Linear (Non-adaptive) Digital SAT

Collegeboard has released 4 paper-based practice tests for the new digital SAT. Because they are paper-based, they are not adaptive.

You can download these 4 practice tests from the CollegeBoard website:
https://satsuite.collegeboard.org/digital/digital-practice-preparation/practice-tests/linear

We’ve added support for these tests through our Online testing feature. They are immediately available in your OnlineScoreTracker account. Look for (Non-) Digital SAT.

Do remember to go to KEYS >> (Non-) Digital SAT and enable the keys you want to use.

We DO NOT have a paper form for these linear, non-adaptive digital practice tests.

After you assign one of these tests as an Online Test to your students, they will enter their responses through their student portal, just as they would for a regular SAT or PSAT test.

The student report is a one-page, basic report.

By Joerg Weser|2022-12-13T06:52:33-07:00December 13th, 2022|OnlineScoreTracker|Comments Off

BubbleScan Mobile on Hold

Thank you very much for your feedback on the BubbleScan Mobile initiative.

It turns out that most of you don’t see it as a way to increase your revenues or even have a significant impact on your operations. We will not be moving forward with that feature.

Unless you have $5000 you’d like to invest in it. In that case, please let me know, and we can have this implemented within 5-6 weeks.

By Joerg Weser|2022-08-11T19:34:50-06:00August 11th, 2022|BubbleScan|Comments Off

Input on New ACT and SAT Student Reports

If anyone wants to give me their input on an updated student report for ACT and SAT, please call or email me. This is the week to send me your thoughts.

Here is what I have so far:

More graphics for the Question Category Analysis. (This will most likely be a progress bar that takes the place of the Incorrect and Omitted Questions part. And this will most likely mean we’ll need more pages. I’m thinking one page for each Test (English, Math, Reading, Science).
Show more tests in the Score History. (This means I will most likely list the tests vertically, instead of horizontally.)
Show the Test Name in the ACT Score History (it’s already in the SAT Score History).
Omit the WRITTEN score from the Score History since very few students actually do a practice essay and it would simply free up some precious real estate in the score history.
Show a BEST score
Show more color and/or more exciting graphs on the first page. (I like what SSAT is now doing. Maybe we’ll do something like that.)

By Joerg Weser|2022-08-11T19:28:17-06:00August 11th, 2022|BubbleScan|Comments Off

Creating Local Answer Keys

You currently have three options when it comes to creating your own answer key. It all starts with clicking on <+ADD> in the KEYS menu of the particular test type you want to add to.

You then see the three options for creating a new key.

We will very soon be adding a fourth option for ACT, the ADD ACT KEY WIZARD, but I will create a separate post for that when it is actually available.

The easiest and recommended way to create a new key, is the first option, Copy existing key (and then edit the copy). You will see a list of all active and inactive, local and system keys and simply pick the one you want to copy.

When assigning a new key ID, you have to pick one that does not belong to an ACTIVE key. For that reason it makes sense to deactivate system key #1 before you want to create your local copy using the same key ID.

The second option is to create the key from scratch right through OnlineScoreTracker. The process is pretty straight forward, just tedious. It can get a little confusing when it comes to entering the scaled published by the test maker. OnlineScoreTracker’s format differs from the format you may see published by the test maker. We show the Raw Score on the far left and ask you to enter the Scale Score obtained, while the published scale usually does it just the other way around.

If you are good with Excel, then the third option to upload a compatible Excel file might be for you. We usually start by downloading an existing Excel file and then modifying it by replacing the key, categories, and scale. When using the Excel file, it is critical that fields remain exactly where they are and that you use the correct abbreviations for categories, hence the practice of modifying an existing Excel key.

By Joerg Weser|2022-07-27T08:21:06-06:00July 27th, 2022|OnlineScoreTracker, Support, Tutorial|Comments Off

Help With Data Capture Projects

Over the past several years, whenever I needed some help manually capturing data I have utilized the help of Ruth Mangahas from the Philippines. She is very fast, very reliable, and just a pleasure to work with.

If you need some help capturing answer keys, manually entering poorly or incorrectly scanned answer sheets, essays, or with any other office job, I can highly recommend her. Because of my work with her, Ruth is familiar with the relevant parts of OnlineScoreTracker. We have been working together on various odd jobs since 2016 (I think). I hire her through an international online job market called upwork.com.

Her profile is here

https://www.upwork.com/freelancers/~01f649c5c4ab3d851c?s=1017484851352698991

You will need to create a free account with upwork. Upwork also allows you to message her and tell her exactly what you want.

To reach Ruth outside of upwork, please email her at ruthisabel30[at]gmail.com. [Please replace [at] with @, just trying to prevent unnecessary spam for Ruth :)]

By Joerg Weser|2022-07-20T15:25:50-06:00July 18th, 2022|BubbleScan|Comments Off

Copyright Violation – Removing ACT Keys

July 13, 2022:

We received an email today from Incopro, who are acting in behalf of ACT, threatening legal action against us if we do not remove all copyrighted material from this website.

