you were to create a static question using a time line, you would most likely using a drawing program such as Paint to create a picture of the time line and then simply insert it into an ExamView question. To make this question dynamic, imagine that you had a stack of three images-each with a different version of the time line. Based on a variable whose value in this case could be 1, 2, or 3 you would show the corresponding time line and the appropriate choices.

Let's take a close look at this question…
To build a dynamic question of this type, you would need to do the following:

• Create separate images; in this case three time lines.
• Choose to create a new question and choose Insert> Graph> Cartesian.

If you double-click the image in this question, you will see the Format Graph window with the three functions as shown below. Notice that there are three time lines (timeline1, timeline2, and timeline3). Timline 1 will be shown only if the WhichEvent variable is equal to 1.

• Select the Picture option from the drop down menu and click New.
• Using the Select button browse to find a picture. Name the picture using any name except a variable or function name. Change the Width and Height to size the image. Change the Left x and Top y to alter the location of the image.
• You may wish to identify when the image should appear by placing a condition in the "Display picture (only if" window.

As shown below, timeline1 is set to appear when the WhichEvent variable is equal to 1.

Complete the time line –Algorithm Definitions

• WhichEvent, EventList are variables used to generate a random event from a list of three events. Notice that the variable
• Correct is a variable used to generate the correct answer for this question.
• R1, R2, R3 are variables used to generate the three distracters (wrong answers).
• Rationale is a variable used to generate and display the rationale based on the time line shown.
• isunique(Correct, R1, R2, R3) is a condition that makes sure that none of the four multiple choice answers are the same. You should design your questions to use as few conditions as possible. It makes the software appear to run faster.
• SCRAMBLE = TRUE is a special variable that causes the program to randomly scramble the answer choices each time you recalculate a question.

As you can see, this question combines standard algorithms and variables with a stack of images. You can use this combination to create lots of interesting dynamic questions. For example, you could have a "stack" of images with the pictures of presidents and have your students identify the president. Or you could include a stack of states or countries.

Note: Probably the most challenging aspect of this program is displaying appropriate distracters. Try creating a similar dynamic question as a completion (fill-in-the-blank) or short answer question. You will need only two variables (e.g., WhichEvent and Correct).

Conclusion
I sincerely hope this article inspires you to consider writing your own dynamic ExamView questions. As you have learned, the dynamic capabilities built into ExamView can be used in areas other than math or science. The possibilities are only limited by your imagination.

On a final note, I also encourage you to share your work with other teachers to help them save time preparing effective assessments.

Tim Fahlberg (Tim.Fahlberg@CoolSchoolTools.com)
Adjunct Professor of Mathematics
Northwest College

Question:
Does modifying questions in the Test Builder, make the same changes to the question in the corresponding question bank?

Answer:
Editing questions in the Test Builder does not impact the questions in the question bank. This functionality is intentional and by design.

The Question Bank Editor is where questions are meant to be created, proofread (spell checked), and edited. You then use the Test Builder to select which questions from your question banks to include in the test. Any editing changes made in the Test Builder affect only that test. To record those changes for future tests, you would need to make the changes in the original question bank, editing the questions in the Question Bank Editor.

Note: ExamView does allow you to export tests as question banks. If you make any edits to a test and wish to use those questions again in the future, you can select Export from the File menu and export your test as a question bank.
 

Question:
Can I merge the results from multiple students' tests taken with the EV Player in a non-networked environment?

Answer:
The Import Test Results option lets you collect results from multiple copies of the same test. For example, suppose you create an online test for your students to take home, or the computers on which your students take a test are not networked. In these cases, you need to gather the results from the individual test files into one master test.

• Open the master online test into which you want to import results from other
  copies of the test.
• Choose Import Test Results from the Online menu.
  
• Select the test file from which you want to import results. If necessary, identify the location of the test file (e.g., a:\ or c:\tests) and click OK to import the test results.
• Repeat this process for each copy of the test.

