SAT Authoring Guide

8/6/2019 SAT Authoring Guide

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SAT Authoring

The ProjectOur current SAT course diagnostic tests are not as reflective of the real ETS tests as they should be. Weare going to overhaul these 4 exams to bring the questions and question distribution more in line withETS tone, style, and content. This guide explains how to qualify as an author and how the authoringprocess works.

The Item Creation ProcessA test item consists of several parts:

• Item data. Each item is classified according to the item format, skills or knowledge tested,techniques used to solve it, and difficulty level.

• Passage (for RC or Imp. Par. questions) or Chart/Graph (for Charts and Graphs questions)• Question stem• Answer choices for multiple-choice items• Correct answer(s). Depending on the item type, the correct answer can be a single answer

choice or a value the test taker must enter.• Explanation. The explanation walks the test taker through the steps of answering the question

using TPR techniques. It explains why the correct answer is correct and why incorrect choicesare wrong.

RD starts the process by creating the item data. We provide this information to authors so that they’llknow what to write. For example, you might be asked to write a problem-solving question that tests theability to find the area of a circle, can be solved by plugging in, and is of medium difficulty.

Next, the writer develops the question stem and, if it’s a multiple-choice question, the answer choices.

The writer indicates which answer choice or value is correct, and he or she writes the explanation(s). If charts, graphs, or figures are needed, the writer can deal with this in one of two ways. If the art is easilydrawn in Word, the author may put it directly in the template. If the chart, diagram, etc. is morecomplicated, the author should write a detailed description of it. If RD doesn’t understand or cannotcreate the figure based on this description, a project manager will be in touch to clarify.

The writer submits the item to RD, and it undergoes an initial review. We check to make sure that allparts of the item are present and correctly formatted. If there are major problems with the item, it will berejected and returned to the author for additional work. If it is initially accepted, we send it to a contentreviewer.

The content reviewer works the question, verifies the answers, checks that the item matches its data,and evaluates the explanation. The reviewer may make edits to improve the item quality. For some itemtypes, the writer may be responsible for choosing comments, and for others, the reviewer adds thecomments. The reviewer sends the item back to RD.

RD turns the item over to our Production Editorial department for proofreading and copy editing. Aproofreader checks for proper formatting, grammar, spelling, and styles. After any necessary edits aremade, the item returns to RD. At this point, it is marked as complete.

RD assembles the items into their final delivery format—diagnostic tests. After assembly, a reviewer checks to see that the test fulfills the test specifications. For example, a reviewer would check to see thata test section has the correct number of items of each type and the proper distribution of topics and

Author Guidelines • January 2008 1



difficulty levels. After this check, the material is ready to be produced. In the case of print material, weturn a manuscript over to the Production department. As we move through the production process,material is checked yet again before going to the printer or being published live to an online server.

AuthoringWe’ll send you a writing assignment on 1/28/08. You may have only one assignment at a time. Allassignments are due by 2/4/08 at 5pm, but of course you can and should turn in assignments early.As soon as an assignment is accepted, you are eligible for another. We make assignments on a first-come, first-served basis. The more quickly you turn in assignments, the sooner you are eligible for another.

Getting PaidThe payment process is a bit cumbersome, but accounting procedures make it necessary. Payment for item writing is handled separately from your normal teacher pay. When you teach, you’re paid by your local office(s), but when you write items, you’re paid by TPR Management. For this reason, we have tocreate a separate set of employment data and work records.

If you haven’t worked for RD in the past year, we need to create a record for you in our system. We’llsend you several forms to complete and return. These forms allow us to enroll you in Management’srecords.

When you receive an assignment, we’ll include information about payment. Pay rates vary by item typeand assignment length. Here’s what you can expect to earn:

Error ID Write 12 Questions $150Improving Sentences Write 10 Questions $150Improving Paragraphs Write 1 Passage and 6 Questions $150Sentence Completions Write 12 Questions $150Math Prob. Solving Write 10 Questions $150Math Grid Ins Write 12 Questions $150

Reading Comp Write 6 Questions (passage provided) $100Reading Comp Write 12 Questions (passageprovided) $200

You will only be paid for accepted items. Once an assignment has been accepted, you fill out the blankinvoice form you received with your assignment and submit it to RD. We will then send it on toAccounting. The accounting department processes the invoice and cuts a check, which is mailed to you.Depending on where your invoice falls in the accounting cycle, it can take 30 to 45 days for you toreceive payment.

Setting Up Your Computer If you do not already have Equation Editor installed, you will need to install it. If you originally installedyour Microsoft Office program from a network file server or from a shared folder, you must install or remove components from that location. If you installed your Office program from a CD-ROM and you'vemapped your CD-ROM drive to a new drive letter since installing the Office program, reinstall from theCD-ROM. Go to the Control Panel and click Add or Remove Programs. Scroll down the programs listuntil you find your version of office and do the following:

• For Windows XP and 2000 and Windows Millennium Edition: If you installed your Office programas part of Microsoft Office, click Microsoft Office in the Currently installed programs box, andthen click the Change button.




• If you installed your Office program individually, click the name of your program in the Currentlyinstalled programs box, and then click the Change button.

• For Windows 98 and Windows NT 4.0: If you installed your Office program as part of MicrosoftOffice, click Microsoft Office on the Install/Uninstall tab, and then click the Add/Remove button.

• If you installed your Office program individually, click the name of your program on theInstall/Uninstall tab, and then click the Add/Remove button. You should look for Office Toolslisted in the program list in the window that opens. Look for Equation Editor, click on it and selectInstall or Run from My Computer. Equation editor should install.

Accessing Equation Editor Once Equation Editor is installed, you can find the feature using the menu options:Insert/Object/Microsoft Equation 3.0. It is a drag having to click thought the multiple menus every timeyou want to insert an equation, so in Office XP—and 2000, we believe—you can add a button to your tool bar that links you directly to Equation Editor. Go to View/Toolbars/Customize. Click on Insert in theleft window, and scroll down the right window until you find the Equation Editor symbol—it looks likeα

. Now, just right click on that icon and drag it to the location on your tool bar that you’d like to place it.Once it is in place, give it a click and have fun writing your equation. If you have MathType installed onyour computer, please revert to Equation Editor 3.0 for this project so that we can make any necessaryedits to your work on our machines.

Using Equation Editor There are several characters that you cannot find on the keyboard. If you can find a particular character on the keyboard, then it is okay to use it. The first place to check for characters that aren’t on your keyboard is in the ASCII Code table on the next page. To create any of these characters, simply holddown the “Alt” key and type the four digit number into the number keypad that appears next to it (Note:Do not use the numbers above the QWERTY keys).

0124 |0131 ƒ0132 „0133 …0134 †0135 ‡0136 ˆ0137 ‰0138 Š0139 ‹0140 Œ0145 ‘0146 ’0147 “0148 ”0149 •0150 –0151 —0152 ˜0153 ™0154 š

0155 ›0156 œ0159 Ÿ0161 ¡0162 ¢0163 £0164 ¤0165 ¥0166 ¦0167 §0168 ¨0169 ©0170 ª0171 «0172 ¬0174 ®0175 ¯ 0176 °0177 ±0178 ²0179 ³

0180 ´0181 µ0182 ¶0183 ·0184 ¸0185 º0187 »0191 ¿0192 À0193 Á0194 Â0195 Ã0196 Ä0197 Å0198 Æ0199 Ç0200 È0201 É0202 Ê0203 Ë0204 Ì

0205 Í0206 Î 0207 Ï0208 Ð0209 Ñ0210 Ò0211 Ó0212 Ô0213 Õ0214 Ö0215 ×0216 Ø0217 Ù0218 Ú0219 Û0220 Ü0221 Ý0222 Þ0223 ß0224 à0225 á

0226 â0227 ã0228 ä0229 å0230 æ0231 ç0232 è0233 é0234 ê0235 ë0236 ì0237 í0238 î 0239 ï0240 ð0241 ñ0242 ò0243 ó0244 ô0245 õ0246 ö

0248 ø0249 ù0250 ú0251 û0252 ü0253 ý0254 þ0255 ÿ




Some of the ASCII codes you will be using more often are:Bullets (•) 0149Multiplication (×) 0215En- and Em-ashes (–,—) 0150, 0151Smart quotes (”,”) 0147, 0148

Smart apostrophe (’) 0146Degree symbol (°) 0176Ellipsis (…) 0133Copyright (©) 0169

When to Use Equation Editor Equations can be created by either Equation Editor/MathType or with regular characters on the keyboardin Word.The rule is that if you are able to type an equation using the keyboard, then do so. (Makesure you use the correct multiplication symbol <ALT> 0215.) For any fraction that is stacked, or if anequation contains a root symbol “√,” you must use Equation editor. When not using Equation editor,please remember to italicize all variables. Also, remember to use the en-dash for the negative symbol andthe subtraction symbol.

