Express Test: Define Test Map

After creating an express test, the next step is to define the standards and other options that will determine how test items are selected for the test. Only items in item banks that you have access to can be included on an express test.

To select standards and define the test map:

1. After entering the test properties on the test creation page, verify the Standards Document, Subject, and Grade Level. In some cases, the selected standard determines the available subjects and grades choices.
2. Optional: Enter a standard ID or keywords (whole or partial) into the search field and click Find. Matching standards are highlighted and the results count displays. This search locates exact matches only.
3. In the Standard column, select the checkboxes for the standards you want. The number of test items aligned to each standard is listed in the Available Items column. If you select standards not covered by existing items in an item bank, blank questions will be created, which you can complete later.
4. Click Add to Test Map. The Define Test Map area will expand. You can expand the Select Standards area at any time while defining your test map to add more standards.
5. In the Define Test Map area, select any filters you want to apply to test items, and then click Apply Filters.
   • Item Banks: Click Select Banks to select specific banks to pull test items from.
   • Exclude all items used on tests: Excludes questions that are used on any test (all test categories) for all schools, students, and sections.
   • Exclude items with Passages: Excludes items that include passages.
   • Advanced Filters: Select the item type or other filters such as Item Type, Bloom's TaxonomyA multi-tiered scale for learning objectives used to define how well a skill or compentency is learned or mastered., Passage Type, Question Language, and Item Statistics. The language option is available for school districts that support languages other than English.
6. Enter the number of items you would like for each standard in the Items column. The Available Items column counts only items in the item banks that you have access to.

   Check the Available Items column as you are entering the number of items. If the number in the Items column is greater than the number in the corresponding Available Items column, your test will contain blank items. These items will have no content but will be pre-aligned to the appropriate standard. Blank items appear in a different color, to indicate that they need content.

7. Select which standards to keep for the test items:
   • Keep only the selected alignments: Keep only the standards selected in the test map for each item.
   • Keep all the items' original alignments: Keep all of the standards aligned to each item, including standards not selected in the test map. The primary standard will be the first standard selected in the test map
8. Click Build Express Test.

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