We are a small business, just barely profitable and standing up to ACT is out of the question.

To comply with their request, we are taking a step back and reverting to the way we did things when we got started. We provide test grading and reporting framework. You provide the tests and answer keys.

Specifically, we will be disabling all ACT SYSTEM KEYS on our websites by August 1, 2022, which allow us to make these adjustments within the 21 day window they provide us. This means after August 1, 2022 you will not be able to use system keys for grading or as a template for your own local keys. All grading of ACT tests will be done using your own local keys.

Any existing reports based on ACT system keys will still be available. None of that data will be removed or affected.

We believe this should not impact your continued business with us. Please contact me (Joerg Weser) if you have any questions.

By Joerg Weser|2022-07-14T11:18:55-06:00July 13th, 2022|BubbleScan, Support|Comments Off

Control what scores student see in their portal

Control what scores students see in their portal

One of the main reasons for the student portal is so students can view their test scores. In the past, those scores were available in the Student Portal as soon as the tests were graded. We have now released a new feature that allows you to control what test scores and what section scores a student sees. Maybe you want to give the instructor first dibs on review the test before the student sees it? Maybe you want to wait until you can discuss a homework assignment together? Whatever your reason, now you can.

In Preferences – Web Panel under Student Portal, we’ve added a new option that lets you set the default behavior for the account. By default, these boxes are all checked, meaning that when a student completes an Online Answer Sheet, their test scores are immediately displayed in the Student Portal. If a scanned bubble sheet was graded because you processed it through BubbleScan Web, the scores are displayed in the Student Portal. And if you manually enter responses though OnlineScoreTracker, the scores are immediately visible in to the student.

If the boxes are unchecked then the test scores originating from one of these data entry methods are not visible in the Student Portal until an admin, supervisor, or instructor specifically releases them to be displayed there.

There are two places where scores can be released for display in the Student Portal.

The first place is the TESTS menu.

In a new column labeled “Student Portal” we have placed a visibility status icon. You can click on an icon to view what sections of that test are visible in the Student Portal. As you have probably already guessed, a solid eye means all test sections are visible, including the full student report, a crossed-out eye means no scores are visible at all, and a gray or dotted-lined eye means some scores are visible to the student along with a preliminary/partial score report.

The status is changed by selecting one or more tests of the same test type and selecting “View/Hide in Student Portal” from the ACTION dropdown menu. The menu option will not be available when tests of different types (i.e. ACT and SAT) are selected.

The other place is the the SCORES menu of a particular student. Hovering over the “eye” icon shows what sections are visible, clicking on the icon allows you to edit the status for each section or for the entire test.

When all the sections of a test are visible to the student, we also display the full student report. We have several different versions for SAT and ACT, if you haven’t checked out the newer ones, maybe this is a good reminder to do just that.

When not all the sections of a test are visible to the student, we are displaying a preliminary or partial, simplified test report that looks something like this:

If your test has been mapped to test categories or skills, the respective sections will also be shown:

By Joerg Weser|2020-06-09T13:42:23-06:00June 9th, 2020|BubbleScan, Tutorial|Comments Off

Creating Student Profiles

OnlineScoreTracker supports four ways to create new student accounts. This tutorial will address all four and also point out some ‘advanced’ features.

1. Manual

2. via CSV file

2. via API

2. by letting the student self-register

Manual

The easiest way to create a single student profile is to do it manually.

Click on USERS in the menu bar. The screen defaults to your list of STUDENTS. Click on +ADD.

Then fill out the fields and click SAVE.

Advanced Tips:

If you leave the Student ID field BLANK, OnlineScoreTracker will assign the first available ID starting with the value you set through Tools-Preferences-Creating Student Accounts:

If you leave the Username field BLANK, OnlineScoreTracker will use the Student ID as the Username. A student can log into their student portal using either the Student ID or the Username. When you grade paper&pencil based tests, the bubble sheet must contain the numeric Student ID.

If you specify a password of “verify”, OnlineScoreTracker will send an email to the student asking them set a password. Click here to read more about this process.

This means that the simplest, and from our point-of-view recommended way to create a new student profile is this:

CSV File

The best way to create a multiple student profiles is to by uploading a csv (=comma separated values) file created through Excel or another program.

Click on USERS in the menu bar. The screen defaults to your list of STUDENTS. Click on +ADD.

On the right you will see information about the formatting, a place to upload your csv file and, very useful, a link to a sample csv file.We encourage you to download that file so you can use it as a temple. The spelling of the headers has to be PERFECT, no accidental spaces, incorrect cases or typos!

