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Import test questions from Excel

Luke DeWald

May 30, 2017 21:13

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I am wondering if it is possible to get an excel template with necessary fields to import a test?

I really like the convenience of using, giving and grading online tests after they've been imported, but it takes a very long time to take each of the individual steps to create each individual question on a test, so I'm wondering if I could have a sheet that had the required fields that could be keyed in and imported.

It would be great if this functionality on our side as users, but if not, is it possible for you to import them for me?

Thanks for your time

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6 comments

• 
  Adam Sentz July 06, 2022 19:13 Official comment

  FYI - We added QTI question bank imports a while back. Read more here.

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  Jessica Babaker October 17, 2019 12:51

  I agree! The interface for adding questions one at a time is cumbersome and prone to error. You cannot view questions in their entirety after entering them without clicking "Edit" on each question individually, and then the answer boxes are cut off for "long" answers.

  It would be great if we could import an excel file (with specific column/row formatting) that Populi could read and enter the questions automatically. It would also be nice to be able to export the questions/answers from Populi tests to a spreadsheet document.

  As it stands, we currently keep test question banks in spreadsheet documents because it is easier to review, edit , and update questions as the criteria for tests change over time. It would be nice to be able to have them work together!

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  Keon Hercules June 30, 2022 21:22

  This would save us thousands in labor costs. 

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  Jessica Babaker July 07, 2022 10:24

  Adam, I found that Populi article, but it was really challenging to find a program to work with or create a QTI database. I'm inexperienced in this particular task, and it was a challenge for me. I tried but was not successful. Do you have any programs or sites you could give as a reference for creating QTI databases? I appreciate anything you are able to provide!

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  Adam Sentz July 07, 2022 17:15

  Jessica Babaker - QTI is more complicated, but can handle more question types. I think it's generally going to be machine authored to move questions from one place to another. Something like a question bank you received from a curriculum provider. 

  Just to clarify, are we mainly talking about multiple-choice questions or more than that? There are a few "human author-able" formats we could consider. This question is for anybody.

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  Jessica Babaker November 15, 2022 22:31

  Adam Sentz - I'm personally primarily concerned with multiple choice and true/false (which is just a variant of multiple choice), since those are the most common and numerous questions I input. However, I think it would be reasonable to create a "human author-able" uploader where you can only upload a group of questions of the same type (each type having its own formatting requirements), so Populi would know how to read it.

  For instance, if we are able to upload a spreadsheet with the questions and answers then you could select to upload...

  • multiple choice questions
  • true/false questions
  • matching questions
  • short answer questions
  • long answer questions

  So you would need a separate spreadsheet file for each question-type, and each question-type would be required to follow specific formatting that is simple enough for humans to input and for Populi to read.

  ---

  For instance the multiple choice (and true/false) could be very simple and only utilize Column 1:

  Row 1 is the first question, Row 2 is the answer, Rows 3-5 are wrong answers, and Row 6 is blank indicating the end of the question/answers for Question 1. Row 7 is the second question, row 8 is the correct answer, rows 9-12 or 13 or 14 etc. are wrong answers until there is a blank row indicating the end of the question/answers for Question 2. And, so on. For this to work, all questions would have to have answers randomized by default. This also would not work for "All of the above" answers, unless there was a special character that could be used to make that indication to Populi for uploading purposes which would default that correct answer choice to the bottom and not randomize it.

  For matching questions, perhaps 2 columns are utilized, where the questions are in column 1 and the answers are in column two, and more or less the same format is followed where a blank row indicates the end of each question.

  I know these are very specific examples, but hopefully they help to frame the concept. There still needs to be some way to easily review and edit all questions after uploading/inputting for quality control, but that is probably a different feature request!