A calculator application can be made available for the candidate’s perusal during the exam. This is specified on the Delivery Configuration Tool page before exporting the QTI Package. Calculators may be added to the exam level and referenced from assessments or sections, or unique calculators may be added to assessments or sections.
Add Calculator to Exam Level
Add a calculator to the exam
A calculator can be created for an entire exam. This calculator can be referenced at the assessment, section or item level of your exam. Adding a calculator to the exam level allows calculators to be shared across assessments, sections and items.
- Right-click the Exam node in the left pane and select PearsonvueApplication from the pop-up menu.
Select the Calculator type check boxes for the type of calculator you want available for the exam and select what the default calculator will be if multiple types are selected. Click OK.
- The calculator(s) you added are listed below the Exam node.
- If you select any of the calculator nodes, the Calculator properties are displayed in the right pane. You will see the starting mode for the calculator. You are unable to modify the Ident, Start Mode and Permissible Modes fields.
- If you wish to delete a calculator from the exam, right-click on the calculator and select Delete from the pop-up menu. Click OK to confirm the deletion.
- Click Save at the bottom of the page and click OK to confirm the configuration data saved successfully.
Reference an Exam level calculator in the Assessment
Rather than adding a unique calculator to each assessment, you can reference an exam level calculator.
- Right-click the AssessmentExtension node and select PearsonvueApplicationReference from the pop-up menu.
- The Calculator node appears nested under the AssessmentExtension node. Click on it and select the desired calculator from the Ident drop-down list in the right pane.
The calculator is available in three variants: Standard (with minimal keys for basic calculations), Scientific (with additional keys, used to make complex mathematical and scientific calculations), and Graphing (with additional keys, used to plot graphs, solve simultaneous equations, and perform other tasks with variables). If a multi-mode calculator was added to the exam level, then it is possible to switch between the calculators via the Modes menu near the top of the calculator window.
The screenshots below display the Standard calculator, the Scientific calculator, and the Graphing calculator as they appear in an exam.
Standard Calculator
Scientific Calculator
Graphing Calculator
Click Save at the bottom of the page and click OK to confirm the configuration data saved successfully.
The calculator information is passed on to the Pearson VUE Compiler via the QTI package’s Assessment_ExamFormname.xml as can be seen below.
Reference an Exam level calculator in the Section
Rather than adding a unique calculator to each section, you can reference an exam level calculator.
- Right-click the SectionprocExtension node and select PearsonvueApplicationReference from the pop-up menu.
- The Calculator node appears nested under the SectionprocExtension node. Click on it and select the desired calculator from the Ident drop-down list in the right pane.
Click Save at the bottom of the page and click OK to confirm the configuration data saved successfully.
The calculator information for the section is passed on to the Pearson VUE Compiler via the QTI package’s <section ident>.xml file as can be seen below.
Add Unique Calculators to Exams
Add a unique calculator to an assessment
Rather than referencing the exam level calculator, you can add a unique calculator to the Assessment level. This calculator is only available for the selected assessment.
- Expand the ExamForm node.
- Right-click the desired AssessmentExtension node and select PearsonvueApplication from the pop-up menu.
The Calculator node appears nested under the AssessmentExtension node. Click on it and enter the details in the right pane.
The following information can be entered for the calculator:Column Description Ident Unique identifier or alphanumeric name for the calculator. Tool Tip Tool-tip visible to the candidate when hovering the mouse over the calculator button in the PVP. Label Name of the calculator visible to the candidate in the PVP. Hotkey Specify the hotkey shortcut combination the candidate can use to quickly launch the calculator via the keyboard. Start Mode Specify the mode available to the candidate on launching the calculator. Available modes are:
- Standard with minimal keys for basic calculations
- Scientific with additional keys, used to make complex mathematical and scientific calculations
- Graphing with additional keys, used to plot graphs, solve simultaneous equations, and perform other tasks with variables
Permissible Modes Select the calculator modes accessible to the candidate via appropriate check boxes. On Navigate You can choose Close or Hide to close or hide the calculator respectively once the candidate moves to the next item in the PVP. The calculator is available in three variants: Standard (with minimal keys for basic calculations), Scientific (with additional keys, used to make complex mathematical and scientific calculations), and Graphing (with additional keys, used to plot graphs, solve simultaneous equations, and perform other tasks with variables). If the Permissible Modes setting allows more than one calculator type, then it is possible to switch between the calculators via the Modes menu near the top of the calculator window.
Click Save at the bottom of the page and click OK to confirm the configuration data saved successfully.
The calculator information is passed on to the Pearson VUE Compiler via the QTI package’s Assessment_ExamFormforQTIcalculator.xml as can be seen below.
Add a unique calculator to a section
In a similar way, a unique calculator can be created for a Section node, thus making it available for only the selected section.
- Right-click SectionprocExtension of the Section node under which you wish to have the calculator and click PearsonvueApplication from the pop-up menu.
- The Calculator node appears nested under SectionprocExtension. Click on this Calculator node and enter the details in the right pane.
- Click Save at the bottom of the page and click OK to confirm the configuration data saved successfully.
An error message in red text is displayed by the Pearson VUE Compiler while compiling the QTI package if the Idents of the above two calculators have the same alphanumeric values. The error is resolved after you change the Ident of one of the calculators.
