User Guide
TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. Introduction... 2 System Requirements... 2 Accessing McGraw-Hill eassessment... 2 2. McGraw-Hill eassessment Components... 3 3. Test Generator... 4 Working With a Question Set or Test... 5 Creating Your Own Test... 7 To build a new test with questions selected by question type... 7 To build a new test with questions selected by question information... 10 To build an empty test... 14 Printing a Test... 15 4. Classes And Assignments... 16 5. Reporting... 17 Manual Scoring... 17 Viewing Reports... 18 6. Frequently Asked Questions... 19
INTRODUCTION McGraw-Hill eassessment is a full-featured, online assessment system that allows you to manage your content, create and assign tests, deliver tests through a secure online test center, and have complete reporting and data dissemination at your fingertips. McGraw-Hill eassessment combines the functionality you d expect from a desktop test generator with the convenience of the Web. Every tool you need to create professional online and paper tests is available without the need for a desktop application. Just launch your browser and get started! This guide is designed to help you get started and understand the key features of McGraw-Hill eassessment. Detailed, step-by-step instructions for all features are available from within McGraw-Hill eassessment. Just click the Help link in the upper right corner or one of the Help buttons located throughout the application to access this System Requirements McGraw-Hill eassessment is a completely web-based application which requires: Recommended System Settings a high-speed internet connection the Java Runtime Environment 1.6.0.30 and higher a modern web browser (see below) Windows Firefox 4+ Chrome 16+ Internet Explorer 9+ Safari 5+ Chrome 16+ Firefox 4+ Macintosh Minimum Requirements a high-speed internet connection the Java Runtime Environment 1.6.0.12* a modern web browser (see below) Windows Firefox 3.6 Chrome 16 Internet Explorer 7 Safari 5 Chrome 16 Firefox 3.6 Macintosh * If you experience a long delay when McGraw-Hill eassessment starts up or you are unable to access the word processor to edit a question, you likely do not have a supported version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed or enabled on your system. To check your JRE version on Windows and download the most recent version, go to http://www.java.com/en/download/installed.jsp. To check your JRE version on Mac and download the most recent version, choose Software Update from the Apple menu. Accessing McGraw-Hill eassessment McGraw-Hill eassessment is accessible through McGraw-Hill s ConnectED website (http://connected.mcgraw-hill.com). Once you have logged in to ConnectED, choose your textbook program and then click the McGraw-Hill eassessment link. Please note that the location of this link may vary by program. McGraw-Hill eassessment is integrated with ConnectEd, so no additional login information is necessary to access your content. When initially signing on to McGraw-Hill eassessment, a Loading components. Please wait. message appears on the screen. If this message remains for longer than 30 seconds, this usually indicates a Java problem or a slow internet connection. See the System Requirements section for more details on how to check and install a supported version of Java. 3
McGraw-Hill eassessment COMPONENTS Upon clicking the McGraw-Hill eassessment link in ConnectED, a separate browser window or tab will open that displays the McGraw-Hill eassessment web application. Instructors using McGraw-Hill eassessment have access to three distinct components in order to complete their assessment tasks. These components are: Test Generator: This component enables you to view, create, and edit assessment content. Classes and Assignments: This component enables you assign online tests to your students. Reporting: This component enables you to view and print detailed class and individual reports on your students results. To move between the components of McGraw-Hill eassessment, simply choose a component from the Section drop-down menu in the upper right hand corner. 4
TEST GENERATOR The McGraw-Hill eassessment Test Generator component is organized into three sections: the Question Sets pane, the Tests pane, and the Editor pane. QUESTION SETS PANE EDITOR PANE TESTS PANE The Question Sets pane and Tests panes list your assessment content program-specific questions as well as questions you have authored yourself. Content is organized into a folder structure. Existing content is typically organized by textbook chapters or units. Questions sets are groups of questions, typically organized by chapter or unit, that can be used to create tests. Tests are groups of questions that may be assigned to students as online assignments or printed for paper-and-pencil assignments. For some programs, folders named for each product to which you have access appear in both the Question Sets and Tests pane. Depending on the product, the publisher may have provided you with question sets, tests, or both. The Editor pane on the right is where you will view and edit your assessment content. 5