The option to import test results is not available if you set up a test so that anyone can take a test because ExamView does not record scores in this mode. You also cannot import student results if you change a test and then try to import results from other test files.

For more information on LAN based testing and the EV Player visit our
EV Player / LAN based-testing Support Forum.

Question:
What is the difference between the two Internet testing options available with the ExamView Pro Test Generator program I already have?

Answer:
You can publish tests to the Internet either on your own server or on the ExamView Internet test-hosting server.

When publishing a test on your server you create an .html and a graphics folder that is saved to your hard drive when you run the Publish Internet Test Wizard located on the File menu. Once these are created you upload all files to your server. (Be careful using free servers such as Geocities as they sometimes add extra code for advertising which can interfere with the grading process). Once you upload the test you will then receive results from your students via email.

By publishing to the ExamView Test Center (for an additional fee) you receive features we currently cannot offer to those who publish to their own server, such as: adding a roster, password protection, limiting the number of times students can access the test, results stored online and/or emailed to the instructor, result reports, and the ease of publishing your test directly to the Instructor Center from ExamView.

If you host on your own server we do offer the Internet Results Utility (a free download) that allows you to drag and drop emails from certain email clients, into the utility to generate many of the same reports you receive when using our Internet test-hosting service.
 

Question:
I have been using ExamView tests hosted on the Internet for a couple years. Why have I all of a sudden stopped receiving result emails?

Answer:
With the increased number of email viruses circulating around the Internet, many schools and Internet providers have started using very strict email filters. Contact your email service technician and make sure all emails from ExamView.com (this should include score.examview.com) are accepted.

Note: Once emails are successfully accepted by your email service provider, even if they are filtered out by the provider, they are no longer stored on our server. Our Internet test-hosting service can eliminate this problem by storing your students results to tests including a class roster on the Instructor Center.

To search our large knowledgebase of questions and answers or to ask your own question, visit the FSCreations Support Forums: http://forum.fscreations.com.

by Rick McCarty, Midland High, Midland, TX

Virtually every educator searches for creative ways to improve his or her corner of the educational world–and sometimes what seems to be a relatively small change can impact several areas in positive and significant ways. Here is my story of how using ExamView–one seemingly small change–has made a positive impact in my classroom, in my school, in my district, and even in a neighboring district!

Using ExamView to Help Students Succeed
I currently teach at Midland High and am doing my Administrative Internship at Midland Excel, an alternative choice high school for the "at risk" students of the Midland Independent School District (MISD) in Midland, Texas. I had used ExamView for three years prior to moving to Midland ISD, and during that time I became confident with the program and enjoyed its benefits. The textbook I was using at Midland for my Business Computer Information Systems (BCIS) class contained question banks for ExamView. Since ExamView was not currently in use at Midland, I purchased the new version 4.0 of ExamView on my own. In addition to being able to take advantage of the ExamView question banks that came with my BCIS textbook, I was also able to use the ExamView 4.0 style gallery to make all of my tests look like the Texas Assessment of Knowledge and Skills (TAKS) test with bubble sheets.

During the year, I worked with our building technologist to use ExamView to administer MISD's first paperless exam. The ExamView program performed wonderfully–it graded the exams, gave the students instant scores, and gave me a data analysis of student performance. The analysis helped me identify which questions were missed by a majority of the students, thus revealing those concepts that required reteaching and review.

Using ExamView, I was also able to modify the exams to accommodate the Individualized Education Plans (IEPs) of students with special needs. For example, I was able to modify the text size for one student with a visual handicap, and I was able to use the ExamView Test Center to give study sheets and exams to two homebound students, thus allowing them to complete course requirements while tending to their newborn babies at home.

From One Classroom to Another
One of the programs at Midland Excel is the Special Assignment Lab (SAL) class, that provides students who have fallen behind the opportunity to complete curricular classes at an accelerated pace. An integral component of the SAL class was an expensive commercial software program that contained computer-based study sheets and exams for core curricular classes. The students would sit at the computer, read the study sheets, and take the exams at their own pace to complete the course.

