How to Make Partial Credit Questions

partial-credit

Photo: Images of Money

Partial credit questions is a variant of multiple choice questions that allow you to assign the same or different points to every answer. This penalizes guesswork because you may award negative points for incorrect answers while giving partial points to one or more correct answers.

Certain tests make use of partial credit questions to determine multiple correct answers. For example, a disease has many symptoms and the test taker identifies all the correct ones but may answer a wrong one from the selection.

Step 1

Step 1. Click the “Partial Credit” icon on the main panel.

Step 1: Partial Credit Icon

Alternatively, you can click “Add Question” on the main menu and select “Partial Credit” from the drop down menu.

Step 1: Partial Credit Drop Down

You can also right-click the Quiz icon on the left panel, select “Add” then “Partial Credit.”

Step 1: Partial Credit AddStep 2Type your question in the “Question Body” box.

Step 2: Partial CreditStep 3If you want, you can include an image by ticking the box, hitting the select file button, then add the file from your computer.

Step 3: Add ImageStep 4Type the options in the boxes. Assign points on the left column to every possible answer. Award positive points to the correct answers. (You can assign more points to an answer that is more correct than the rest of the right choices e.g. 1 point, 2                    points, 3 points, etc.) For the incorrect answers, assign negative points e.g. -1 or -2                points.

Step 4: AnswersStep 5Place the maximum number of options that may be selected.

Step 5: Max PointsStep 6Type the feedback for the correct and incorrect answers. Then hit preview to look at how your partial credit quiz looks like.

Step 6: Feedback

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How to Add Audio to a Question

Add Audio

Photo: Norman Bruderhofer

Audio can make any quiz clearer and more engaging. Imagine if instead of reading a quote of Neil Armstrong landing on the moon, the test taker can actually hear that famous recording of “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” Now that’s much better, right?

You can add audio files in MP3 or .swf format to any Question Writer quiz. Remember, you can add audio to a question and also to answer options.

Step 1Right-click on the question type. Select “Add” then “Content.”

Step 1: Add Content

Step 2Double-click the content folder icon, choose “Add” then “Audio” from the menu.

Step 2: Add Audio

Step 3Double-click the audio icon on the left panel. Select your audio file. You can choose the alignment to the center, left, or right from the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Alignment

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How to Make a Quiz With Matching Questions

Matching Type Questions

Photo: Steve Wilson

A quiz with matching questions can assess recognition and recall. These questions force students to assimilate detailed knowledge in one fell swoop.

Two columns of choices are set against each other. You need to find the appropriate pair of objects or concepts in the columns that has a direct relationship with each other. To look at how you can create matching type questions, see below.

Step 1Click the “Matching Type” icon on the main panel.

Step 1: Matching Type

Alternatively, you can right-click the green quiz icon, select “Add” then “Matching.”

Step 1: Right ClickStep 2Type the question in the box.

Step 2: QuestionStep 3Add an image file.

Step 3: Add ImageStep 4Type the choices in the columns. The correct pairs should be typed opposite each other. For example, “Sender = conveys the message”. The choices in the second column will be jumbled in the real test.

Step 4: Type ChoicesStep 5Limit the number of matches that will be randomized.

Step 5: Limit MatchesStep 6Assign points for the correct answer.

Step 6: PointsStep 7

Type the feedback to correct and incorrect answers. Hit the “Preview” button.

Step 7: FeedbackStep 8Drag and drop the items from the right column into their appropriate places in the left column. When you are sure of the answers, click next.

Step 8: Drag and DropStep 9The points and the feedback to your answer is shown.

Step 9: Preview

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How to Make a Quiz Taker Answer Every Question

Force Attempt at Every Question

Photo: Aoife

Depending on your preference, a question may be skipped or not. Some quiz makers want their exam to force attempt at every question to add a layer of difficulty. Depending on your preference, a question may be skipped or not. Sometimes, a quiz taker is required to answer every question. This may also be done if a quiz follows some kind of track or trend to facilitate learning where new questions build upon earlier ones.

To force attempt at every question, follow the simple step below.

Step 1Double-click the green book icon. Go to “Question Options” on the quiz properties window. Tick the box to force attempt at every question.

Step 1: Force Attempt

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How to Change the Text Color in a Quiz?

Change Text Color

Photo: Earl Wilkersen

Your quiz may have a background whose colors do not blend well with the text of your quiz. This can make it hard for the user to read the text. Text colors may turn out to be a distraction rather than an enhancement.

To avoid this problem, you can change the text color so that it can be read well against your customized background.

Step 1Double-click the green book icon. Go to “Text Settings” on the quiz properties window.

Step 1: Change Text SettingsStep 2Tick the appropriate boxes to change the  text color of the title, body, correct and incorrect feedback.

Step 2: Tick BoxesStep 3Click the “Change Color” button to select from the color palette.

Step 3: Pick ColorStep 4Your selection shows up in small preview boxes as show. Hit the “Preview” button to check the new colors of the text.

Step 4: Preview

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How to Make a Quiz With Button Sounds

Button Sound Effects

Photo: flattop341

By default, a quiz you make here has button sounds. Yet, a quiz with sound effects sounds cool, but may not be appropriate in some settings. Test takers need to apply utmost concentration and sound effects may be distracting to others. For most students, quiet testing conditions are best.

