The Selection tab is where you:
•Fill the question pool
•Select which questions from the pool will actually be used on the test
•Set the sequence in which the questions are presented on the test (Optional)
What is the question pool?
The question pool consists of all the questions contained in the test units, minus those excluded by any filters.
Loading the question pool means fetching those questions that are indirectly specified by the test units. Consider, for example, a test that consists of program training units. Each training unit contains a sequence of objectives. And each of these objectives contains (possibly) a set of questions. Thus the set of training units indirectly specifies a population of questions.
This population of questions constitutes the question pool—unless you use filters, which results in a question pool that is a subset of the total population of questions specified by the test units.
Question Pool Filters
To define filters, click the "Load" menu button and use the choices on the "Define Filter" sub-menu: Training Unit, Objective, and Question. If a filter choice is disabled, it is because the filter does not apply to the type of test units you have chosen for your test.
To apply the filter(s) that you have defined, click the "Load" menu button and choose "Filtered". If you would like to fill the question pool without using the defined filter(s), then choose "Unfiltered" from the "Load" button's menu.
What’s a Filter and When Should I Use It
Question Selection
Once the question pool is filled, the next step is to select from that pool the specific questions that you want to appear on the test. You can do this manually, question by question, by checking the boxes next to the desired questions. Or, you can define a selection profile—a "recipe" or set of selection criteria—to automatically select questions from the pool.
Questions get selected in several ways
1.Questions in the question pool that are marked "Always select" will be selected automatically when the question pool is loaded. You can unselect such questions if you must.
2.Questions get selected when you apply a selection profile. This is done using the "Select by Profile" item on the Select button menu on the Selection tab of the test workscreen.
a.The purpose of a profile is to save you the labor of selecting the questions one by one. Note that you need to define a profile before you can apply it.
b.VISION cannot always fulfill the exact specifications of a profile. VISION will tell you if it can't. In that case, review the questions that VISION randomly selects. You can override or augment the results of applying a profile by selecting or un-selecting questions afterward. Also, you can reapply a profile to get a (possibly) different random selection that meets the profile.
3.Questions can be selected using the other choices on the Select button.
4.Questions can be selected directly on the Selection page by checking the checkbox next to the question topic. (Since only Active questions can be selected, the checkbox next to any non-Active question is disabled.)
More about question selection profiles
Controls
Question Pool Pane Overview
This is the question pool, showing the questions and the test units they were drawn from. Right-click for a menu to show/hide rows & columns. You can rearrange the columns by dragging the column headers.
•To enlarge this window, click the Hide Xref button, or stretch the test window, or both.
•Please click the Help button for more information.
Question pool pane
The Question Pool pane shows the questions in the pool defined by the test units and any filters that may be in use.
The questions are shown amidst the test units from which they were drawn. So, depending on what kind of unit the test is comprised of, objectives and programs may also appear in the pane, in addition to the questions themselves.
If no questions appear, either there are none within the test units or the pool hasn't been loaded from those units yet. To load questions from the test units, click the Load button and select Filtered or Unfiltered from the drop menu.
The checkmarked questions are the questions selected for the test—that is, that actually appear on the test.
Right-click Menu
Right-click on the pane for a menu of choices for choosing which rows and columns to display. You can also access the column menu by right-clicking on the column headers.
Column Layout
You can drag the column headers sideways to rearrange the column order. You can stretch the column headers sideways to change the column widths. VISION will remember your preference for column order, column width, and column visibility.
Sorting
Click on a column header to sort the display according to the contents of that column. Click on the same column header to sort in the reverse direction.
Note that Sorting is enabled only when the pane is showing a simple list, not a hierarchical view, where sorting would be inappropriate. A simple list is a display without the little plus/minus buttons. It is a display in which only one kind of data—questions, objectives, or programs—is showing.
The pane can show a simple list for one of several reasons:
•The test units themselves are questions.
•Using the right-click menu, you have elected to hide all but one kind of data.
•You are in question-ordering mode.
Sorting only changes your view; it doesn't change the test in any way, unless you are in question-ordering mode—i.e., the Order button is depressed. In question-ordering mode, sorting actually changes the order of questions on the test. (In question-ordering mode, you can also drag the questions to change their test order.)
Load button
Use the choices on the Load button menu to fill the question pool. "Filtered" means load the question pool from the test units, applying any filters defined for this test. "Unfiltered" means load all the questions from the test units, ignoring any defined filters.
To define a filter, use the choices on the "Define Filter" submenu. (A checkbox next to an item on that submenu means a filter of that type has been defined for this test.)
Select button
Use the choices on the Select button menu to select/unselect the questions in the Question Pool pane. Selecting a question means selecting it for the test.
Note that when you unselect questions using the Select menu, questions marked "Always select" remain selected. Of course, you can also select questions by directly clicking the checkboxes in the Question Pool pane.
Selecting a question places it at the end of the question order for the test, unless the question was already selected.
Selecting by Profile
To select the questions according to a selection profile, choose "Select by Profile" from the menu. That menu item is enabled only if a profile has been defined for this test. To define a profile, choose menu item "Define Profile". If a profile has been defined, that menu item will have a checkmark next to it.
Order button
Push in the Order button to enter question-ordering mode. Push out to exit question-ordering mode and reinstate your prior view of the Question Pool pane.
In question-ordering mode, the questions are shown in the order they appear on the test. The order column is highlighted to emphasize this point. In ordering mode, you can rearrange questions by dragging and dropping them; you can also rearrange them by sorting on a column.
When you rearrange questions in ordering mode—be it by dragging or by sorting—this becomes the new question order.
Shuffle button
This button appears only when the Order button is depressed. Shuffle the question order randomly. Each press of the button reshuffles the order.
Expand button
Use the choices on the Expand button menu to expand (open) or collapse (close) the "branches" in the hierarchy displayed above in the Question Pool pane. Of course, you can also expand and collapse by directly clicking the little plus/minus buttons in the pane itself.
Properties button
Click the Properties button to view or edit the data object in the active row of the Question Pool pane. Double-clicking on a row does the same thing.
Preview button
Click the Preview button to see what a question (or questions) will look like on a VISION exam. The preview document will show all questions in the highlighted rows, regardless of whether the questions are selected for the test. The correct answer is also shown (so you are really seeing what the question will look like on the answer key).
Note: For multiple-choice questions with randomized distractors, the correct answer always appears in position A—in preview. But you may rest assured that on the actual exam document, the answer will appear in a random position.
Show/Hide Xref
Show or hide the pane (below) that displays what Cross Reference table items are linked to the item selected above in the Question Pool pane.
Linked Cross Reference Items
This pane shows what Cross Reference items are linked to the entry selected above in the Question Pool pane. Note that you can't edit the items here. You can hide this pane in order to see more of the Question Pool pane. To do that, click the Hide Xref button.
Click on a column header to sort the list by that column. You can rearrange the columns by dragging the column headers. VISION will remember the order and widths that you set for the columns.
See Also
