Assess your learners with tests and award certifications

One of the biggest resources when using Showpad Coach is the ability to create custom tests and surveys to assess your users on their knowledge and skill set. You can upload pre-configured content or build out assessments directly within Coach.

Tests can be used as simple knowledge checks to ensure users are retaining the information they go through in the Learn section of this course, or as higher-level evaluations of the user’s ability to identify specific details of a product or process. You can give your learners a Certificate to show something for their effort, after following a course. If you decide to use the Survey format, the creation will be very similar to setting up a Test. The difference is that Surveys do not implement scores for users, they merely collect user answers. 

Key features

• Create and distribute tests and surveys from the information provided in the Learn section
• Use various question types to engage users in their comprehension
• Ability to upload exams or create them directly in the platform
• Fully editable until the course test is published
• Use Certifications to recognize learners achievements

You need this to succeed

• Admin or promoted member access with course management permissions
• If a manager, have content creation access for your group(s)

The quick way to awesomeness

• Configure the options for your course and set scoring parameters
• Add questions individually or through CSV that you would like users to answer
• Determine which answer type is appropriate for each question
• Set up Certifications to recognize learners achievements 

Do this step by step

Test creation begins in Course Creation step three. If you would like to have your questions drafted in advance, click the Build Test section to download the CSV template. If you choose Survey, the set up will be almost exactly the same, but without awarding scores. 

1. In the General Options section, determine which options you would like enabled for this particular test. If you choose Survey as the Mode, scoring settings will be removed. You will be able to add the details of these options later. This is simply to decide whether they are included in the testing or not.
   
   If you would like your users to be required to pass a certain score to pass the full course, tick the ‘Require passing score to pass course’ box. Make sure to set their Test attempt limit if you’d like them to take advantage of multiple tries in order to pass.
   
   
2. Once you’ve saved the option settings, click the Build Test green bar to expand this section.
   
   
3. You can choose to manually enter questions, or bulk upload questions using a CSV file. To download a sample file of the CSV format, hover over the information icon. In the pop-up message, click to download the sample file.
   To upload your CSV file, click Upload CSV and select the appropriate file. Your questions will automatically populate below. 

   Note: When importing CSV files, they have to be in the UTF-8 format.

   
4. To enter questions manually, click on Add New Question to open up the question window.
   
   
5. From here, you can type in the question you’ll be asking your users in the top left-hand text box. Select the question type from the drop-down menu. There are 4 options:
   Single-Selection: Enter multiple options with only one answer being correct. The user will only be able to select one answer as well. Click the circle next to the correct answer.
   
   Multiple Selection: Enter multiple options with more than one correct answer. The user will need to select ALL the correct answers. As no partial credit is given, they must successfully select each answer to receive credit. Click the circles next to all correct answers.
   
   Text Match: List all the correct answers in the fields. Any answers that match one of the options will be marked as correct.
   
   Short Answer: these are open-ended questions where the user will enter their answers into a text box. These question types are subjective and therefore require an admin to grade them and provide constructive feedback. As an admin, you will need to determine the weight of the score using a scale of 1-5 when assessing.
6. You can choose to add an explanation to this question. The explanation will be visible to the user after they submit their test, if they choose to review it. The explanation will appear under the Admin Explanation section, and can be useful to give context on why an answer is correct. 
7. You can also add an image to the question, which is best used for product related questions.
   
8. When you have added all of your questions, click Save.

Note: You cannot delete questions from a course once it has been published. Double-check your test details before publishing.

Awarding Certifications:

When your users have successfully completed coursework, you have the option to distribute a Certification to give users something to show for their effort. Users appreciate acknowledgment, and this is a simple way to give them recognition and an official certification within your organization.

You can

• select if you want to enable Certification.
• give it an appropriate title.
• select if learners still receive Certification after the due date was met.

To do this,

1. Click the Award a Certification bar to expand the section. 
2. To choose if the users will receive a Certificate, click Yes or No. 
3.  Give the Certification a title. Determine what will be considered a passing score for this test. To preview the certification, click into the image.
   

   Note: By default, Showpad's logo is displayed. If you have an Ultimate subscription and use a custom login logo, the custom logo will be used instead.

4. If you would like certifications to be sent to users even after the due date has passed, click Yes for Award certification after the due date. Make sure to save all of your settings when done.
   

To see the test results, consult the reports in the Report tab. You can find more information about these reports in the following article.