Working with a Question Set or Test To open a question set or test for viewing and/or editing, click the + to expand folders until you see the question set or test you want to open. Then simply drag the question set or test to the right and drop it in the editor pane to open it. Alternately, you can right click a question set/test and choose the Edit Question Set/Test option from the menu to open it. 6
Working with a Question Set or Test (Continued) By default, ten questions will appear on the screen at a time. Use the View menu in the upper right corner to change the number of questions that appear, and use the Go to menu in the upper right corner to view a different group of question numbers. Once a question set or test is open, you can edit the content and customize the appearance as desired: Click the Display Question Information button to choose what information about each question you would like displayed on the screen. Click the Organize button to choose if you want to organize your questions by question type or to mix questions of various types. Choose the Styles option from the Edit menu to choose the fonts and styles for question numbers, answer choices, and other information. Click a question and choose the Edit option to edit an existing question. You may also choose the Delete option to delete the question, or the Duplicate option to make a copy of the question. Drag and drop questions up and down to change the question order. Drag individual questions from the Question Sets pane or the Tests pane into the Editor pane to add them to your test. Click the New Question button to author your own question. Additional formatting options, such as including space for answers, are available when printing tests. See the Printing a Test section for more details. 7
Creating Your Own Test Many products in McGraw-Hill eassessment include ready-to-use tests in the Tests pane; however, you can also quickly create your own tests from publisher-provided question sets using the New Test Wizard. The wizard provides three methods of building tests: by question type, by question information, and empty tests. To build a new test with questions selected by question type: 1. Click the Create a new test link in the Editor pane. 2. Enter a title for your test and choose a folder in which to store it. 3. Choose the Build a test with questions selected by question type option. Click the Next button. 8
Creating Your Own Test (continued) 4. Choose the question sets and tests from which you want to select questions. Click + to expand folders to view your question sets and tests, and then click checkboxes to select question sets and/or tests. Click the Next button. 5. If your content is available in multiple languages, a language listing will appear. Choose the desired language(s) click the Next button. 6. A table listing how many available questions of each type is displayed. Enter the number of questions of each type to include on your test in the Number Selected column. Alternately, you may enter a number in the Automatically select field and click the Select button to randomly select questions. Click the Next button. 9
Creating Your Own Test (continued) 7. A summary of your choices is displayed. Click the Back button to go back and change your selections, or click the Finish button to create your test. A test based on your specifications is created and automatically opened in the Editor pane. 8. Customize the test as desired (see the Working with a Question Set or Test for more details). 10
Creating Your Own Test (continued) To build a new test with questions selected by question information: 1. Click the Create a new test link in the Editor pane. 2. Enter a title for your test and choose a folder in which to store it. 3. Choose the Build a test with questions selected by specific question information option. Click the Next button. 11
Creating Your Own Test (continued) 4. Choose the question sets and tests from which you want to select questions. Click + to expand folders to view your question sets and tests, and then click checkboxes to select question sets and/or tests. Click the Next button. 5. If your content is available in multiple languages, a language listing will appear. Choose the desired language(s), and then click the Next button. 6. Choose a question information field from the Question info drop-down list. A table listing how many available questions for each item is displayed. Note that the availability of question information varies by product. Some or all question information fieids may not contain any data. 12
Creating Your Own Test (continued) 7. To limit your test to a specific question type, choose a question type from the Question type dropdown list. 8. To select questions, click the Edit link next to the desired question information item and enter the number of questions you want to include on your test in the Number Selected column. Then click the Update link. Repeat this step as desired to select questions for your test, and then click the Next button. 9. A summary of your choices is displayed. Click the Back button to go back and change your selections, or click the Finish button to create your test. A test based on your specifications is created and automatically opened in the Editor pane. 10. Customize the test as desired (see the Working with a Question Set or Test for more details). 13
