The current process for acquiring blank optical scanning forms begins in the respective department. Several standard styles of blank forms are available in the Old Dominion University Bookstore. There are the standard blue 5-response, 200 question form and the standard green 10-response, 120 question form. These can be requisitioned from the bookstore by your departmental secretary. OCCS no longer gives the opscan forms away for free to departments. OCCS does not stock forms - we only house the equipment to process them. These forms are a stock item available in the Central Warehouse. Custom forms can be created by several nationwide companies, however, they are expensive. They require off-set printing and set up charges, plus they require programming by our staff to ensure that the opscan reader can actually read the forms and create a usable data file.
Administering the Test
- Use a #2 pencil to mark a response.
- No pens or markers should be used.
- Do not bend, fold or tear the forms. Staples, paper clips and careless tears of the forms increase the likelihood that the optical scanning equipment will have trouble reading that form.
- Do not to write on the margins of the forms. The optical scanning equipment picks up these extraneous marks and interprets them as data. This ultimately causes a problem grading the sheets.
- Fill the bubbles in completely.
- Forms which cannot be read must be hand scored by the instructor. At the completion of the test, instructors should collect all completed answer sheets. The forms should be separated from question sheets and orderly arranged by the instructor to have all sheets face up with all sheets uniform in direction. This enables the sheets to be quickly read through the machine. Paper clips and blank pages must be removed.
- Test packets which come to OCCS that are not arranged in the proper order will be given back to the instructor to be made ready. OCCS Computer Operations does not have available time to straighten, order and stack test packets.
Submission of the Test for Processing
Each class or test grouping should be placed in a separate envelope with an answer key. The answer key contains a single answer to each question and all zeroes in the social security number field. Multiple marks in a single question are translated as an "*" and not scored for any sheet. Each of these test packets should be brought to the OCCS Network Operations Center, 4300 Engineering & Computational Sciences (E&CS) Building.
The instructor must attach a cover sheet to each envelope. These cover sheets are available at the Network Operations Center and have a space to write all information pertaining to the test packet being submitted. This information is used to grade the test packet and route the data to the proper account. Additionally, it allows OCCS to properly control the processing and distribution of the test packets. Instructors must sign in each test packet submitted and must sign out each completed packet. OCCS places a normal turnaround processing time of "overnight" on test packets. Tests are processed throughout the day and evening in the computer room. During exam periods, special attention is given to test processing. Normal turnaround processing time during exam week is two (2) hours.
Access to OCCS, 4th Floor, E&CS Building is available from 7 a.m. - 10:15 p.m., Monday through Friday. Hours subject to change during holidays and summer periods.
Standard Output from Test Grading
Each packet graded produces a printout showing scores and additional statistical indicators. Printouts are also included which do not show names, allowing the results to be posted for general viewing. A "chopped data" file and a "scores" data file are also produced. These two flat ascii text files can be sent to the professor's email account, if requested, for further processing or inspection. OCCS will utilize the web as the vehicle to send chopped data or score data to the professors eemail account for additional processing.
Questions
We have found that once an instructor has success at using opscan tests, they continue without any support from OCCS. First-timers or any people with questions should ask for assistance at the computer room window. The computer operators take great pride and care in processing these tests. The opportunity to personally help individual faculty members is a rare occurrence, therefore these instances have historically built strong relationships and confidence between the operations staff and the faculty. Every effort is made to make the process a smooth one. Do not hesitate to ask for clarification or further information. OCCS Network Operations can be reached at 757.683.3189 or contact Technical Support Center at 757.683.3192.