Problems with this approach were many, however. Students found ways to circumvent the program and go directly to the answers, write them down, and then go back to take the tests. Of course, this allowed the students to finish at a remarkable rate, and with high scores; however very little learning was taking place! In addition to those concerns, the program did not allow teachers to modify the material in order to align with state-mandated curriculum and the Texas Essential Knowledge and Skills (TEKS).

In these days of high-stakes testing and the Adequate Yearly Progress (AYP) of the No Child Left Behind act (NCLB), grave concerns surfaced in the minds of administrators in charge of the SAL program at Midland Excel. When the principal of Midland Excel, Mr. Gilberto Garcia, saw what was being accomplished by my special needs students with ExamView, he approached me with the question, "Could ExamView do for all the SAL students, the things that had already been done for the homebound students?" At that point, we put our heads together and formulated a plan to institute a change for the students in the SAL program at Midland Excel.

Some of the core-curriculum courses offered at Midland Excel use state-adopted textbooks that do not have question banks for ExamView; therefore, study sheets and tests had to be developed for them. We asked various teachers in the core area classes to create study sheets and questions for chapter and unit exams for the entire semester. They used standard word processing programs and saved the files in rich text format (rtf). Using the ExamView Import Utility, we were then able to import the rtf files, including additional topics and maps used in the SAL classroom, into question banks for ExamView.

We totally eliminated the commercial software program and paper packets that the SAL students had used prior to the introduction of ExamView. We saw many benefits–the same textbooks that were used in the core curriculum classes could now be utilized in the SAL classes, the same information was being learned and tested, and the same emphasis was being placed on the Texas standards for all of the students in the school.

In its initial offering, the SAL program consisted of approximately six classes in core curriculum areas; however as the semester progressed, we developed SAL programs not only for core classes, but for electives as well. We were even able to modify tests and study guides for some of the Limited English Proficiency students by utilizing the Spanish question banks that were available with some textbooks we use in Midland. Now students who fall behind in credits and are admitted to Excel have the opportunity to graduate on time, as well as be better prepared for the Texas TAKS test, the exit level exam, and for life in general.

Widening the Circle
Change in the Midland Excel SAL program is not the only change going on in MISD with ExamView, just the most dramatic. Since November of 2003, the CATE (Career and Technology Education) teachers have participated in in-service training to learn to use ExamView and administer LAN-based examinations. ExamView is now being utilized by many teachers in all three of the high schools, in both freshman schools, in three of the middle schools, and in the Advanced Technology Center. The department heads at Midland High School have seen a demonstration of the ExamView program and are in the process of planning a full integration of the program in the future.

Save Money, Save Time
At Midland Independent School District, we evaluated our photocopier usage and paper costs and determined that 75% of those costs were attributable to study sheets and test generation. Imagine the cost savings if you were to move to a paperless solution, using the teacher-generated worksheets and assessments you already have, on the hardware that's already in your classroom, connected by a LAN that already exists. If your budget for copier usage and paper was $100,000, you could theoretically move $75,000 of that to another line item in the budget–such as teacher pay increases, for example! You can easily administer LAN-based tests with ExamView. And, the added beauty of ExamView is that it works on Windows 98 machines and up; so those computer dinosaurs you have sitting around collecting dust can become essential components once again!

