Frequently Asked Questions

The following steps need to be take at the start of each semester.

Adding Course Staff

Courses in PrairieTest are setup with the people who requested the course as "Owners".  If you need to add additional staff, you can do that through PrairieTest by going into you course and then to the "Staff" tab.  Once there click "Add Staff". 

Enroll Students in PrairieTest

Students will not be able to register for exams until they are enrolled in PrairieTest.  It is best to enroll students as early as possible to allow them more opportunities to find an exam time that works for their schedule.  Students are able to begin registering for exams approximately two weeks before the testing window.  Waiting to enroll students will result in students having fewer scheduling options because students enrolled in other courses will have already taken up available options.

For information about how to enroll students see "Adding Students" in the section below.

Naming Exams

When you start the semester, exams will have already been added to our course in PrairieTest.  However, you are able to choose how you name your exams.  It is recommended that you choose the same name for that exams that you use in PrairieLearn.

Linking Exams

Before each exam you will need to link the scheduler examUuid into the PrairieLearn assessment access rules so that students checking into a CBTF lab can access their exam.If an exam is not linked when a student arrives to the lab, the student will not have access and will need to reschedule at a later time.

You can check to see if your exam is linked to PrairieLearn from the Exams tab in PrairieLearn.

For more information about how to link an exam, see "Linking Exams" in the section below.

Students will not be able to make reservations until they have been added to your course.  Instructions for managing PrairieTest rosters can also be found here.

Manual Enrollment

To add students to your PrairieTest course:

1. Go to the "Students" tab at the top of your course.
2. Click the "Add Students" option
3. Copy/paste in a list of netid@illinois.edu email addresses separated by new lines or commas.

Syncing / Updating Rosters

To update your  PrairieTest roster (adding / removing students):

1. Go to the "Students" tab at the top of your course.
2. Click the "Synchronize student list" option
3. Copy/paste in a list of netid@illinois.edu email addresses separated by new lines or commas.
4. Click "Compare UIDs".

Self-Enrollment

To allow students to self-enroll in your PrairieTest course:

1. Go to the "Course Settings" tab at the top of your course.
2. Toggle the "Self-enrollment" option to "Yes" .     
3. Share the self-enroll link with your course.

Self-enrollment should only be used at the start of the semester and then disabled after course enrollments have stabilized.

Self-enrollment links should only be shared on private class forums.

Students will not be able to access their assessment until it has been linked in PrairieTest.  

Linking PrairieLearn Assessments

To link your exam:

1. Open the infoAssessment.json corresponding to the exam
2. From the Exam Settings tab in PrairieTest, copy the PrairieLearn access rule, which has the following format.

   {
     "mode": "Exam",
     "examUuid": "41330c3e-8ffa-4ce2-bd8e-73b3029a717b",
     "credit": 100
   }

3. Paste this block of code into allowAccess inside of the infoAssessment.json.
4. Click "Save and sync"

Linking Assessment from another LMS

Please refer to the documentation regarding integrating your LMS and how to link exams.

To extend the original testing window, follow the procedure outlined below.

1. From your course homepage, choose the exam that needs an override.
2. Click "Overrides" tab.
3. Click the "Add override" button.
4. Enter the student's netid and the start and end date for the override.
5. Click "Add override."

CBTF policy is that students  need to visit a CBTF lab to have a proctor clear a missed test reservation.  Students cannot make new reservations for an exam until their missed reservation is cleared.

However, if course staff would like to delete an existing reservation for a student, follow the procedure below.

1. From your course homepage, choose the exam with the reservation that needs to be deleted.
2. Click the "Reservations" tab on the exam page.
3. Find the UID for the student who needs their exam reservation deleted.
4. Under the "Session" column, click the pencil icon and select "Delete reservation".

PrairieLearn

The majority of CBTF courses in the CBTF utilize PrairieLearn which natively integrates with our scheduling software and aligns with our network security.

Additional Learning Management System (LMS) Options

Courses are welcome to utilize any LMS that can be integrated with our scheduling software.  An API outlining how to configure your LMS  for the CBTF is provided here.

In order to integrate an LMS the following is required:

• Individuals need to be able to configure their LMS according the the specifications provided.
• CBTF Administration must be notified of your plans to integrate our LMS

The CBTF reserves the right to deny or withdraw access to any LMS that is suspected of compromising CBTF security.

Canvas and PrairieLearn can be integrated through an LTI.  The LTI supports grade passback between PrairieLearn and Canvas. 

Directions can be found on the "LMS integration for instructors" page of the PrairieLearn Docs.

If you have questions you can find support on PrarieLearn Slack or contact Jim Sosnowski.

Developing effective assessments is a difficult task that depends on many variables. PrairieLearn provides a variety of statistical analyses that can help you determine whether your exams are effectively measuring your students' abilities.  If you would like assistance with evaluating your assessments, contact Jim Sosnowski and Julie Baker (for LAS courses).

You can access your exam statistics by clicking either the "Statistics" or "Question stats" tabs for any of your PrairieLearn Assessments.

Examples and guidelines about the available exam statistics are available below.  Interpreting exam statistics is very context specific so some guidelines may not apply to your specific course.

Score Statistics

For an effective exam, it is typical to see a range of scores on the assessment as shown below.

If scores are skewed too much in either direction, it may be a sign that your exam is not effectively measuring your students' abilities (either too easy or too hard.)

Duration Statistics

For well-designed CBTF exams, it is typical for the majority of students to finish their exam between 40 and 50 minutes.  An example of a well-timed CBTF exam is shown below.

If the majority of students finish in under 30 minutes, your exam may be too easy or not cover enough content, meaning it might be better suited as a homework or in-class assignment.  Alternatively, if very few students are finishing an exam under 40 minutes, the content may be too difficult or it may not be reasonable to expect students to be able to finish in 50 minutes. 

