ParSYSTEM: A Solution to Testing and Grades Management at Cypress College by Carol Elsensohn Lewis Associate Professor of History Cypress College (Cypress, CA) Teaching history in a large-lecture format presents some very real challenges. Fortunately, at Cypress College, I have access to ParSYSTEM software that meets these challenges and over- comes many of the problems that plague a large- lecture format. One of the major concerns in classes ex- ceeding one hundred students is in the area of testing and test management. ParSYSTEM allows me to quickly and painlessly change tests every semester. Tests can be literally "tailored" to reflect changes in topic or historical emphasis by simply asking the system to choose questions at random from the existing test bank. For in- stance, last semester I asked for comparisons of 19th-century foreign policy with actions taken in Somalia in 1993. This semester, the compari- sons can be made to current policies in Cuba and Haiti. Without the software to make this task quick and easy, I would be much more reluc- tant to make these kinds of changes. In addition, ParTEST enables me to gener- ate up to four different forms of the same test, with the option to scramble the order of the questions, the order of the distractors, or both. This is an invaluable tool in maintain- ing testing security in a large lecture hall. We are all aware of the problems that can en- sue when students are sitting elbow to elbow. Since students sitting next to one another es- sentially have different tests, the onus of policing is taken off the shoulders of the teacher. I find the flexibility of ParTEST and ParSCORE to be especially beneficial, particularly in my dis- cipline. It allows me to create a test with both mul- tiple choice and essay questions, and then automati- cally combines the two scores together. Since I be- lieve that students of history should be required to answer essay as well as objective questions, the ease of grading and computing combined scores is a definite boon in a large-lecture format. Another beneficial feature of the software al- lows me to utilize variable weighting of the ques- tions, thus allowing for more emphasis on certain topics than others. It also allows me to write ques- tions in which more than one answer is correct. This reduces sheer quesswork and increases the need for critical thinking skills on the part of the students. Students receive individual reports on each test, which chart their cumulative progress in the course and allows for "diagnosis" of their test-taking skills. Test reports give the students a breakdown of their performance on objective and essay ques- tions, and can be structured to include topical sub- sets. Page and informational references can be in- cluded, all of which transform test-taking into a learning experience, not just a stressful and frus- trating experience. In addition to student test reports, available instructor reports help to improve and clarify tests. One of my favorite reports allows me to chart the validity of each test question by tracking the dis- crimination between the upper and lower one-third of the class. I also receive reports on individual grades, grade percentages, and work in progress-- all of which eliminate long hours of paperwork by hand. With so many demands on the time and energy of college instructors, scoring and testing soft- ware such as ParSYSTEM is, indeed, a real godsend. For more information, contact Dr. Carol E. Lewis Associate Professor of History Department of Social Sciences Cypress College 9200 Valley View Road Cypress, CA 90630-5897.