ARCHIVED: In the Oncourse Original Test and Survey tool, what steps are involved in creating a new test or survey?

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Note: The Original Test and Survey tool is no longer available; see ARCHIVED: About the retirement of Original Test and Survey.

Creating a test or survey with the Original Test and Survey tool can be a fairly complex process. This document offers a general perspective on the process. For step-by-step instructions on specific tasks, follow the links below.

Naming your test

In the Original Test and Survey tool, "creating" a new test consists of giving it a name. The initial Create a New Test window also offers you a few access and other configuration options, but the only one that you need to be concerned about immediately is the checkbox to initially disable your test. Unless you are familiar with creating tests using the tool and expect to set your test up very quickly, you should probably begin with your test disabled, and enable it only when you are ready to let students take it. You can return to the other settings later.

To name your test:

From the menubar, choose Original Test and Survey.
Under "Main Menu", click New Test or Survey.
Enter a name for your test in the field marked "Title". Unless you specifically need to enable the test right away, check Start with this test disabled. Click OK.
You should see a "Test Creation Successful" message, and a set of options for developing or importing questions.

Developing questions and other test content

If you already have a set of questions to import from another Original Test and Survey tool test, see ARCHIVED: Reusing test questions in the Original Test and Survey tool.

Otherwise, you will need to use the Question Editor to create all of your test content. This includes questions, explanatory or introductory text, and separators to divide test material into logical sections. The Question Editor is fairly complex. For more detailed information, see ARCHIVED: Developing questions for a test or survey in the Original Test and Survey tool.

Configuring access restrictions, feedback specifications, and other options

The easiest way to make sure you have configured your test correctly is to click Test Menu at the bottom of every Original Test and Survey tool page. This will take you to a descriptive list of all the test configuration menus available.

The essential options are listed in the Test Settings submenu. In particular, check the General Settings, Feedback Settings, and Access Control Settings sections to determine how, to whom, and from where your test will be administered. See ARCHIVED: Feedback settings in the Original Test and Survey tool and ARCHIVED: Access control settings in the Original Test and Survey tool.