Hi. I am revising an exam in Word 2003 which has had some exam questions
pasted into it from another exam, most of which has different formatting
and wierd numbering and lettering. My question is, what is the best way
to go through and change all the "distractors" from a) b) c) to A. B.
C. throughout? Should I take out all the numbering and formatting,
then re-do them? My other question is, I have (finally!) grasped the
concept of outline numbering, and set myself up an outline numbered
list to look like the exam question; question # followed by
distractors. I have not quite figured out however if I can make it
into a "style" for exam questions, that I can apply to this new exam.
Hopefully I am making sense! Thanks for any help, Colleen.


--
Colleen

If you link your outline numbering scheme to specific styles (such as the
List Number series) as described in
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numb...Numbering.html, then you
should be able to format your document by applying these styles as
appropriate (this is when the Styles & Formatting task pane comes in really
handy). But if numbering was typed manually, you'll need to remove it
manually after applying the numbered style. If all the incorrectly numbered
"distractors" (never heard them so described before) are numbered with a),
b), c), it should be a simple matter for Find and Replace to search for
these combinations in turn and replace them with nothing. If the number is
followed by a tab character, your search text would be, for example:

a)^t

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Colleen" wrote in message
...

Hi. I am revising an exam in Word 2003 which has had some exam questions
pasted into it from another exam, most of which has different formatting
and wierd numbering and lettering. My question is, what is the best way
to go through and change all the "distractors" from a) b) c) to A. B.
C. throughout? Should I take out all the numbering and formatting,
then re-do them? My other question is, I have (finally!) grasped the
concept of outline numbering, and set myself up an outline numbered
list to look like the exam question; question # followed by
distractors. I have not quite figured out however if I can make it
into a "style" for exam questions, that I can apply to this new exam.
Hopefully I am making sense! Thanks for any help, Colleen.


--
Colleen

Technically, the "distractors" are all of the "selectable-response
options" for one "item" of a "multiple-choice test" (ed. sometimes
erroneously called an objective test) except the correct or, more
accurately, the wanted one.

P. M. Sadler, "Psychometric Models of Student Conceptions in Science,"
Journal of Research in Science Teaching (1998. V. 35, N. 3, pp. 265-296).

--

Tom
MSMVP
Windows Shell/User


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
: If you link your outline numbering scheme to specific styles (such as
the
: List Number series) as described in
: http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numb...Numbering.html, then
you
: should be able to format your document by applying these styles as
: appropriate (this is when the Styles & Formatting task pane comes in
really
: handy). But if numbering was typed manually, you'll need to remove it
: manually after applying the numbered style. If all the incorrectly
numbered
: "distractors" (never heard them so described before) are numbered with
a),
: b), c), it should be a simple matter for Find and Replace to search for
: these combinations in turn and replace them with nothing. If the number
is
: followed by a tab character, your search text would be, for example:
:
: a)^t
:
: --
: Suzanne S. Barnhill
: Microsoft MVP (Word)
: Words into Type
: Fairhope, Alabama USA
: Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
: Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so
: all may benefit.
:
: "Colleen" wrote in message
: ...
:
: Hi. I am revising an exam in Word 2003 which has had some exam
questions
: pasted into it from another exam, most of which has different
formatting
: and wierd numbering and lettering. My question is, what is the best
way
: to go through and change all the "distractors" from a) b) c) to A. B.
: C. throughout? Should I take out all the numbering and formatting,
: then re-do them? My other question is, I have (finally!) grasped the
: concept of outline numbering, and set myself up an outline numbered
: list to look like the exam question; question # followed by
: distractors. I have not quite figured out however if I can make it
: into a "style" for exam questions, that I can apply to this new exam.
: Hopefully I am making sense! Thanks for any help, Colleen.
:
:
: --
: Colleen
:

That's what I would have assumed--i.e., the incorrect but seductively
designed answers. Creating these is quite an art, and it can be very
difficult to come up with as many as three in some cases.

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the newsgroup so
all may benefit.

"Tom Ferguson" wrote in message
...
Technically, the "distractors" are all of the "selectable-response
options" for one "item" of a "multiple-choice test" (ed. sometimes
erroneously called an objective test) except the correct or, more
accurately, the wanted one.