Next year, the high schools in Midland will transition from a 6-period to a 7-period day. Teachers are concerned about losing five instructional minutes per period per day, which translates to a loss of an entire class period in a ten-day cycle, or nine days per semester. ExamView will help us regain those days by eliminating group assessment days. In our learner-centered environment, teachers have learned to utilize as few as three computers in a classroom of 30 students to test students in a given time period. (Obviously the more computers you have, the easier the process becomes; however, it is workable with as little as three computers in a classroom.) In addition, the computer labs and computers in the library are also utilized for class practice and assessment. By using ExamView on a LAN, tests can be accessed and taken at multiple locations, either simultaneously or at various times. ExamView's timed exam feature and scramble questions for every student feature make it extremely difficult for students to cheat. (I would say virtually impossible; however I am a realist and know that some of our young aspiring protégés will find a way to circumvent the system! It is generally not easy, though, with these features of ExamView.)

It Doesn't Stop There
Midland ISD and her neighbor, Ector-County ISD, are currently looking at ways to utilize ExamView to do benchmark testing for the high-stakes TAKS test in the coming year. The instant results, the low cost per student, the availability of ExamView question banks that accompany textbooks and are aligned to state standards, and question banks developed by teachers in the districts are all pluses for using ExamView. Using ExamView can even mitigate one of the most frustrating points of benchmark testing–getting results back to teachers in a timely fashion. With ExamView, the data can be disaggregated in minutes instead of weeks.

Well, folks, that's how I've used ExamView my way. As you can see, one seemingly small change can have a far-reaching and significant impact!

Rick McCarty
Midland High
Midland, TX

Instantly Find Textbooks that Offer ExamView Question Banks

Have you ever needed to find out whether your new textbook includes ExamView question banks? Trying to locate this information on a publisher's Web site can be somewhat time-consuming. Now, you can use our new search capabilities to instantly answer that question.

Let's say you are thinking about buying new textbooks for your math class. You could find out instantly which Algebra textbooks include ExamView question banks. How about an accounting textbook or a nursing text? Click here to try your own search.

Pearson NCS offers scanning solution that works with ExamView
Remark Classic OMR combines the reliability you expect from OMR technology with the power of PC data analysis. Apply real-time processing to your tests, surveys, questionnaires and other scannable forms. As your forms are scanned, you can capture the data instantly and view it on your computer screen. Remark Classic works with ExamView so it's easier than ever to get timely information to help students. Click here to learn more.

QuickTake for the Macintosh Just Released

FSCreations released its popular QuickTake program for the Macintosh (Classic and native OS X). Now it's easier than ever to review ExamView questions in class and incorporate interactive PowerPoint ® presentations in your classroom. QuickTake also works with eInstruction response pads. Click here to learn more.

New Publisher(s) Plan to Offer ExamView

The following new publisher(s) plan to offer ExamView for use with selected new textbooks. Contact your publisher to find out which textbooks will include ExamView as part of the instructor-supplement package.

• Microsoft Press (www.microsoft.com/learning/books/)
• CORD Communications (www.cordcommunications.com)

by Kenneth J. Toth, Instructor Careerline Tech Center Holland, MI

By using the ExamView product suite–the ExamView test generator, MindPoint Quiz Show, and ExamView QuickTake–I have been able to help my students achieve at a higher level while effectively leveraging precious time and resources.

Starting Out with the ExamView Test Generator
I first started using the ExamView test generator in conjunction with publisher-supplied question banks to simply generate paper tests. The ExamView software allowed me to easily change, adjust, and reformat the test questions, and also eliminated the time-consuming task of developing multiple versions of a test for each class.

This was great–but I needed to solve the age-old dilemma of grading those tests quickly and getting the feedback to my students right away. I soon realized I could easily accomplish this by using ExamView's online testing feature. I simply created class lists and assigned students to a test, which they took in the computer lab. By using ExamView's "scramble" feature, I could easily administer different versions of the same test to students sitting literally "elbow-to-elbow," which now made the lab environment an excellent venue. The ExamView program not only automatically scored the tests, it also provided various analyses of each student's performance. In addition, I could also set time and date limits, thus reinforcing with my students the types of restrictions they would encounter in industry and state evaluation settings.