Creating Your Own Test (continued) To build an empty test: 1. Click the Create a new test link in the Editor pane. 2. Enter a title for your test and choose a folder in which to store it. 3. Choose the Build an empty test option. Click the Finish button. 4. An empty test is created and automatically opened in the Editor pane. 5. Add questions and customize the test as desired (see the Working with a Question Set or Test for more details). 14
Printing a Test McGraw-Hill eassessment tests can be assigned to students as online tests to be taken on a computer (see the Classes and Assignments section for more details), but instructors can also save tests as PDF to print for students or to share with their colleagues. To create a PDF version of a test: 1. Drag a test to the Editor pane to open it. 2. Choose the Print to PDF option from the File menu. 3. If you want to print a single version of the test, choose the Single Version option. Choose whether you want to include space for students to write on the test and if you want to include an answer key, and then click the OK button. A PDF version of your test will be generated in a separate browser window/tab. Once PDF generation is complete, click to open the test in your PDF reader. You may then print the test to your printer or save it to a drive to share with other teachers. 4. If you want to print multiple scrambled versions of the test, choose the Multiple Versions option. Choose whether you want to include space for students to write on the test, if you want to include an answer key, and your scramble options, and then click the Print New Version button. The first PDF version of your test will be generated in a separate browser window/tab. Return to the McGraw- Hill eassessment window and click the Print New Version button again, repeating this step for as many versions of the test as you would like. Once PDF generation is complete, click to open each test in your PDF reader. You may then print the test to your printer or save it to a drive to share with other teachers. 15
CLASSES AND ASSIGNMENTS Use the Classes and Assignments component of McGraw-Hill eassessment to assign your tests as online assignments to you students. Class rosters are automatically synchronized from ConnectED each time you log in to McGraw-Hill eassessment. Use ConnectED, not McGraw-Hill eassessment, to edit your class rosters. To create an online assignment: 1. Choose Classes and Assignments from the Section menu in the upper right corner. 2. Drag the class for which you want to create an assignment from the Classes pane to the Editor pane. 3. Drag a test from the Tests pane to the right pane to create an assignment based on that test. Alternately, you may click the New Assignment button and then select a test using the Select Test button. 4. Follow the steps in the New Test Wizard to create your assignment. You may choose to create a recorded assignment (the results of which will be stored in the gradebook) or a study guide (a practice test for which results are not recorded). The wizard allows you to choose who has access to the assignment and when, whether or not students can check their answers, whether or not the questions are scrambled for each student, and what students see once they complete the assignment. 5. The assignment is automatically added to your students To-Do lists in ConnectED. Once students take the test, the results (if you chose to create a recorded assignment) are instantly included in the McGraw-Hill eassessment gradebook. 16
REPORTING When students take an online assignment, their results are automatically sent to the grade book in the Reporting component of McGraw-Hill eassessment. From there, you can easily create a variety of student and class reports that allow you to analyze the results based on assignments, question metadata such as learning objectives and standards, and more. Manual Scoring Most McGraw-Hill eassessment questions types such as true/false, multiple choice, and matching are automatically graded when students take online tests. Some question types such as essay questions must be manually graded by the instructor before their results can be included in reports. To manually score questions: 1. Drag a class from the classes pane to the editor pane to open it. 2. Click the appropriate column heading to select the assignment for which you want to manually score questions. Hint: If an assignment contains questions that need to be manually scored, an asterisk will appear next to the assignment score. 3. Choose Edit Scores from the Assignment menu. 4. Select a student from the Students list. Questions that need to be scored manually for that student will be listed with a red No in the Graded column. 5. Click the Edit link for the question you want to score. 6. Enter a score in the Score column and then click the Update link. Note: If you are scoring an essay question that has been set up with a scoring rubric, you will need to choose scores for each scoring criteria in the question. 7. Repeat steps 4 through 6 for all students. 8. Click the Done button. 17
