                            TEST MAKER HELP SCREEN                  Page 1 of 6

                                 INTRODUCTION

"Test Maker" will allow a teacher to create a data base of questions to be used
in a test or an exam.  The maximum size of the file is 300 records which should
be large enough for a fairly comprehensive test.

A line printer capable of printing in 12 characters per inch is required to
print the teacher's answer key and student answer sheet.  The test itself is
sent to an ASCII disk file so that it may be imported into your word processor
where you can 1) make modifications to the "Student Instructions", 2) add
headers or footers, and 3) break the pages at your discretion.

The real beauty in this program is that it allows you to print as many copies
of the exam as you need.  My classroom has eight, four foot diameter round
tables capable of sitting four students at each.  At test time, I print four
copies of the exam so that each student at a table has the same questions
however they are in a totally different order.  It makes the tedious chore of
proctoring a test or exam a snap.



                            TEST MAKER HELP SCREEN                  Page 2 of 6

                                 MENU OPTION 1

                            Initialize a Test File

This option is only necessary when you first start to make up your exam.  You
input the name of the file using eight (8) characters according to MSDOS
guidelines.  The extension of .fil is added automatically.  Each record
(question) will take 642 bytes of disk space so if you initialize a file of 300
records (the maximum) you better have at lest 192,600 bytes free on the default
drive.  Two other files are created at this point.  The first is PATH.WP which
is a tiny sequential file that contains the path to your word processor.  The
default is C:\WORDPERF\EXAMS\ however you may change this at the time you print
your first exam.  The path you set at that time then becomes the default path
and you never have to set it again.  The second is ????????.REC which is
another tiny sequential file (6 bytes) that contains a pointer to the first
blank record in your exam file.  When you first initialize the file this
pointer has a value of one (1).




                          TEST MAKER HELP SCREEN                     Page 3 of 6

                               MENU OPTION 2

                           Edit or Add Questions

This option allows you to actually create the data base of test questions.
Full screen editing is supported thanks to BORLAND'S "Data Base Toolbox."

The first four fields are question fields.  You may type up to 70 characters
per line.  The cursor will not wrap-around so listen for a bleep.  You'll be at
the end of a line at that point.  Press RETURN or DOWN ARROW to get to the next
field.  HOME, END, TAB, SHIFT-TAB, INS, and DEL are all supported.

The next five fields are for your answers or choices.  You don't have to use
all five.  Only the ones you use will be printed.  In the case of a TRUE /
FALSE question, you should enter a + for TRUE and a - for FALSE in fields 5 and
6.  Type a T or F in field 10 for the correct answer.  You may also use the
multiple choice question format, fill-in question format, or short answer
format.  For fill-ins leave fields 5 - 9 blank - field 10 must contain the
correct word (or abbreviated word).  The second character must not be a SPACE.
For short answer questions leave fields 5 - 9 blank - field 10 must be an X.



                            TEST MAKER HELP SCREEN                  Page 4 of 6

                                 MENU OPTION 3

                                     Print

This option prints the following items.  1) an ASCII text file using the file
name you specified for your data base with a .TXT extension.  This file will be
sent to your word processor according to the path that you specify.  2) a
hardcopy of the Teacher's answer key - make sure your printer is set to print
at 12 cpi.  3) a hardcopy of the Student's answer sheet.

You may print as many copies as you need.  I always print four because of my
classroom seating arrangement.  Just make sure that you use a different booklet
number for each copy.  A file called X?.ANS will be created at this point.
This file is used to grade the exams.  The ? is the booklet number that you
specify before any printing occurs.

I find it helpful after importing the .TXT file into Word Perfect to include a
header in the very beginning as the example below shows:

BOOKLET #4             COMPUTER LITERACY UNIT THREE TEST               Page #^B



                            TEST MAKER HELP SCREEN                  Page 5 of 6

                                 MENU OPTION 4

                                  Grade Tests

This is the best!  After the test has been taken, you organize your booklets in
ascending order - one through whatever.  I have a sheet feeder hooked into my
LQ-1050 so I just place the answer sheets of booklet # 1 into the hopper.  You
input the # of answer sheets for each booklet.  This will work OK on a friction
feed too - you'll just have to feed each sheet by hand.  I change my ribbon
from black to red (you don't have to) and start it up.  If your test has more
than 150 questions, the program will prompt you to flip the answer sheet (or
insert page 2) when page 1 (1 - 150) is finished.  After booklet # 1 is
complete, the program comes back to the "What booklet?" and "How many?" prompts
and the whole process continues again.  When all the booklets have been scored,
you press the ESC key.

The program doesn't actually grade each test, but it does put an X on top of
the correct choice in the case of TRUE / FALSE and MULTIPLE CHOICE questions.
You'll have to score the FILL-INS and SHORT ANSWER questions the "old
fashioned" way.



                            TEST MAKER HELP SCREEN                  Page 6 of 6

                                 MENU OPTION 5

                                     Quit

When you are finished for the day, press Q to quit.  Make sure you make backup
copies of all files.

I just completed my "Computer Literacy" final exam.  Four booklets of 300
questions (my students are very quick - nothing is worse than to see 30 kids
stare at the walls for 30 minutes) and all teacher keys and answer sheets, took
1 hour and 45 minutes to print.  To grade 120 exams (of 300 questions don't
forget) took 17 minutes (my sheet feeder helps here!)

My thanks go to the BORLAND company for their tremendous "Turbo Basic."  It is
a pleasure to work with!  If anybody finds this thing useful and needs help you
can reach me on CompuServe (#71500,3110) or at Hopatcong High School, Box 1029,
Hopatcong, NJ  07843.

         ----------------end-of-author's-documentation---------------

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