Advanced Tips:

If you enter “auto” into the Student ID field, OnlineScoreTracker will assign the first available ID starting with the value you set through Tools-Preferences-Creating Student Accounts:

—
If you enter “auto” into the Username field, OnlineScoreTracker will use the Student ID as the Username. A student can log into their student portal using either the Student ID or the Username. When you grade paper&pencil based tests, the bubble sheet must contain the numeric Student ID.

—

If you specify a password of “verify”, OnlineScoreTracker will send an email to the student asking them set a password. Click here to read more about this process.

—

If you are organizing your students into classes, you can also include the class ID in the csv file. This will automatically place the new students into the respective class.

This means that the simplest, and from our point-of-view recommended format of a csv file looks like this:

—

If you want to update students that are already in your database, you can also use the csv file to do this. For more on this advanced option, read a future article on “Updating student profiles through csv”.

API

If you already have a your own website where you manage student profiles, you will probably want to create a process for your website to automatically create student profiles in OnlineScoreTracker.com. Information on how to do this is shown under Tools-Preferences in the section called “Creating Student Accounts” under “Automatic Creation of Student Accounts”. It involves a POST from your website to ours. More about this in a future article about “Connecting to OnlineScoreTracker via API”.

Self-Registration

An increasing number of our customers are making use of our self-registration option. By following a link on your website students can create their own profile within your OnlineScoreTracker account. If you want they can also be directly assigned to a class with one or more practice tests assigned to them.

More about this feature in a future article about “Creating Student Accounts through Student Self-Registration”.

By Joerg Weser|2020-06-06T07:54:32-06:00June 3rd, 2020|OnlineScoreTracker, Tutorial|Comments Off

Get Students to Set Their Own Password

You are about to create student profiles in your OnlineScoreTracker account and you know you want your students to access their Student Portal so they can take online tests and view their scores online.

We think a slick way to communicate the necessary information to the students is to use a keyword of “verify” in the password field when you create the student profile and a customized “Set Password” email template. Our system will automatically send a personalized email to every new student along with the login details and a link to set their password. Here is how this works in detail:

1. Review and if necessary modify the email template “Set Password” – or create your own. This is the email that gets sent to the student. To review and edit this template go to Tools – Email – Templates, then click on the Edit pencil associated with the template “Set Password”:

You can change the title of the email and any of the text. Here is what it says by default (at least at the time this post was written):

Email Title:

Welcome - please set your password

Email Message:

Dear {{firstname}}, We have set up your own Student Portal.The Student Portal allows you to:
1. see and print all your score reports,
2. read messages we may leave you from time to time, and
3. fill out online answer sheets for practice tests or home work assignments you may be taking at home.

To set your personal password, please click here:
{{set_password_url}}
You can then log in at any time by visiting:
{{url}}
and providing your username:
{{username}}
and your personal password.

We look forward to working with you to prepare you for the ACT/SAT.

Your team at {{account}}

The special codes in {{ }} are filled in by OnlineScoreTracker. Here is what the email looks like that is based on the above template.

2. With your email template in place, you now want to tell our system that it should use this email template when the automatic email is sent. To do this click on Tools – Preferences and locate the section on “Creating Student Accounts” and then choose the email template for “Email Template when password = Verify”:

3. When you now add the student profile to your OnlineScoreTracker account all you need to do is specify a password of “verify”. There are three ways (manual, csv, API) for you to add student profiles and the “verify” password works the same for all three methods.

By Joerg Weser|2020-06-03T14:25:04-06:00June 3rd, 2020|BubbleScan, Support, Tutorial|Comments Off

Test Students Remotely With Online Answer Sheets

You’ve probably had to close down your facility during this coronavirus outbreak and gone over to tutoring students online.

Using our Online Answer Sheets you can administer practice tests remotely.

Provide the student with a practice test, then ask them to log into their OnlineScoreTracker student portal and fill out their responses on an Online Answer Sheet.

Tests are graded immediately and the student report is available to the student through their student portal.

Here is how it works.

In the ADMIN PORTAL:

Select a student or, if you have organized your students into classes, select a class.
Select ONLINE TESTS.
Click on ADD and select the test(s) you want to assign to the student or to the students of the class.
After the test is added to your list of Online Tests, click on the blue test name to modify any of the settings.

In the STUDENT PORTAL:

The student(s) can now log into their Student Portal, click on TAKE A TEST, select the test type and then the test.

Each test section is started separately.

The student can choose to enter their responses by selecting radio buttons

or by typing in letters.

By Joerg Weser|2020-03-23T13:38:36-06:00March 21st, 2020|BubbleScan|Comments Off

About Joerg Weser

Control what scores students see in their portal

Manual

Advanced Tips:

CSV File

Advanced Tips:

Advanced Tips:

API

Self-Registration

Get Students to Set Their Own Password

In the ADMIN PORTAL:

In the STUDENT PORTAL: