I developed this JavaScript to make it easy to put training tests online. Initial versions were used in the Hickam Air Force Base Weather Flight to prepare forecasters for a triennial inspection. 400 potential questions were put online; the Flight scored 98.5% on the written test. This success prompted other weather stations to put more training and certification tests online using this script. My FAA Private Pilot Test consists of over 700 questions, and allowed me to quickly prepare and score 98% on that exam.
Online tests like these are extremely efficient methods of teaching specific information and preparing for exams. My implementation provides immediate feedback on each answer, allowing for positive reinforcement of the right answers, as well as the chance to correct mistakes by trying again. Only the first answer to each question is recorded (unless the page is reloaded), so students are left with an assessment of their current knowledge while still afforded the opportunity to learn by resubmitting the correct answer. A checkbox below each question indicates whether it has been answered, so students can skip around freely. The number of questions answered and a running score is kept at the top of the page. Finally, this implementation shuffles the order of both answers and questions each time the page is loaded, preventing students from just memorizing the position of the correct answers.
Pages with many questions may take a few moments to appear on slow computers after downloading, since the script regenerates the test every time it is loaded. To begin creating your own online test, download both these files. Open QATemplate.html in your favorite text editor, and follow the instructions in the HTML comments to add questions.
You may use and distribute this JavaScript freely, but I ask that you preserve the Copyright notice in the code, and would also appreciate it if you sent me a copy of any tests you build with it (for my own curiousity and edification). Enjoy!
© 2000 by David Bookstaber