Your first test

A test in AutoMark is one thing, not two: the questions you ask and the answers you’ll mark against. That’s why the paper you print comes out of AutoMark — the printed layout and the answer key are two views of the same test, which is how the marking knows where each answer belongs on the page.

Start from the Tests page and choose New test.

Three ways in

Pick whichever door matches what you already have. They all land you in the same editor, with the same test.

Type it

Build the test from a blank page, question by question. For each question you choose its type, write the question, set what it’s worth, and enter the correct answer. It’s the most direct route and gives you the most control over how the paper prints.

Paste it

Already written the test in Word or Docs? Paste the text in and AutoMark sorts it into questions for you. You still confirm the types, the marks, and the answers — pasting just saves the typing. You’ll find this door in the editor when you start a blank test.

Scan an existing paper

Got the test on paper from last year? Choose to start from a scanned paper, upload a photo or PDF, and AutoMark reads it into a draft test you can edit.

You’ll be asked what you’re uploading: a blank paper (it finds the questions, you type the key on the next screen), an answer key or completed paper (it reads the answers out too), or both. Anything it read off the scan is labelled as such and waits for you to confirm it — a scanned key is never taken on trust.

The answer key

Every question carries its correct answer and the marks it’s worth. As you fill it in:

• Accept what you’d accept on paper. If 0.75 and 3/4 are both fine, say so — a question can hold more than one acceptable answer. You can also add an answer later, mid-marking, when a student’s phrasing turns out to be fair.
• Marks are per question, and a multi-part question carries marks per part.
• Structured beats open-ended. Multiple choice, true/false, a number, a word or a short written answer all mark cleanly. Three paragraphs of argument is not what AutoMark is for.

The question types you’ll see in the editor’s type list are the ones your account has available; more formats are being added through the beta.

Check the preview

The preview beside the editor shows the paper as it will print. Read it the way a student will: is there room to write the answer? Are the questions numbered the way you expect? Be generous with answer space — cramped boxes produce cramped handwriting, and cramped handwriting is harder for anyone to read.

Print the papers

When it looks right, use Print…. AutoMark runs a quick pre-flight check first — unsaved changes, questions still missing an answer, total marks, page count — and then hands you two PDFs to print yourself: the test and the answer key.

Depending on how you like to run a test, you may also see options to generate alternate versions of the paper (the same questions in a shuffled order) and to print a personalised paper per student with their name already on it. Both are optional; a plain printed paper works fine.

Two habits worth forming now:

• Print from AutoMark, not from your own copy of the test. A paper AutoMark didn’t generate won’t line up with the key.
• Reprint after edits. Editing a test that’s already been used creates a new version of it. Results already marked keep the version they were marked against, so nothing you’ve committed changes — but the paper in your hand needs to match the version you’re about to mark.

Finally, ask students to write their name where the paper asks for it. That name is what AutoMark uses to match the paper back to your roster.

Next

Mark a class set: Your first marking run.