The new assessment experience rolled out July 2019 as a beta release, and based on feedback from teachers and students, we’ve finessed the details and are happy to make it the official assessment experience for all users. 

Included in the new experience:

• Easy to use equation editor: clicking into the box immediately brings up the equation editor that is appropriate in the context of the question. To boot, we’ve got an exceptional mobile experience since we see more and more students using phones and tablets to complete their homework.

• Simplified, clean design: to help students focus on the question content, but also allowing access to the grade and attempt details needed.

• Usable and accessible: while the classic experience boasts great accessibility, in our redesign, we’ve improved the screen reader experience and made it easier for students of all abilities to navigate through their assignments without skipping a beat.

• Embedded Calculator: (coming summer 2020!) partnering with Desmos, we’re adding the option to embed the delightfully easy to use Desmos calculator (basic, scientific, and graphing) right into any assessment. The embedded calculator is designed to work with any proctoring solution that supports OHM without further configuration.

Read more about the new assessment experience here.

 

Transition Timeline

To avoid disruptions in an active term, we’re rolling out this change in two phases:

Date	Change
5/1/20	New assessment format is the default. New courses default to the new assessment format, with the option to select old format if copying an old format course.  All new features (like embedded calculator and new question types) will be released only to the new assessment format.
5/18/21	New assessment format for all new courses. All new courses will be set to the new assessment format. No more updates or bug fixes to the old assessment format.

 

FAQs

How can I tell if my course is in new assessment format or old?

The easiest way to see this is to click on any assessment and look at the style:

New player

Old player

Which settings are different?

Number of tries per version and number of versions
In the old format, the options allowed for specifying the number of tries on a version of a problem and had an option to allow students to get a new version of the problem an unlimited number of times.

In the new format, faculty now can specify both the number of tries as well as the number of new versions.

Test retakes

While the old format technically supports retakes, the user experience had issues. For one, the only option for a scored attempt was to take the most recent attempt. Secondly, for timed assessments, the timer did not reset for the reattempt. In the new assessment player, we’ve added additional flexibility.

Homework format: students submit work as they complete the work. Students can get new versions (if enabled) for each question.

Quiz format: students submit their work for scoring at the end of the assessment. If enabled, students must retake a new version of the assessment.

Submit questions by part

The old format required students to submit all parts for grading, even if they only completed the first part of a question. The new player now detects which parts should be scored and adjusts tries remaining accordingly on each part.

 

What changes should I review after upgrading from old to new assessment format?

The main change in the upgrade is in determining how settings map from old to new format. We recommend that you take a look at the new settings that were determined upon upgrade, to ensure they suit your needs. We also recommend taking at least one assessment in preview to familiarize yourself with any changes.

 

Are there any features that only work with the New Assessment format? 

All new features are only supported in assessment format. Coming soon are Desmos in-assessment embedded calculator and Show your Work, both features that are supported by new assessment format only.

 

Are there any features from the old version that will no longer work in the New Assessment format?

Nope! We took care in making sure the redesigned version expands on our existing feature set.

 

What if I want to upgrade an existing course?

Important Considerations

• Grade data from the old format is not compatible with the new assessment format. In order to upgrade a course with existing student grade data, the full student roster must be unenrolled to purge the incompatible data.
• Once upgraded, there is no way to revert back to the old format. 

Steps to upgrade your existing course

1. Log into ohm.lumenlearning.com and navigate to the desired course. 
2. Click on “Roster”, either in the top navigation bar or in the left navigation area.
3. Click the “Unenroll” button.
4. Select the checkbox “Upgrade course to use new assessment interface” and click the “Unenroll” button.

Can some sections of a course be in the old format and some in the new format?

If the courses are run in different OHM courses, some sections can run in old format and others new. One challenge that we’ve seen is when a course coordinator needs to share a new assessment with the sections. If the new assessment is in the new format, there is no backwards compatibility to allow copying a new format assessment into an old format course. 

 

Additional Questions or Feedback?

Need assistance with getting your courses set up in the new assessment format? Have questions we didn’t answer above? Have some general feedback to share with Lumen? Send us a note to support@lumenlearning.com!