This simple tweak can improve the test-taking experience. It’s easy to disable button sound effects so that you won’t be bothered by the sound while taking a quiz.

Step 1Double-click the green book icon. Go to “Appearance Settings” then tick the box to disable button sounds. Leave it unchecked to retain button sounds.

Step 1: Turn Off Button Sound Effects

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How to Make a Random Test

Chocolates

Photo: portmanteaus

Forrest Gump said “Life is like a box of chocolates. You never know what you’re gonna get.” The same is true for random quizzes. When a test is randomized, the learner does not get the same set of questions or the same sequence of questions each time he takes the quiz.

Use random questions if you want users to retake a quiz repeatedly and to find out if a learner really knows his stuff or just memorized the answer sequence from previous attempts.

It works best if your quiz has a large bank of questions because it lessens the likelihood of having to answer the same questions. To make a random test, here are the steps.

Step 1In the quiz properties window, go to the “Randomization” section. Tick the box to enable randomization. Set the number of random questions you want. For example, you can choose to give 10 random questions out of 100 questions.

Step 1: RandomizeStep 2

To randomize the quiz in the same way each time, tick the box as shown. Choose a different seed number to change how the quiz is randomized.

Step 2: SeedingStep 3

Set the number of pre-randomized quizzes to generate to reduce the chance that a test taker gets the same random test repeatedly.

Step 3: Pre-Randomized Quiz

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How Do I Make a True or False Quiz?

True or False

Photo: correabeto

True or false questions are well-suited to test recall or comprehension. Typically a statement is asked in the question and test takers are forced to answer one of only two possible options: true or false.

Creating a true or false quiz allows you create questions and check answers quicker than other question formats. For the learner who is answering true or false questions, a lot of content can be covered by a good number of questions in just a short period of time.

Answers to true and false questions should not be obvious to the test taker. Both true and false statements should have roughly the same length, be precise rather than ambiguous, and the whole quiz ideally randomized with no discernable pattern. These steps help limit the guesswork that comes with answering this type of quiz.

Step 1

Click the “New Quiz” icon on the control panel.

Step 1: New QuizStep 2

Double-click the green book icon to name your quiz.

Step 2: TitleStep 3Click “Add Question” on the main menu. Select “True or False” on the drop-down menu.

Step 3: Add Question

Step 4Double-click the True or False question on the left panel. Type the true or false statement on the “Question Body”.

Step 4: QuestionStep 5Tick the box if you want to include an image.

Step 5: Add ImageStep 6Tick the box of the correct answer. A green check appears at the left.

Step 6: Pick ChoiceStep 7Assign how many points you want to award for the correct answer.

Step 7: Assign PointsStep 8Type the custom feedback for the correct and incorrect answers on the boxes below.

Step 8: FeedbackStep 9

Hit the “Preview” button to look at how your questions looks in the real test.

Step 9: Preview

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

Making a Quiz With Images

Images

Photo: Annie Mole

A quiz with images is more enticing to take and engaging for the learner. Moreover, images are particularly useful for asking questions that test the recognition of people, objects or places. A quiz can help clarify a question for the test taker. Images are useful for many types of tests especially those requiring the knowledge of signs (e.g. driving test), diagrams, places, events or famous people.

Images can easily be added to a question or answer to increase the quality of a primarily text-based quiz. They turn boring questions into engaging ones that improves the test-taking experience. Follow the steps below to create a quiz with images.

Step 1

In the question properties window, tick the checkbox to include an image.

Step 1: Tick Image BoxStep 2Click the “Add File” button to include the image file you want to appear with the question. A preview of the image is shown. Click the “Use File” button to make the image appear with your question.

Step 2: Add ImageStep 3Click the “Preview” button to show how the image looks with the question.

Step 3: Preview

Step 4 To enable image zooming, go to the “Question Options” window. On the “General Question Properties” section, tick the box beside “Use Image Zooming”.

Step 4: ZoomingStep 5Alternatively, you can go right-click the question and go to “Add” and “Content”.

Step 5: Add Content

Step 6

Right-click on “Content” then select “Image”.

Step 6: Add Image

Step 7

Select the image file. You can adjust the size of the image and its alignment on the page.

Step 7: Adjust Image

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment

How Do I Give Points to an Answer?

Scoreboard

Photo: Steve Snodgrass

It’s completely up to you how to give points to every question. For example you can give 5 or 10 points to every question of an entire quiz. This is the simplest way to go in scoring points.

However, you may also want to create a quiz consisting of questions with varying difficulty. For example, you may want to award a higher point (say 10 points) for answering a tougher question compared to an easy one (5 points). The different weights in scoring gives some variety to your quiz.

Step 1

Double-click a question on the left panel to pull up the “Properties Window”.

Step 1: Click QuestionStep 2Scroll down to the middle of the window and locate the “Points for Correct Answer” box. Type the points you want to award for a correct answer to the question.

Step 2: Assign Points

Posted in Make a Great Quiz, Test, Exam | Leave a comment