Scoring Services

Important Reminder

Student exams are confidential and protected records, and as such should never be sent via Campus Mail services.

Who We Are and What We Provide

Scoring Services is a faculty support unit located within the Registrar's Office in Old Main 230. We provide machine scoring of exams using a Scantron optical mark scanner and standard WWU Answer Sheets.

We also keep a quarterly cumulative file of student IDs, names, and scores by class as well as generate a number of reports. Our office also supplies scantrons which are available for pickup during office hours.

As of September 27, 2023, the Disability Access Center (DAC) will again offer an option to instructors to have their completed exams and Scantrons delivered directly to Scoring Services. You can email them at studaff.DSS.DRS@wwu.edu with any questions.

How to Prepare for Scoring

To prepare classroom tests for scoring, instructors should read the instructions on the Job Cover Sheet, and assemble a packet in an inter-office envelope which includes:

  • Job Cover Sheet
  • Student Answer Sheets
  • Answer Key(s)

Either deliver this packet to Old Main 230 or email us to arrange for courier pickup from your departmental office.

A Projection Template is available for faculty to utilize as an instructional tool for their courses and is available in the Files section.

Student filling in exam scantron with pencil.

Contact

Renata Gutierrez
Program Specialist II
360-650-3081

Office & Hours:
Old Main 230
Mon–Fri 8:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

Email:
Scoring.Services@wwu.edu

Files

Additional Information

  • Each job to be scored must be accompanied by a Job Cover Sheet. You can print this online PDF version or you can obtain one from the Scoring Services office, Old Main 230.
  • The first two lines identify your class; please fill in the Dept and Course number (e.g., ENG 101).
  • Date / Days / Time: Fill in today's date, the days your class meets, and the time your class begins. This helps us to select the correct class for future tests.
  • Test Type / Form / Number:
    • Exam is the default test type. If you want your reports to have columns labeled to show scores as a quiz, for example, mark Quiz. If you are planning to drop any scores at end of quarter, you must choose the same label for every exam for scoring purposes, even if you make distinctions among quizzes, finals, midterms, etc., for your own records. Test Form is the version. Mark as many as are appropriate. A is the default. And the Test Number is the accumulated number of tests for that class, in that quarter.
    • Test Key Instructions: Always complete Total points and whether you want raw scores or percentage scores. Complete b, c, d & e as necessary.
    • Essay Points: Note the 3-digit field in the upper right corner of the Answer Sheet labeled Essay. Here you may enter additional points that can either be included with multiple choice test score or scanned separately as another score (lab, paper scores, or extra credit for example). Indicate the total number of essay points possible in the blank provided and fill in this number on your key. On the student Answer Sheets, fill in ALL THREE SPACES, so that a score of 23 would be marked as 023 in the Essay field.
    • Weight: Default weight is one point per question. If you wish to change the weight for ALL items, note that weight here. If you wish to weight different items by different amounts, indicate item numbers and corresponding weights. Decimal fractions to two points on either side of the decimal point are allowed.
    • More than one correct answer: If there are items for which more than one response is correct, mark all correct responses on the key, then note the item numbers on the Job Cover Sheet. If only one of those possible responses should be allowed, that is, EITHER but not both, mark OR. If all marked responses are required, mark AND.
    • Omit: If there are questions you'd like omitted from the exam, erase them from the key and note the item numbers in this section of the Job Cover Sheet.
  • Reports: Provide your email address in the space provided and check the boxes for the reports you want emailed to you. You will be sent an Excel formatted student roster and pdf versions of requested reports as soon as your exam has been scored. The scanned and scored test answer sheets will be delivered to your departmental office.
  • Special Instructions: Use this section for any other instructions for scoring and to clarify your preferences.
  • Use standard WWU Answer Sheets which are available for faculty in departmental offices.
  • Students must mark the answer sheet with a #2 pencil, and make dark marks which completely cover the bubble; marks must be dark enough that the number or letter printed in the space cannot be read through the mark. Students must supply both name and student number (correctly bubbled) on the first test taken in a course, and student number (correctly bubbled) on every subsequent test.
  • Before submitting the answer sheets to Scoring Services please review for complete information (name, student number, and test version, if required).
  • Before submitting the answer sheets, please arrange to ensure all face in the same direction.
  • Instructor Tips for Prompt and Accurate Scoring:

    Correcting errors, omissions, and poor markings on answer sheets account for 25% to 50% of the time consumed in the scoring process. To ensure prompt scoring of your tests, please acquaint yourself and your students with proper marking techniques, and encourage students to double-check gridding of student number, name, and test version (when applicable). See the Job Cover Sheet for details to read to your class before each test.
  • To prepare an answer key, fill in the correct answers on a standard answer sheet. Use a #2 pencil and make dark marks that completely cover the bubble. If more than one answer is correct for any item, mark all possible correct responses. Leave omitted items blank.
  • Label the sheet clearly as a "Key", and include your name and class information.
  • If you are administering only one version of a test, mark "A" in the TEST FORM field.
  • If you are administering more than one version, mark the appropriate letter: A, B, C, or D, in the TEST FORM field. You must make a separate Key for each version. Instruct students to mark the TEST FORM field for the version they are taking. If students do not mark the version, their answer sheets will be returned unscored or scored as version A (default). It is not necessary to sort the answer sheets by version.