Viewing Reports McGraw-Hill eassessment offers a variety of reports to help you view and analyze your students results. To view and print a report: 1. Drag the students and/or classes on which you want to report from the Classes pane into the editor pane. 2. Choose an individual or all students report from the Reports menu. McGraw-Hill eassessment offers a wide variety of reports, including: Individual Assignment Results: This report details a student s performance on a selected assignment. Individual Proficiency Report: This report identifies a student s proficiency level for all standards. Individual Progress Report: This report details all assignment scores for a student during a specified term or all terms. All Students Assignment Results: This report details how all students performed on a selected assignment. All Students Question Item Analysis: This report details class performance on each question of an assignment. All Students Proficiency Report: This report details class performance on all standards covered during a specific term or date range. 3. Choose the desired report options and click the OK button. 4. Your report will open in a separate browser window. You may view the report, print it to your printer, or save the report as a PDF file, an RTF file, or as an image. 18
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS How do I install the software? Because McGraw-Hill eassessment is a web-based application, no installation is necessary. Whether you are on a computer in your classroom, at home, or at the coffee shop simply click the McGraw-Hill eassessment link in ConnectED and you have access to all of your assessment content! In order to use the word processor to create and edit questions, Java must be installed on your computer. If Java is not installed or enabled, McGraw-Hill eassessment may run slowly when you first log in. See the System Requirements section for more details. Where is the save button? Because tests and question sets are automatically saved in real time, you don t need a save button. Whenever you edit a question or reorder the questions in a test, the changes are saved to the database. If a sudden network outage or power outage occurs, simply log back into McGraw-Hill eassessment and the test or question set will be just like you left it. Can I share my questions with other instructors? You can save your tests as PDFs and share them with other instructors. Also, you can export your tests as Cognero XML and other instructors who have access to McGraw-Hill eassessment can import the XML file (if they also have the rights to use the program content).. Can I use McGraw-Hill eassessment with my clicker system? McGraw-Hill eassessment is not currently integrated with any particular clicker system. However, most clicker software has a generic mode that allows for interaction with anything that is on the screen. A teacher could create an online test and display the questions to their students through McGraw-Hill eassessment one at a time (just like if the questions were in PowerPoint or in a PDF). The clicker software typically takes screen shots of whatever is on the screen, and stores the students results with that screen shot. The assessment and results would all take place through the clicker software, not McGraw-Hill eassessment. McGraw-Hill eassessment is simply the engine for displaying the questions on the screen. What advanced content features are supported by McGraw-Hill eassessment? McGraw-Hill eassessment s word processor includes advanced features such as tables, images, hyperlinks, and spell check. Media files, such as videos and Flash animations, may be inserted into questions for use with online tests. In addition, McGraw-Hill eassessment features a powerful algorithm engine that allows instructors to create and use dynamic questions that can be recalculated with a single click to form an entirely new question. How can I increase the speed of web applications? Advanced web applications such as McGraw-Hill eassessment require a modern web browser. McGraw-Hill eassessment supports Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, Google Chrome, and Apple Safari. While all of these browsers will work, McGraw-Hill eassessment works best with a recent version of Chrome or Firefox on Windows and Safari on the Mac. Also, because McGraw-Hill eassessment is a web application, the speed is dependent upon the bandwidth of your internet connection. Other processes such as streaming web audio or video will use a portion of your bandwidth, resulting in slower download times in McGraw-Hill eassessment. Need more help? Detailed, step-by-step instructions for all McGraw-Hill eassessment features are available in the online help. Just click the Help button from within McGraw-Hill eassessment to access the online help. For additional assistance, contact our Digital Technical Support team at 1-800-437-3715 or by web at http://www.epgtech.com. 19