Duration vs Score

Combining both score and duration statistics can provide a more nuanced understanding of the effectiveness of your exam.  A well-designed exam will typically show a trend that is skewed towards the top right of the graph when comparing duration vs score.

If the graph is skewed to the top left, it is likely that the exam is too easy and a distribution that tends toward the bottom right of the graph is an indicator that the exam may be too difficult. 

Statistics by Date

It is typical for the average exam score to drop throughout an exam window.

If your exam averages increase or remain even throughout the exam window, this may be an indicator of collaborative cheating due to insufficient randomization in your exam.

Difficulty(Mean score) vs. Discrimination

PrairieLearn also makes it possible to evaluate your assessment at the question level.   Comparing the mean score of each question with the discrimination percentage can help you identify overall problems with your exam or individual questions that are not performing as expected.

Difficulty Score = Average score of all students on a question.

Discrimination = Measurement of how well a question differentiates between high-performing and low-performing test-takers.

A well-designed test will have mean averages ranging from 50% - 90% and question discrimination should be above 20% and not spread across a range.

There are multiple reasons why a student wouldn't be able to make a reservation.

1. Students have not been added to the PrairieTest Course.  (See "Adding Students" for help.)
2. Student has an existing reservation.  The student needs to visit a CBTF lab to have a proctor clear their missed reservation.
3. Testing window has closed. (See "Creating Overrides" for help.)
4. There are not open times for testing.  Students should check additional days or request an override.

Individual Student Problems

If a student experiences a problem in our lab (login problems, individual computer failure, calculator problems, etc), they should talk to a proctor and file an incident report.  Incident reports are emailed to you and contain a description of the situation. Incident reports must be filed before a student leaves the lab.  We are not able to track incidents or provide information about an incident if a report is not filed at the time of the problem.

Testing Crisis

If there is a situation (loss of power in the building, network outage, exam not working for all students) you will receive an email notifying you of the situation.  That email will be followed up with more information from a CBTF admin with additional details and suggestions for how to mitigate the problem.

1. Course staff cannot add DRES accommodations to student profiles for testing in the CBTF.  Accommodations added to student profiles are not applied to tests take in the CBTF.
2. Students must upload their LOA to: https://cbtf.illinois.edu/students/dres

Accommodations can take up to 5 days to be added to a student's profile and are not retroactive.  Students will need to delete existing reservations for their testing accommodations to be applied.

The CBTF strives to accommodate all students and offers accommodations as outlined by Disability Resources and Educational Services (DRES). In situations where a particular DRES accommodation cannot be provided, we will collaborate with the student, you,  and their Access Specialist to identify the most suitable alternative.

If there are instances in which the CBTF cannot support a student's testing accommodation, faculty members may need to be involved in providing alternative forms of assessment.

Does the CBTF follow student code for exam scheduling?

Equivalent Release from Regular Class Periods

Student code (Article 3, Part 2, Section 202) states students should be "excused from one or more regular class periods for an amount of time equivalent to that required for the outside-of-class period examination." 

For CBTF exams, release from class should be equivalent to the length of the exam reservation in the CBTF. 

• 50 minute exam reservation = 50 release from class time

• 1hr 50 minute exam reservation = 1hr 50 minute release from class time

Faculty members are responsible for adjusting their class periods to comply with policies regarding outside-of-class-period exams.The following strategies can be used to provide students with the required release from class time:

• Cancel Class
• Create course quiz sections
• Convert some class sessions to be optional (e.g. review sessions before or after an exam)
• Add credit hours to the course

For more information on campus policies regarding outside-of-class-period exams, please refer to the Student Code.

Exam Windows

CBTF exam windows are designed to comply with examination guidelines outlined in the student code. Exam windows in the CBTF cover multiple days to provide students with opportunities to select the exam time that will work best for them and with their schedules.  When exam windows include weekend testing options,  weekday testing opportunities are also intentionally included. Testing is not conducted during campus holidays, breaks,  or during any other times in which testing is prohibited.

For more information on campus policies regarding outside-of-class-period exams, please refer to the Student Code.

Exam Windows

CBTF exam windows are designed to comply with examination guidelines outlined in the student code. Exam windows in the CBTF cover multiple days to provide students with opportunities to select the exam time that will work best for them and with their schedules.  When exam windows include weekend testing options,  weekday testing opportunities are also intentionally included. Testing is not conducted during campus holidays, breaks,  or during any other times in which testing is prohibited.

For more information on campus policies regarding outside-of-class-period exams, please refer to the Student Code.

An explanation of the CBTF exam policies and procedures can be found under Policies and Procedures on the Student Info page.

CBTF computers are  Windows based systems that are only equipped with a web browser.  No additional software (MATLAB, Python, Excel, etc) are available on the computers.

All software that is need for an exam is provided through PrairieLearn.

Course staff can see how many seats are available for reservations by clicking into any of your exams in PrairieTest.  Once in an exam, click the blue "View seat availability in CBTF".

That link will allow you to see the number of seats that are available and total capacity in the CBTF.

The CBTF provides TI-34 calculators for every exam.  Personal calculators are not permitted and the Windows calculator is not available on the CBTF computers.

Please take time before your first exam to familiarize yourself with the calculator that you will have in the CBTF.

• TI-34 Calculaor FAQ
• TI-34 MultiView Quick Reference Information
• Calculator Tutorial Video
  • Memory (3:31)
  • Button Mode (8:05)
  • Classic vs Math Print (8:20)
  • Square Roots (9:54)
  • Math Print Mode (10:34)
  • Higher Order Square Roots (11:24)
  • Exponents (12:07)
  • Scientific Notation (13:21)
  • Pi (14:50)