When creating a test, you can select one of three types of scoring methods:
- Simple — the entire test has one passing score, and once a participant reaches it, the test is passed.
- Combined — the test is divided into parts, each with its own passing score. Participants must reach the passing score in each part to pass the whole test.
- Completion not-required — the test has no passing scoring and is considered passed when a participant finishes it, regardless of the score attained.
In this article, we describe how to create a step-by-step test with a combined scoring method. This type of test is particularly useful for professional certification exams (e.g., insurance agent exam) as they usually consist of multiple parts.
Table of contents
- Create a test
- Create categories
- Add questions
- Add screens
- Configure the scoring method
- Configure other settings
- Assign and publish the test
- Check test results
Create a test
The first step is, of course, to create a test. If you already have a test created and just want to change the passing criterion type, you can skip to the "Configure scoring method" step.
- Go to Learn and Develop > Tests > Manage > Tests.
- Click "Add Test" in the upper right corner.
- Enter a name; for this instruction, we'll use an example of an insurance agent exam for April 2024.
- Although not mandatory, we encourage adding a description since it's displayed to test participants before they start. Include essential information about the content and structure.
- Click "Add" to confirm.
Create categories
In tests with combined passing score, categories are used to assign questions to parts appropriately. It's also important to know that categories determine the question order in the test (not parts).
Outline the test structure
To configure categories properly, start by outlining the test structure. Let's look at an example of an insurance agent exam:
- Welcome message
- Message indicating the start of the legal part
- 70 legal knowledge questions (passing score: 50)
- Message indicating the start of the product part
- 30 product knowledge questions (passing score: 20)
- Test results
Check what categories you need
Next, check if and which categories you need to create for the outlined structure.
1. Welcome Message
The first message can be configured separately in the test settings and doesn't require its own category. It will appear first by default.
2. Message indicating the start of the legal part
This message will require creating a screen and assigning it to its category to appear after the welcome message and before the legal knowledge questions. Here, we need Category 1, which we'll name "Introduction to the legal part."
3. 70 legal knowledge questions (passing score: 50)
Questions require their category, which we'll assign to the appropriate part so the system knows which passing threshold to apply. Thus, we need Category 2, named "Legal questions."
4. Message indicating the start of the product part
Similarly to the message for the legal part, we need to create a separate category, Category 3, named "Introduction to the product part."
5. 30 product knowledge questions (passing score: 20)
Just like for the legal questions, we need to create a new Category 4, named "Product questions."
6. Test results
The test results message can be configured separately in the settings and doesn't require creating a separate category.
Summing up, we need to create 4 categories in the following order:
- Introduction to the legal pection
- Legal questions
- Introduction to the product part
- Product questions
How to create categories
- Go to the "Question categories" tab.
- Click "Add category."
- Enter the name and order according to the outlined structure and save.
- Repeat for the remaining categories.
Add questions
You can add questions manually or import them from an XLS(X) file. For numerous questions, importing is recommended to save time. Ensure questions go into the appropriate category; for our case, these will be the "Legal questions" and "Product questions" categories.
How to add a question manually
- Go to the "Questions and Screens" tab.
- Click "Add," then "Add Question."
- Select the appropriate category.
- Make answering this question required.
- Choose the question type, add the command content, and configure answers.
- Click "Add" to confirm.
- Add other questions similarly.
How to add questions via import
- Go to the "Questions and screens" tab.
- Click "Add," then "Import questions."
- Download the template to see how to prepare a file. Create a file, ensuring to input the correct names of already created categories for questions.
- Once the file is ready, click "Choose XLS file with question list" and select the file.
- Click "Next." If the file was properly prepared, you'll see the message "Data structure is correct. Questions have been imported."
Add screens
Introductory messages aren't mandatory but can be helpful for test takers and, depending on the exam, may simulate how the test looks in a traditional format. As agreed earlier, we want to add two screens: one before the first part and one before the second part. To position the screens correctly, just assign them to the previously configured categories.
How to add a screen
- Go to the "Questions and Screens" tab.
- Click "Add," then "Add screen."
- Select the appropriate category and enter the content.
- Click "Add" to confirm.
- Repeat for the second message.
Configure the scoring method
To have a test consisting of parts with separate passing scores, we need to configure the scoring method. Here's how:
- Go to the "Appearance and scoring" tab.
- Select the combined scoring method.
- Select the category for the first part, in our case, "Legal questions."
- Enter the passing score, in our case, 50 points.
- Then, add the next part.
- Select the category for the second part, in our case, "Product questions."
- Enter the passing scoring, in our case, 20 points.
- Confirm.
Remember! The part order doesn't affect question order. Parts are only responsible for how the score is calculated (i.e., which questions contribute to the score in a specific part and what the passing score is). Categories determine the question order, which is why we paid so much attention to creating them. If the question/screen order isn't significant for you, you don't have to worry about the category sequence.
Configure other settings
Configuration depends on the specifics of the exam/test you want to conduct. However, you might want to pay attention to the following settings:
- Time limit (how much time participants have to complete the test, e.g., 120 minutes for an insurance agent exam).
- Number of test attempts (how many times a participant can attempt the test).
- Question order (we encourage leaving this setting as "Random within categories" to display questions in category order).
- Welcome screen (set what users will see after starting the test).
- Test end message (set what information participants will see after completing the test).
- Certificates (you can generate certificates showing correct results for parts).
Assign and publish the test
Once the test is ready, it needs to be assigned. You can do this in several ways:
- Directly to users (in the "Assignments" tab).
- Directly to user groups (in the "Assignments to Groups" tab).
- Add the test to a learning path (if, for example, you want participants to see/complete other content before or after the test) and assign the path to users or groups.
Both assignment methods allow you to limit test availability, e.g., if the test should start at 12 and end at 13 on a specific day, you can set it via the "Time restrictions" settings.
Once everything is set, remember to publish the test.
Check test results
Administrator
To check test results, the administrator must go to the "Results" tab. There, they can check:
- Status (not started, incomplete, completed).
- Total score (percentage or points earned by the participant from the whole test).
- Score for each test part (results of individual parts separated by a vertical bar).
Test taker
Test takers can see their test results immediately if "End of test message" or "Test summary" is set after completing the test.
Test takers can also check if the test was completed in the "Completed tests" tab (in the "Status" column), provided they have an appropriately configured view.
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