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ExamSoft Faculty & Administrator Best Practices

General

  • Use Firefox or Google Chrome as your web browser. Internet Explorer is not a supported browser.
  • ExamSoft has an excellent resource library for help. Access it by selecting Resource Library under the “Help Guide” tab in the upper right-hand corner after logging in to the ExamSoft website.

Question Creation

  • Assign one (and only one) New Graduate Outcome category to EACH question.
  • Questions with attached images:
    • Use jpeg images instead of pdfs for attachments.
    • Use Microsoft PowerPoint to assemble and export images.
      • Pull images into PowerPoint.
      • Go to the File menu, select Export, and select JPEG as the file type.
      • Select “Every Slide” when asked if you want to export every slide in the presentations or only the current slide.
      • Attach the files to the corresponding question in ExamSoft.
  • Large questions (questions with substantial text, such as cases)
    • Create a scenario page to accompany the questions.
    • Number or letter the scenarios and put the number or letter on the page, and in the question.
  • Vignettes/Dependent questions
    • If you have a set of questions that are dependent on one another, such as a question that references a scenario in a prior question, use the “Group” feature to force those questions to appear together on an exam.
    • Give the same unique name to all the questions that should be grouped.
    • When adding them to the exam, make sure the items appear in the same order you would like to see them within that group set.
    • ExamSoft will then randomize question order, but keep the groups together.
  • Fill-In-the-Blank (FITB) questions
    • Use the “Rationale” field when creating or editing questions to show the correct answer.
      • This can be included on exam reviews to communicate the correct answer to students efficiently.
    • You can use partial credit on fill in the blank, but only if blanks are specific to answers.
    • FITB is good for questions of the type: “The three _1_ found _2__ sleeping in their bed when they returned home.”
      • The answer is bears, then goldilocks. In this case, order matters.
      • You could give partial credit in this case.
    • FITB is bad for questions of the type “List the three….”; use an Essay question instead.

Posting an Exam

  • Name your exam (e.g., Course Name, Course Number, Exam Number, Semester, and Year) and organize it in the appropriate folder for easy access in the future.
  • Use the Blueprint feature to ensure adequate coverage of material, based on outcomes, and other established categories.
  • Add the Aggie Honor Code and other pre-assessment notices.
  • Select your Security and Scoring options.
  • Enable Exam Taker options, including the option to use iPads.
  • Re-order questions, if needed, by dragging and dropping them to their new order.
  • Preview the exam (using the Preview function) prior to posting.
    • If you make any changes to your questions, be sure to Approve the revision, Update the question in the assessment, and hit the Save button.
  • Check with edtech@cvm.tamu.edu to ensure students with time accommodations are coded appropriately.
  • Select the appropriate course.
  • Choose a Download Time that accounts for students who may need to download during the Exam Time, as well as for students taking make-up exams.
  • Download and Upload Dates may be adjusted after posting, but not exam questions or other exam options.