Judges Exams

NOTE: We recently upgraded the Quiz module to version 7.5, which is a major rewrite that changed a lot of admin screens. Need to update the instructions below in order to match this new version.

Introduction

Our three judges exams -- Regional, National, and Revalidation & Currency -- were implemented using the Drupal Quiz module.

Each exam is a Drupal node of type Quiz, and each question is either a multiple choice or true/false node. Note that the Quiz module has several sub-modules, currently disabled, that implement additional question types:

• Textual answers (short format like fill-in-the-blank, or long format like an essay)
• Match terms (e.g., match a list of figure flaws with a list of downgrades) 
• Rate things on a scale (similar to 1-to-5 star ratings; not sure what we'd use that for)
• Drag-and drop lines (not sure what we'd use that for either, maybe drawing or correcting Aresti figures?)

Note: By default, all Quiz and question nodes are marked as "premium content", meaning the user must be logged in in order to see them.

Creating a Quiz

Each Quiz node has many options, found in the left-hand sidebar below the node body. Here are the choices I made for the R&C, Regional Judge, and National Judge exams:

• Taking options
  • ​Allow resume: check
  • Allow skipping questions: check
  • Allow jumping: check
  • Backwards navigation: check
  • Repeat until correct: un-check
  • Mark as doubtful: un-check
  • Show passed status: check
  • Randomize questions: No randomization
  • Feedback time: At the end of the quiz
  • Display solution: un-check
  • Action: select the appropriate notification (R&C, National, or Regional)
  • Allowed number of attempts: Unlimited 1 (per Greg Dungan)
  • Store the best results for each user
• Pass/Fail Options
  • Pass rate: per the Rule Book (typically 80%)
  • Summary text if passed: Depends on the test; should include congratulations and next steps.
• Results comments: leave blank
• Availability options
  • ​Un-check the Always available box
  • Select the appropriate start and end dates
• Menu settings: none
• Book outline: none
• Comment settings: Closed
• Printer, email, and PDF versions: no changes to the defaults
• URL path settings: Automatic
• URL redirects: none
• Authoring information: Change if desired (I listed Greg Dungan as the author)
• Publishing options
  • ​Published: check
  • Promoted to front page: un-check
  • Sticky at top of lists: un-check
  • Premium content: check

Adding Questions

Once you've created the Quiz node, you'll need to create a separate Question for each question on the exam. This process is also a bit complicated, but goes quickly once you get the hang of it.

1. Go to the Quiz and click on the Manage Questions tab.
2. Click on Create new question.
3. Select the desired question type (currently all exam questions are multiple choice, although true/false has been used in the past)
4. Enter the question number and the question itself -- but not the possible answers -- in the text box labeled Question. E.g.: 17. When judging this Horizontal Super 8, in regard to the radii... (Note: This practice helps the test administrator identify the questions the user got wrong. Unfortunately, it also defeats the Quiz module's mix-and-match feature, whereby the administrator can compose multiple quizzes from the pool of questions.)
5. In the Title field, enter something that will help you find the question later if need be. I've been using titles like Reg-2014-Q07, for Regional Judges Exam, 2014, question #7.
6. Leave the subsequent Settings (Multiple answers, Random order, and Simple scoring) blank.
7. Enter the first possible answer in the text box labeled Alternative 1, and the second answer in the text box labeled Alternative 2. If there are more possible answers, click on the blue bar labeled Add more alternatives as many times as necessary.
8. Indicate the correct answer by checking the box next to the appropriate answer. Note: The checkbox is difficult to find: it's a small square, located to the left of the center of each text box. If you fail to indicate which answer is correct, or choose more than one, the system will display an error message asking you to fix the problem.
9. Scroll to the bottom of the page and click the Save button.

Repeat steps 2-9 for each additional question.

Note: Because each question is stored as an individual node, you can use a given question in more than on quiz.