A Teacher's Dream Come True: A Simple Program for Writing Tests

Abstract

This program was written for an Apple computer with at least 48K of memory and the ability to print lower-case letters. It can be used on the Apple Ile, and is also compatible with the Franklin computer. The program stores multiplechoice and essay-type questions on 51/4 disks. Each disk can hold up to 275 questions which are stored under topics of your choice such as ecology, genetics, or biochemistry. Once recorded, the questions need never be typed again, and the program will tell you when the disk is full. You may replace old questions with new ones to keep your files up to date. A printout of all questions on specific topics serves as a printed file or Master List from which you choose questions when making out a test. The program enables you to produce any number of different tests and also different forms of the same test. When you print several different forms of the same test, each form will have its own answer key. The questions on each form will be in the same order, but the alternate answers for each question will be in a different order for each form. This feature is really handy in overcrowded classrooms where cheating can be a problem. You can make as many student copies of these different tests and forms as you need using offset, Xerox, or other copiers. Essay questions are always printed as a separate test. If you want essay questions on the same page with your multiple-choice questions, you must leave sufficient space at the bottom of the test. With some cut-and-paste techniques you can add the essay questions when the student copies are to be made. Once you have copied the program, you can start storing questions on your data-storage disk. The questions on each disk are stored sequentially under topics chosen by you. Question 5, for example, may be under the topic of viruses while questions 6 and 7 might be stored under the topic of bacteria. When you have completed typing in your questions, you can get printouts of all questions stored under the different topics. These printouts serve as your master list that you use when choosing questions for tests. Let's say that you want to give a short quiz on bacteria. You would refer to your master list or ask for a printout of all questions under the topic of bacteria. You would then use this list to choose the questions you want. You might choose questions 3, 46, 146, etc. When you request a test, the program will ask for the numbers of these selected questions. The quiz will then be printed out, along with an answer sheet. You can also print as many forms of the same quiz as you need. This means you can give five or more forms of the same test to a class of 30 students and not have to worry too much about old shiftyeyes in the back row. It's just as easy to print five forms as it is one.