P. M. Sadler, "Psychometric Models of Student Conceptions in Science,"
Journal of Research in Science Teaching (1998. V. 35, N. 3, pp. 265-296).

--

Tom
MSMVP
Windows Shell/User


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
: If you link your outline numbering scheme to specific styles (such as
the
: List Number series) as described in
: http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numb...Numbering.html, then
you
: should be able to format your document by applying these styles as
: appropriate (this is when the Styles & Formatting task pane comes in
really
: handy). But if numbering was typed manually, you'll need to remove it
: manually after applying the numbered style. If all the incorrectly
numbered
: "distractors" (never heard them so described before) are numbered with
a),
: b), c), it should be a simple matter for Find and Replace to search for
: these combinations in turn and replace them with nothing. If the number
is
: followed by a tab character, your search text would be, for example:
:
: a)^t
:
: --
: Suzanne S. Barnhill
: Microsoft MVP (Word)
: Words into Type
: Fairhope, Alabama USA
: Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
: Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so
: all may benefit.
:
: "Colleen" wrote in message
: ...
:
: Hi. I am revising an exam in Word 2003 which has had some exam
questions
: pasted into it from another exam, most of which has different
formatting
: and wierd numbering and lettering. My question is, what is the best
way
: to go through and change all the "distractors" from a) b) c) to A. B.
: C. throughout? Should I take out all the numbering and formatting,
: then re-do them? My other question is, I have (finally!) grasped the
: concept of outline numbering, and set myself up an outline numbered
: list to look like the exam question; question # followed by
: distractors. I have not quite figured out however if I can make it
: into a "style" for exam questions, that I can apply to this new exam.
: Hopefully I am making sense! Thanks for any help, Colleen.
:
:
: --
: Colleen
:

When it's done poorly -- as it is in almost every computer-based test I've
ever looked at -- you get choices that can't be distinguished from one
another even by a subject-matter expert. Then the student is left to try to
eliminate any obviously wrong answers and take a random guess among the
remaining ones. That doesn't tell you whether the student knows anything at
all about the subject.

Did I mention that I despise "educationese"? For example, is there such a
thing as a "nonselectable-response option"? If not, then why obfuscate
"options" by tacking on "selectable-response"?

Excuse me, I have to go take my curmudgeon pills now...

--
Regards,
Jay Freedman
Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org

Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote:
That's what I would have assumed--i.e., the incorrect but seductively
designed answers. Creating these is quite an art, and it can be very
difficult to come up with as many as three in some cases.


"Tom Ferguson" wrote in message
...
Technically, the "distractors" are all of the "selectable-response
options" for one "item" of a "multiple-choice test" (ed. sometimes
erroneously called an objective test) except the correct or, more
accurately, the wanted one.

P. M. Sadler, "Psychometric Models of Student Conceptions in
Science," Journal of Research in Science Teaching (1998. V. 35, N.
3, pp. 265-296).

--

Tom
MSMVP
Windows Shell/User


"Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
...
If you link your outline numbering scheme to specific styles (such
as the List Number series) as described in
http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numb...Numbering.html,
then you should be able to format your document by applying these
styles as appropriate (this is when the Styles & Formatting task
pane comes in really handy). But if numbering was typed manually,
you'll need to remove it manually after applying the numbered
style. If all the incorrectly numbered "distractors" (never heard
them so described before) are numbered with a), b), c), it should
be a simple matter for Find and Replace to search for these
combinations in turn and replace them with nothing. If the number
is followed by a tab character, your search text would be, for
example:

a)^t

--
Suzanne S. Barnhill
Microsoft MVP (Word)
Words into Type
Fairhope, Alabama USA
Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
newsgroup so all may benefit.

"Colleen" wrote in
message ...

Hi. I am revising an exam in Word 2003 which has had some exam
questions pasted into it from another exam, most of which has
different formatting and wierd numbering and lettering. My
question is, what is the best way to go through and change all the
"distractors" from a) b) c) to A. B. C. throughout? Should I take
out all the numbering and formatting, then re-do them? My other
question is, I have (finally!) grasped the concept of outline
numbering, and set myself up an outline numbered list to look like
the exam question; question # followed by distractors. I have not
quite figured out however if I can make it into a "style" for exam
questions, that I can apply to this new exam. Hopefully I am
making sense! Thanks for any help, Colleen.


