Appendix A: Test Scoring Reminders


  • To purchase test scoring answer sheets, contact the Miami University Bookstore at 513 529-2600 or email at supplysales@MiamiOH.edu. Please provide an Index code and a delivery location, and they will be delivered to you, or they can be picked up in Shriver Center Bookstore.
  • The test scoring service is offered free of charge to Miami University faculty for all courses.
  • Instructors are asked to retrieve test scoring sheets as soon as possible after scoring has completed.
  • If changing an answer or deleting a question after the tests are scored, call Test Scoring, 513 529-8378 (TEST). In most cases, the test scoring answer sheets will not have to be processed through the scanner again.
  • Test data files are retained for one month. After this time the tests cannot be reconstructed. However, if the test answer sheets are available, they can be processed again.
  • Any questions concerning an explanation of the statistical output of the test-scoring program should be directed to Research Computing Support, 310 Laws, rescomp@MiamiOH.edu. Any questions concerning the operation of the test scoring service should be directed to Test Scoring, email testscoring@MiamiOH.edu, or telephone 513 529-8378 (TEST).

Common Problems

  • If there are two or more marks of the same darkness level, the scanner operator will erase both marks so that the test may be graded. In this case, the question would be processed with a blank answer.
  • If a student’s UniqueID is missing or incomplete, the scanner operator will assign a number, usually 9999nnnn (the nnnn will be a random number) so the test can be graded. On the test message printout, the message "not currently enrolled in course" will appear. The test will be graded but the name will be blank on all listings. The requestor will have to make a visual check through the test answer sheets to determine who the student is.
  • The optical scanner reads both sides of the answer sheet at once by reading through the sheet. The black boxes above the solid red line at the top and the timing marks printed along the left-hand edge of each answer sheet are used to synchronize the motion of the answer sheet as it is processed by the optical scanner. Therefore, it is very important that no marks are made on either side of the sheet as these marks could affect the opposite side of the sheet. Also, no marks must be made across the top of the sheet, since this will prevent the answer sheet from being read at all.
    • If something is wrong with an answer sheet (e.g. a double mark), when possible the errors will be corrected online.
    • If the optical scanner finds no errors, the answer sheets should be in the same order as when submitted to the test scoring service.

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