Read this first. The games do not play your test. ClassSense reads the test, works out which skills it covers, builds skill packs for those skills, and the games draw on the multiple choice questions in those packs. Your original items, with your wording and your numbers, do not appear.
Why that is the right behaviour for review
A review game built on the exact questions of the coming test teaches students the test, not the topic. Questions built from the same skills but with new wording tell you whether they know the content. And because the original items never appear in the game, last year's test stays usable as a test.
What an old test offers as a source
A test is dense with what you decided counts. Each question points at a skill, and the answer key shows what you consider correct. What it lacks is explanation, since a test never teaches. So the first thing to do is add a little back.
- Include the answer key. If the key is a separate page, merge it into the same file, so the answers sit alongside the questions.
- Add one line per question. "Common error: used the diameter instead of the radius." It is the most useful line in the whole document.
- Include the reading or the notes. A test that quizzes a passage is useless without the passage.
- Delete the figures you can't fix. Questions that depend on a diagram or graph that is a picture lose their meaning, so the skill will be inferred from what remains.
Formats and pitfalls
| Your test is | What to do |
|---|---|
| A Word file | Upload as .docx. Questions typed in tables are read; text boxes, headers and footers are not |
| A PDF exported from Word | Fine, if you can select the text |
| A scan of a printed test | Recognition may be attempted but errors are likely. Find the original |
| A photo of handwriting or a marked-up copy | Handwriting does not survive. Retype |
| A test written in a quiz website | Copy the questions into a Word file first, with the answers |
From test to game
Prepare the file
Questions, the answer key, a line on common errors, and any reading they depend on. Save as .docx or PDF.
Upload and wait
Materials, then Choose File. About three minutes.
Check the skills
Do the skill names match what your test covered? Remove any you did not intend. Publish the rest.
Run a game
Students join with your class code, pick a nickname, and play one of the four games: Never Look Down, Arena Brawl, Dig It Up or Escape Lab.
What the games do
The questions in the games come from the published skill packs. Students pick a nickname, choose a format, and their answers update mastery just like any other practice, so the review session leaves you with a record of who is shaky on what. The page on classroom review games describes them, and how to run a review game covers the routine that keeps a game from becoming noise. For what the results mean, see mastery tracking.
Where this does not fit
If you want students competing on your exact items, you want a tool that imports your questions, and this is not that. There is also no assignment scheduling, so a review is something students do when you tell them to. And because skill packs may be held for review if they fail quality checks, glance at the list before the class arrives.
Common questions
Will the game use my actual test questions?
No. ClassSense builds skill packs from the skills the test covers and the games use the multiple choice questions in those packs, not your original items.
Is it safe to reuse last year's test for review?
Since the games do not show your original items, a review does not give away the test questions. Still, keep the original test file private.
Which games are there?
Four: Never Look Down, Arena Brawl, Dig It Up and Escape Lab.
Do students need accounts?
They create a student account and join with your class code, then pick a nickname for the game.