--
Colleen

Comments in-line.

"Jay Freedman" wrote in message
...
: When it's done poorly -- as it is in almost every computer-based test
I've
: ever looked at -- you get choices that can't be distinguished from one
: another even by a subject-matter expert. Then the student is left to
try to
: eliminate any obviously wrong answers and take a random guess among the
: remaining ones. That doesn't tell you whether the student knows
anything at
: all about the subject.
:
Even worse, to my mind, are the tests with distractors that would be
considered correct by some subject experts but not by the test
constrructors. I have seen and written some examples from Psychology. In
the minds of some, I might have even constructed a test item or five like
that myself.

: Did I mention that I despise "educationese"? For example, is there such
a
: thing as a "nonselectable-response option"? If not, then why obfuscate
: "options" by tacking on "selectable-response"?

Admittedly, like all specialist jargon, educationese is frequently
overdone or misused and can be incomprehensible. However, there are
options with respect to test construction other than "selectable-response
options". One can give the information and ask for a "constructed short
answer". Granted, when referring to a completed testing instrument form,
it is silly to refer to "selectable-response options".

All the best.

Tom
P.S.
My easily-missed pont was that it is incorrect ot refer to all of the
choices as distractors. At least one of them must be the correct choice
for which the three others (the usually recommended number) are the
distractors.
TF

:
: Excuse me, I have to go take my curmudgeon pills now...
:
: --
: Regards,
: Jay Freedman
: Microsoft Word MVP FAQ: http://word.mvps.org
:
: Suzanne S. Barnhill wrote:
: That's what I would have assumed--i.e., the incorrect but seductively
: designed answers. Creating these is quite an art, and it can be very
: difficult to come up with as many as three in some cases.
:
:
: "Tom Ferguson" wrote in message
: ...
: Technically, the "distractors" are all of the "selectable-response
: options" for one "item" of a "multiple-choice test" (ed. sometimes
: erroneously called an objective test) except the correct or, more
: accurately, the wanted one.
:
: P. M. Sadler, "Psychometric Models of Student Conceptions in
: Science," Journal of Research in Science Teaching (1998. V. 35, N.
: 3, pp. 265-296).
:
: --
:
: Tom
: MSMVP
: Windows Shell/User
:
:
: "Suzanne S. Barnhill" wrote in message
: ...
: If you link your outline numbering scheme to specific styles (such
: as the List Number series) as described in
: http://www.shaunakelly.com/word/numb...Numbering.html,
: then you should be able to format your document by applying these
: styles as appropriate (this is when the Styles & Formatting task
: pane comes in really handy). But if numbering was typed manually,
: you'll need to remove it manually after applying the numbered
: style. If all the incorrectly numbered "distractors" (never heard
: them so described before) are numbered with a), b), c), it should
: be a simple matter for Find and Replace to search for these
: combinations in turn and replace them with nothing. If the number
: is followed by a tab character, your search text would be, for
: example:
:
: a)^t
:
: --
: Suzanne S. Barnhill
: Microsoft MVP (Word)
: Words into Type
: Fairhope, Alabama USA
: Word MVP FAQ site: http://word.mvps.org
: Email cannot be acknowledged; please post all follow-ups to the
: newsgroup so all may benefit.
:
: "Colleen" wrote in
: message ...
:
: Hi. I am revising an exam in Word 2003 which has had some exam
: questions pasted into it from another exam, most of which has
: different formatting and wierd numbering and lettering. My
: question is, what is the best way to go through and change all the
: "distractors" from a) b) c) to A. B. C. throughout? Should I take
: out all the numbering and formatting, then re-do them? My other
: question is, I have (finally!) grasped the concept of outline
: numbering, and set myself up an outline numbered list to look like
: the exam question; question # followed by distractors. I have not
: quite figured out however if I can make it into a "style" for exam
: questions, that I can apply to this new exam. Hopefully I am
: making sense! Thanks for any help, Colleen.
:
:
: --
: Colleen
:
: