ePC

exam-paper-scanning

Exam paper scanning

At the end of an exam, completed answer papers are collected and the process of exam paper scanning begins. This involves digitising candidate responses, verifying scanned images, and submitting responses for marking.

We have three options, depending on your deployment.

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    Scanning candidate responses

    The first option involves the on-site deployment of data capture software. Venue staff will collect completed answer sheets at the end of the exam and feed them into a high-speed document scanner to begin script capture, processing, and verification.

    Secondly, if you opt for our document scanning services, we will arrange for the collection of the completed exam papers and process them accordingly.

    Distributed scanning

    Thirdly, for larger deployments covering hundreds of centres and/or many countries, an innovative distributed scanning client called eScan can be deployed to scan candidate responses via a Click-Once installer on the web portal.

    eScan provides users with scanning, reconciliation, error rectification and transmission of scanned image batches into data capture software such as TeleForm for further processing. It is deployed through a browser for simple installation on any modern Windows PC.

    The system is compatible with widely available scanning hardware from manufacturers such as Fujitsu, Kodak, and Canon. This allows users to use pen or pencil and enables them to locally source hardware, without the need to purchase or distribute expensive custom hardware such as OMR scanners.

    The eScan App:

    • Captures various answer paper templates.
    • Automatically deploys and enforces scan configurations to minimise setup time and user training.
    • Validates image quality through a combination of page identifying marks and brightness scales while checking page sizes, readability, and paper type in real-time as the images are scanned.
    • Queues images for background upload, making the system tolerant of sub-optimal internet connectivity.
    • Guarantees the image quality before being uploaded for verification.
    • Identifies configuration issues and quality assurance problems at the earliest possible stage.
    • Allows sites to scan at full speed without connectivity issues hindering activity.
    • Provides quick and efficient upload to central processing systems with efficient image compression.

    escan-scans-as-expected

    Some of the key features of the eScan app include:

    Real-time validation

    eScan validates image quality through a combination of page identifying marks and brightness scales as well as checking page sizes, readability, and answer paper type in real-time as the images are scanned.

    This reconciliation and image validation phase results in markers only viewing images that are linked to candidates and meet quality thresholds. If a scanned image fails to meet the required standard, the test centre will be alerted and asked to provide a re-scan.

    Uninterrupted scanning

    To enable uninterrupted scanning, test papers are cached on the local PC and queued for background upload, making the system tolerant of poor internet connectivity.

    Missing scans

    The dashboard highlights sessions and components with outstanding items via a percentage-complete indicator with drill-down functionality to easily find details of missing scans.

    A traffic light warning system instantly highlights incomplete scans and other warnings/errors to users. Batches containing errors are unable to be uploaded until all missing scans or ordering issues are resolved.

    Unmatched scans

    The system provides the following features to identify unmatched scans and resolve issues:

    - A verification queue displays unmatched scans awaiting verification to operators in priority order.

    - Return unmatched scans (e.g. if a candidate has written an incorrect number or the image is unreadable) to the centre dashboard for manual matching or rescanning where necessary.

    - Reconciliation process to automatically highlight mismatched items as duplicate warnings when the correct items are processed.

    - Scans are not released for marking until the session is complete for a centre, ensuring all mismatched items have been dealt with prior to marking.

    Mismatched scans

    A reconciliation process will automatically highlight mismatched items as duplicate warnings when the correct items are processed. Scans are not released for marking until the session is complete for a centre, ensuring all mismatched items have been dealt with prior to marking.

    Batch reference

    A batch reference number is generated to confirm the answer sheets have been transmitted successfully. This reference acts as proof of delivery and can provide a way of identifying a batch should any pages within it need re-scanning.

    Capture attendance and misconduct data

    The system supports the capture of attendance and misconduct information from test centres including absentees, early exits, special requirements candidates, and unscannable candidate responses (damaged papers).

    The invigilator report allows for unscannable reasons such as absence, malpractice, damaged papers etc. to be logged against individual candidates and components. A user can record all unscannable candidate data on the web portal or scan/upload the report with the answer papers.

    Quality assurance

    The system includes a wealth of features to support quality assurance. In addition to checking for mismatches or mis-verified candidate responses, admin teams can monitor centre progress (e.g., number of forms to scan, scans pending review, completed scans, and scans escalated to a centre), chase outstanding actions, and download reports covering rescans, user access, system audit, user performance, and user accounts.

    Some of the benefits include:

    • Reduce lead-out times: scanning answer sheets at the test centre removes the hassle and delay of return shipping to scanning bureaus and allows you to begin marking immediately after the exam
    • Increased visibility and transparency: an intuitive dashboard highlights session status and identifies configuration issues and quality assurance problems at the earliest possible opportunity, rather than hours later when potentially thousands of images have been scanned incorrectly
    • Eliminate the risk of lost scripts in transit
    • Allows test centres to scan at full speed without connectivity issues slowing them down
    • Quick and efficient upload of high-quality images with efficient image compression

    Script identification and data extraction

    Once exam paper scanning is complete, the system will identify answer papers based on the original template type. These answer papers are intuitive for candidates and include essential features to guarantee high-quality images that are correctly aligned and accurately matched to enrolments. These features include:

    • Cornerstones for automatic page rotation, distortion correction and response area triangulation
    • Brightness bars for automatic scanner brightness/contrast setting and quality validation
    • Colour-coded side-bleeding for easy paper identification
    • 2D identification barcodes for automatic page recognition
    • Printer barcodes to aid answer paper distribution
    • QR codes for page identification
    • Marking zones for on-paper fallback marking
    • Constrained print fields to aid critical data field recognition, such as for candidate numbers
    • Continuation sheet numbering to aid matching and reconciliation

    After identifying a paper, document recognition technology extracts candidate responses. Optical mark recognition (OMR) scores multiple-choice questions (MCQ), intelligent character recognition (ICR) reads short written responses and optical character recognition (OCR) captures machine-printed text.

    Case studies

    • Civica

      Civica

      Distributed

      Following a OJEU tender process, the British Council commissioned Civica as the prime contractor to deliver an on-screen marking (OSM) solution to mark up to 2.25 million ‘pen and paper’ IELTS tests each year.

      As part of the agreement, Civica appointed ePC as its sub-contractor for the script capture, processing and verification work.

    • Cambridge English

      Cambridge English

      Enterprise

      Expert in language assessment automates paper-based assessments with OMR exam processing and on-screen marking system.

      Read more

    • Northumbria University

      Northumbria University

      Mid-volume

      Leading UK university uses TeleForm to design, scan and verify OMR answer sheets from undergraduate and postgraduate examinations.