Digital assessment with Ans

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The digital assessment software Ans is webbased. This means you can use it on any device with an internet browser. So it doesn't matter whether you work at your workplace or from home. Tests become administered under controlled conditions to ensure data security. Tests with a summative function are administered under controlled conditions in the dedicated test location (the Comenius building) and sometimes in the sports halls.

Step-by-step

View the step-by-step plan for taking an assessment digitally

1. Item bank

The item bank is a question bank that contains all exercises that could be used in an assignment for that course. Item banks are not recreated every year, but remain in existence on a permanent basis. This makes it possible to build a large question bank together with your colleagues.

Read the manual on item banks in Ans here.

2. Question types

There are different question types available in Ans. The list below shows all the question types for a digital test sorted by way of answers.

2.1 Student chooses one or more answers from given response options

Multiple choice question: question with two or more answer options of which one or more answers are correct. Read the manual multiple choice question or watch the short video multiple choice question.
Fill-in question: question that requires the student to fill in an empty field by selecting the correct answer from a list of answer options. Read the manual fill-in question or watch the short video fill-in question.

2.2 Student uses given alternatives to arrive at an answer

Order: question in which the student must place the options in the correct order. Read the manual order or watch the short video order.
Match: question in which the student must place the options in given terms. This can be a one-to-one relationship or multiple terms to another term. Read the manual match or watch the short video match.
Comprehensive Integrated Puzzle (CIP):  question in which the student must complete a table using given options appropriate to a case. This question type is primarily used in medical education to test clinical reasoning.
Hotspot: question that requires the student to click on the requested location in, for example, a map, image of a text or a picture. Read the manual hotspot or watch the short video hotspot.
Hotspot match: question that requires the student to drag the answer options to the correct location in an image. Read the manual hotspot match or watch the short video hotspot match.

2.3 Student formulates own response

Numerical question: question with a number as the answer. Read the manual numerical question or watch the short video numerical question.
Fill-in question: question that requires the student to fill in one or more blank fields. Read the manual fill-in question or watch the short video fill-in question.
Open: question that requires the student to give a (long) answer to a question that is not automatically checked. Read the manual open or watch the short video open.
Mathematical equation: question with one or more equations as the answer. Read the manual mathematical equation or watch the short video mathematical equation.
Code editor: question in which the student answers with code in a programming language. Read the manual code editor or watch the short video code editor.

2.4 Student answers by file

File upload: question in which a file can be uploaded. Read the manual or watch this short video.

Coordinate the use of this question type with your faculty’s digital assessment coordinator.

3. Attachments and additional software

3.1 Add an attachment

In Ans, you can add a PDF file of with a size up to 25 MB to an exercise or assignment. Watch the video on how to add attachments.

3.2 Assignments with additional software

During the administration of a digital test, the use of additional software may be necessary to properly assess certain learning objectives for your course. By letting students use additional software during the digital test, skills can be tested more authentically, which improves the quality of your assignment.

The following software can be used on request:

Chemdraw
Excel
JASP
Mnova
Powerpoint
Praat
R-studio
SPSS
Tikzit
Vensim
Word

If you wish to use these or other additional software during your tests, please discuss this on time with your faculty's digital assessment faculty coordinator.

4. Reviewing

View a brief explanation of reviewing in Ans.

4.1 Review settings

In the course, you can start marking immediately for each assignment or candidate.

You can do this via: Course > Digital Test > Settings > Review options.

Read the manual or watch the video on assessment settings.

4.2 Assign review work

In Ans, you can review assignments together with your colleagues. You can easily share the workload in Ans to make sure that you only see the exercises that are intended for you. You can also mark the same exercises with several people together. Ans keeps track of which exercises have already been reviewed so that each exercise is never marked more than once.

You can share reviewing via: Course > Digital Test > Settings > Assign reviewers.

Read the manual or watch the video.

4.3 Start reviewing

Ans provides an overview of the progress of all reviewers. To start reviewing, click on a candidate or exercise. You also have the option to provide feedback, for example by making annotations.

You can find the marking screen via: Course > Digital Test > Review.

Read the manual here or watch the video.

4.4 Finish reviewing

In Ans, you are done grading once all assignments for every student have has been graded. To make sure that the assignment of every student is completely reviewed, you can go to the results tab and check whether every student has a grade next to their name.

Read the manual or watch the video about completing the reviewing process.

4.5 Publication for review

Ans automatically generates a test and item analysis as soon as you have finished reviewing. This analysis shows you the quality of your test and questions. You can use this information to find out whether there were for example any trick questions in the test or errors in the answer model.

You can find the analysis via: Course > Digital Test > Insights.

Read the manual here or watch the video about test and item analysis. For support, please contact the faculty coordinator for digital assessments.

4.6 Publish results

The results of your assessment in Ans must be recorded in Osiris. The grades will then automatically become visible to students.

Read the manual for sending results from Ans to Osiris.

4.7 Schedule inspection

Only your faculty coordinator for digital assessment (FCDT) can arrange an inspection where students can see their answers for you. Please contact your FCDT to discuss the options for the inspection.

Lex Hendriks is a lecturer and course coordinator for Methods and Techniques within the Educational Sciences programme. In this video, he explains the importance of test and item analysis and how he and his colleagues use the Ans testing software to do this.

Masja van Meeteren is professor of Criminology at the Faculty of Law. In this video, she explains how she collaborates with colleagues in test construction and assessment. In her course, this contributes to the quality of test questions and a more reliable assessment of exams.

Ruud van den Beuken is associate professor of English Language and Culture at the Faculty of Arts. In this video, he talks about how grading with assessment criteria in test software Ans helps him to assess better and more transparently.

Advantages of assessing with Ans 

The software is easy to use via internet, regardless of where you are.
Ans can automatically score an entire assessment if it consists solely of closed question types. This saves time on reviewing.
With Ans, you can easily perform a test analysis, allowing you to properly analyse and evaluate the assessment (results).
With Ans, you can distribute the marking work across several teachers and, if necessary, set up a re-assessment.

Ans allows you to:

Develop and manage test questions in an item bank. 
Compile tests using questions from the item bank.
Administer tests to students (both as practice tests and for grades). 
Check students' answers and give (direct) feedback on them.
Analyse how the questions and test were made.
Give students digital access to the test and their answers. 
Determine test scores and cut-off scores to calculate grades. 
Collaborate with colleagues in developing and checking questions and tests.
In addition to Ans, you can use software such as SPSS or Word, for example, during digital tests.

Contact

The faculty coordinator for digital assessment at your faculty will help you with any questions you may have about Ans.