System and method for interactive scoring of standardized test responses

• US 6,234,806 B1
• Filed: 01/21/2000
• Issued: 05/22/2001
• Est. Priority Date: 06/06/1997
• Status: Expired due to Fees

• Current Assignee: Educational Testing Service
• Original Assignee: Educational Testing Service
• Inventors: Zuckerman, Daniel Israel, Trenholm, Harriet Priscilla
• Primary Examiner(s): Martin-Wallace, Valencia
• Assistant Examiner(s): ADAMS, CHANDA L
• Application Number:
  US09/489,210
• Time in Patent Office: 487 Days
• Field of Search: 434/323, 434/322, 434/350
• US Class Current: 434/322
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/04 characterised by modifying the teaching programme in response to a wrong answer, e.g. repeating the question, supplying a further explanation
• CPC Class Codes: G09B 7/066 with answer indicating cards, blocks

Abstract

A system and associated method for interactively scoring standardized test responses. The system maintains a database of tests, items that make up the tests, and features that make up the items. A user of the system requests a list of items in the database, and the system responds by presenting a list from which the user selects a plurality of items to be scored. The user selects a scoring mode, and the system scores the selected items according to the selected scoring mode. In an interactive scoring mode, the system scores the features of a selected item and presents to the user the feature scores, as well as an overall item score computed based on these feature scores. The user either accepts the scores as presented, changes one or more feature scores, or changes the overall item score. The system then rescores the item based on the user-entered scores and stores the new score in the database. This process is repeated for the remaining selected items. The user can interrupt one scoring mode and change to another at any time.

Claims

1. A system for scoring responses to standardized tests, each test having at least one item, the system comprising:

a scoring subsystem; and

a plurality of scoring engines coupled to the scoring subsystem, wherein

each scoring engine is associated with a selected item and at least one of the scoring engines is coupled to the scoring subsystem via an applet,

the scoring subsystem scores a plurality of selected items by calling, for each selected item, the scoring engine associated with the selected item to determine an item score for the selected item based on a predefined scoring rubric associated with the selected item, and

the scoring engine associated with the selected item provides the item score for the selected item to the scoring subsystem.

2. The system of claim 1, wherein the scoring subsystem is an interactive scoring subsystem that scores the selected items by:

calling a first scoring engine associated with a first selected item to determine a first item score for the first selected item, storing the first item score, providing the first item score for display to a user, accepting a changed item score from the user, and storing the changed item score for the first selected item.

3. The system of claim 1, wherein the scoring subsystem continuously scores the selected items.

4. The system of claim 1, wherein the scoring subsystem is an alarm scoring subsystem that scores the selected items by:

calling a first scoring engine associated with a first selected item to determine a first item score for the first selected item, determining whether the first item score is valid, and, if the first item score is determined not to be valid, communicating an alarm to a user.

5. The system of claim 1, wherein the scoring subsystem is a sampling scoring subsystem that scores the selected items, and provides the item scores for a subset of the selected items for display to a user, wherein the subset is determined by a predefined item sampling period.

6. The system of claim 1, further comprising:

an item selection subsystem coupled to the scoring subsystem that creates a list that includes the plurality of selected items to be scored and provides the list to the scoring subsystem.

7. The system of claim 6, further comprising:

an operator workstation coupled to the item selection subsystem via which a user can select the plurality of selected items to be scored.

8. A system for scoring responses to standardized tests, each test having at least one item, the system comprising:

a scoring subsystem; and

a plurality of scoring engines coupled to the scoring subsystem, wherein

each scoring engine is associated with a selected item,

the scoring subsystem scores a plurality of selected items by calling a first scoring engine associated with a first selected item to determine a first item score for the first selected item based on a predefined scoring rubric associated with the first selected item, storing the first item score, providing the first item score for display to a user, accepting a changed item score from the user, and storing the changed item score for the first selected item, and

the scoring engine associated with the first selected item provides the changed item score for the first selected item to the scoring subsystem.

9. The system of claim 8, wherein at least one of the scoring engines is coupled to the scoring subsystem via an applet.

10. The system of claim 8, further comprising:

an item selection subsystem coupled to the scoring subsystem that creates a list that includes the plurality of selected items to be scored and provides the list to the scoring subsystem.

11. The system of claim 10, further comprising:

an operator workstation coupled to the item selection subsystem via which a user can select the plurality of selected items to be scored.