Being able to give students targeted and timely feedback was very helpful, but I needed a method to help them better prepare for the tests. So I started using ExamView to not only administer tests but to allow students to review for them. Here's an example: I had a question bank of 120 questions on Chapter 3, and I planned to administer a test on Chapter 3 on Friday. I separated the 120 questions into four 30-question review exercises, and encouraged students to begin the class by working through one of the exercises. The students reviewed in this manner Monday through Thursday, and then took the test on Friday. Those students who took full advantage of the review opportunity saw a dramatic improvement in test scores and curriculum knowledge.

Student performance initially improved but eventually leveled out. I was not reaching everyone and I soon realized I needed more options. In the summer of 2003, I received the ExamView newsletter and read about MindPoint Quiz Show and ExamView QuickTake.

Adding MindPoint Quiz Show and ExamView QuickTake
MindPoint Quiz Show is my new curriculum review software. Using the same publisher- or self-created question banks, I still generate review exercises, but now students see and answer the questions in a game-show format. Students can compete individually against the computer, or groups of students can play against one another (up to three in a group). If one or more students are playing Quiz Show independently, it is easy to control the sound and animation so as not to disturb others. In my class, we've set up teams and enjoy a little friendly competition while learning and reviewing. Students' learning curve and test performance have improved.

I use ExamView QuickTake in conjunction with my PowerPoint presentations (which are either presentations supplied by the publisher or ones I've created myself) to gain immediate feedback from students regarding their understanding of the concepts being presented and to encourage classroom participation. Using the same question banks I used with ExamView and with Quiz Show, I now use QuickTake to hyperlink relevant questions from the question banks directly into my PowerPoint presentation and display them on the screen. Students then use handheld answer pads (such as eInstruction response pads) to anonymously respond to each question. Student responses are seen only by me, and I immediately know whether to move on to another concept or to spend more time on the current concept.

All of these software programs–the ExamView test generator, MindPoint Quiz Show, and ExamView QuickTake–are catching on in my building. I recently helped the Welding and Cosmetology instructors import their final exams into ExamView, and they plan to use ExamView to administer their final exam this year. They are also using these software tools to help students study and review. It will not be long before other programs in the building see the ease and success of this software and move in the same direction.

Kenneth J. Toth, Instructor
Careerline Tech Center
Holland, MI

If you copied a multiple choice question (including the question stem and choices) from another source, you can press F7 (instead of CTRL+V) to use the Smart Paste feature. ExamView will automatically format the question when it pastes the text into the entry area. For example, copy a multiple choice question and its choices from a word processing document. Choose to create a new multiple choice question and press F7. The program will paste the question stem text and then automatically paste each choice into the corresponding table cell.

Starting with ExamView 4.0, the Select by Criteria feature has been expanded to allow you to select questions from multiple question banks instead of just one. After choosing a group of banks, you can select questions from this group based on question type, difficulty level, objective, and much more. This improved feature allows you to create a test with the speed of the QuickTest Wizard combined with the power and flexibility of the Select by Criteria command.

ExamView includes a full-featured equation editor which gives you the ability to lay out complex equations using over one hundred mathematical symbols, dozens of mathematical templates or structures, and multiple formatting options. In addition, the equation editor fully supports variables and dynamic content. If you use the equation editor regularly, it will save you time in the long run to learn some of the keyboard shortcuts. For example, use Ctrl+F to create a fraction, Ctrl+R for a square root, Ctrl+H ("high") for superscript, and Ctrl+L ("low") for subscript.

To view a complete list of the keyboard shortcuts:
1. Press Ctrl+E to insert an equation into your question.
2. Click the Help button.
3. Click the Keyboard Shortcuts link within the help.

ExamView hats for Tips! Share a tip or share a story about ExamView with our staff. Please email your ExamView user tip to support@fscreations.com be sure to include" ExamView Tip--Free Hat" in the subject line. If we publish your suggestion we will send you a free ExamView logo hat!

Copyright © 2004 FSCreations, Inc.
All Rights Reserved