For example:

Incorrect: Mike ate ½ the pizza.

Correct: Mike ate

1

2 the pizza.

No MathType needed: 4,800π ÷ 32x = 500λ × (–62)

MathType needed: 2cm316

2)34(8

=

Style SettingsIn order to make sure that your work is compatible with our Publishing Software, we ask that you set upyour styles in the following way:

Go to Tools/Options/Spelling and Grammar. Click the Settings button in the Grammar section. For “commas required before last list item,” choose “always.” Choose “inside” for the “punctuation requiredwith quotes” option. For “spaces between sentences,” choose “1.” Click OK to close the grammar settingsbox.



Next, go to Tools/Autocorrect. Under the AutoCorrect tab, set your options as shown below, and click OK.

With the Tools box still open, choose the AutoFormat As You Type tab. Set your options as shown below,and click OK.



Do not close that box yet! Click the AutoFormat tab. Set your options as shown below, and click OK.



Spiraling Questions and Answer ChoicesSpiraling refers to writing a new question based on an existing question. In some cases, you may beasked to spiral existing questions. Keep in mind that you cannot copy questions word for word. If youfollow the three-word rule that no three significant consecutive words can remain the same, you should befine. The exception to this rule is boilerplate test language, word and phrases used repeatedly within onetest or in many tests. For example, “rounding to the nearest hundred” and “which of the following” arephrases that you can use. You and TPR are subject to copyright laws, so do not copy anything verbatim.

There are different levels of spirals. A very close spiral maintains just about everything from the model.The format of the question stem is exactly the same and the types of answer choices are the same. Eventhe correct answer is in the same position. You should not create any very close spirals for this project.

A close spiral maintains the ideas tested in the original question. However, the elements and wording of the question are slightly modified. Changing something such as “Estimate by rounding the value of x tothe nearest tenth” into “If Fred is going to estimate by rounding the value of x to the nearest tenth.” Theidea is the same, but the question is worded differently. Additionally, the answer choices do not have tobe in the same format as the original question and the correct answer should be in a different position.

A distant spiral tests skills and techniques similar to those tested in the model, but it has greater differences. First, the stem can be of a longer or shorter length. The level of difficulty may be higher or lower than the original question and the wording of the stem is significantly different. In our previousexample, “Estimate by rounding the value of x to the nearest tenth” might become “If Fred is going toestimate the amount of tax he owes to the nearest dollar.” The tested idea is similar, but the wording androunding value are a bit different.

Resources for SpiralingMost assignments have a specific ETS question that we would like you to spiral from. For example, if your assignment is to spiral question AEOS-S6-Q23, you would want to check out the October 2005 formAEOS, look up section 6, question 23, and create a close to distant spiral of that question.We don’t expect that you have all these tests on hand. There are many resources available to you in theSAT section of Teacher Suite Resources under 09 SAT : “Diag week Resources ”:

1. The ETS DatabaseThis Excel document has a Reading, a Writing, and a Math sheet for each of 8 ETS test. Use this to:

o Look up the categorization, difficulty level, length of question (lines in math, words in verbal), etc.for the question you are spiraling a new question from.

o Sort the data to quickly and easily identify other questions that are similar to the one you arespiraling to see more closely other ways ETS tests the same concept.

o See the range of difficulties for the questions that test the same topic and look these questions upin the tests to see how ETS creates a 2 versus a 4, for example.

2. 8 Real ETS TestsThere are 8 separate PDFs that include the questions you are to spiral from. The 8 tests represented inthe Database are all available for you to investigate with your own eyes.

3. Extra-Special ResourcesFor Math there are 4 Word documents that have images of each question from the 8 ETS tests for Algebra, Arithmetic, Geometry and Misc., organized by the subcategories of each content area and inorder of difficulty from low to high. There is Critical Reading has a word document that has “Mad-Libs”type skeletons of ETS questions organized by category type that may help inspire.

Questions



If you have questions about the qualification or authoring processes, please send them [email protected].

mailto:[email protected]

mailto:[email protected]

Documents

SAT Authoring Guide