How do I scan bubble sheets?

Schoolrunner has a built-in integration with GradeCam that allows you to upload student answer sheets two different ways: by individually scanning answer sheets with your webcam or by a bulk upload of scanned sheets as image files. The GradeCam setting must be enabled in your site settings for this. Keep reading to learn more about the process, or click here to learn about troubleshooting and best practices.

Regardless of which method you use, set up your assessment as usual, filling in the standard fields on the Add Assessment page (name, assessment type, etc.).

Next, click the "Input" tab to determine the number of questions, the correct answers, and the point values of your assessment.

If some of your questions involve critical response answers, leave the "Correct Answer" field blank. When you do this, the bubble sheet will display the number of points that you allot to the question – students need to be instructed not to fill in any circles for these questions so that you can fill in the circle corresponding to their score. Note: for critical response/open-ended questions, bubble sheets can only display digits 0-9. If you want to include a question worth 10 or more points, you'll have to enter in these student results via the "Edit" tab.

It's possible to define a correct answer that is more than one letter, like "AE". In order for a student to get credit for a question with an answer like this, s/he must have both "A" and "E" bubbled in. It's not possible to receive partial credit, so a student that answers "AD" or "BE" on a question whose answer is "AE" will get that question completely wrong. Be aware that students who answer "AE" for a question whose answer is defined as "EA" will not get credit – student responses will be interpreted from left to right, and those responses must match the letter sequence defined in the question's answer.

Bubble sheets will always generate letters A-D for multiple choice questions. If you want students to have other options (such as "E", "F," and "G"), at least one question must have a correct answer defined as "G". This tells the system to generate options A-G for all multiple choice questions. If answers should only go through "E", then at least one question must have the correct answer of "E". In other words, answer options will go up to the further letter that is defined as a correct answer.

When your assessment definition is complete, click the blue "Print Bubble Sheets" button. Administer and collect student responses and then follow one of the two scanning methods below.

Scanning Individual Answer Sheets

Hold up completed bubble sheets to your webcam once you click into the "Scan" tab. Student names and results will appear instantly. Note that any question without a value in the "Correct Answer" field will scan in as "NaN" (Not a Number) unless you fill in a circle that corresponds to the student’s critical answer score. This can be done later on from the "Input" tab as well.

Save your results when finished. You can then analyze the results and edit answers in the "Input" tab as with any other assessment.

Bulk Upload Bubble Sheets

Modern scanners do not work well with GradeCam's scanning technology. GradeCam depends on lots of natural image detail, like shadows and shading. Scanners often process these details out in order to make the scanned image look more like a computer-generated graphic. See here for best practices.

If you scan all of your students’ completed bubble sheets into your computer, you can bulk upload them by clicking the blue "Upload Bubble Sheets" button on the "Scan" tab. Be sure that you have scanned them as .jpg, .png, .pdf, or .tiff.

Select "Choose Files" from the dialog box that opens, locate and select all the scanned bubbles sheets on your computer, and click the "Scan Now" button.

Results will display immediately; don’t forget to save when the scan is finished.