This page describes older or completely obsolete versions of our grading
and exam systems. It may be useful in that our system has evolved, and
many inexplicable features of it may be best explained in older documentation.
History of the Grading System
This is currently my recollections of the development of the grading
system in our department, but it should not be considered a historically
researched document.
The department first started using computer-graded exams in the late '70's,
with a mark-sense form reader in Computer Services and a program written or
imported by Prof. Stellingwerf.
In the early '80's, I wrote a record-keeping (gradebook type) system
called Grader, and Dick Plano developed GREK. By 1987 Plano's system
had evolved into
a very complex system of grading software and record keeping. This included
a terminal-based system for entering recitation grades by hand and exam
grades from the output of his version of the grader, called GRAD. GREK was
also able to do various calculations with the grades.
In the early '80's exams
were prepared on Selectric typewriters with interchangable balls, and then
on Diablo daisy-wheel printers (with many keys, including greek), first
controlled by the PDP10 and then by the VAX. The Department bought a
commercial word-processing system called WordMark,
which could drive the Diablo typewriter and later a Talaris laser printer.
In 1987 the department bought its own mark-sense-form reader, and
Pieter Jacques wrote the software for reading the mark sense forms,
gread
, which is still what we use for MC exams.
Plano wrote GRED, to fix discrepancies
in the gread file, alphabetize the students, and otherwise prepare the
exam results for GRAD.
Plano developed a forerunner of grtex, called grex, based on
WordMark, which could not produce postscript.
This would prepare multiple versions of an exam and the complex information
about the versions (called a key file) needed by GRAD.
This was just when the first PostScript printers were coming out, and my
first Unix machines with TeX, so I was adamant that we get a postscript
printer and use tex or latex. I developed the tex/latex macros for grtex
in the 1993, and Plano wrote the modified version of grex to do the
scrambling of answers and questions and prepare the key file.
Old Documentation
Here are pointers to old documentation which may still be relevant. As
I review them, many will be moved to Obsolete Documentation
.
- In /physics/doc/physics/grading/
- gred. Details on GREAD, GRED, and GRAD, and key files
- grek. 13 p overview, a lot on grtex
- grex. about 5p on obsolete grex, but maybe relevant for grtex
In /physics/doc/physics/grading/grek_unix
gread.txt. converted to greadMK.html
In /physics/doc/physics/grading/grtex
- database
- examexample
- examex.template
- grtex
- grtexdoc
In /home/shapiro/helping/grading/exams
In /home/shapiro/helping/grading/exams/grekhelp
- final.ready
- revis.ready
- warn.ready
- warn2
In /home/shapiro/helping/grading/exams/grtex/docs
- database
- examex.template
- grtexdoc
- grtex
In /home/shapiro/helping/grading/exams/mapstuff
- beck.tpl
- hickman101.tpl
- hickman138.tpl
- hill114.templQ
- hill114.tpl
- hill116.tpl
- lucystone.templ
- makemaps.note
- makeseatlist.el
- plhTempl.06
- putinseat.el
- rost2seatlist*
- scott123.templ
- scott123.tpl
- scott135.templ
- sec111.tpl
- sec117.tpl
- sec118.tpl
- startseatlist.el
- wright.tpl
In /home/shapiro/helping/grading/exams/mohan
Obsolete Documentation
- In /physics/doc/physics/grading/
- getattobsolete for SRS
- geval.ascobsolete. Plano's
software for processing student evaluations.
- grin. Overview in 1993 of whole GREK system. Obsolete
- grinp. obsolete. program details for grin, grek fiddler
- In /physics/doc/physics/grading/grek_unix
- gread.txt-old. Obsolete
- grek_readme.txt. "Overview of Course Bookkeeping and
Grading Programs". Obsolete
- grek_readme.txt-old. even more obsolete
- grek_setup.txt. Setting up GREK. Obsolete
- grek_setup.txt-old. even more obsolete
- grek_use.txt. instructions for TA to use GREK gradebook.
Obsolete
- In /physics/doc/physics/grading/grek_vms
- afterCH1.asc. For GREK gradebook sugs for after first exam. '97
- grek4recit. Obsolete '93
- greka.asc. Grek administration in 1991. Obsolete
- grek.add. For GREK gradebook maintaining rosters. Obsolete'93
- grek_cleanup.asc. more REVIS for GREK after H1. Obsolete '93
- grek_exams.asc. Obsolete overview '96
- greki.asc. GREK instructions for TA. Obsolete
- grekl.asc. GREK instructions for course leaders. Obsolete
Some discussion of renormalizing. Details
- grekls.asc. Details of RECIT file. Obsolete
- grek_ready.asc. Announcing ready in 93. Obsolete
- grek.revis. Using REVIS. Obsolete
- grek_revis.asc. Using REVIS. Obsolete
- grek.setup. Obsolete '93
- grek_setup.asc Obsolete '93
- grek_setup.tex, dvi Obsolete '97
- grek_setup.txt. Obsolete '97
- grekstart.asc. Announcing ready '93
- grek_use.tex,dvi. Obsolete '97
- grek_use.txt. Obsolete '97
- grek_warn.92j. Obsolete '93
- grek_warn.asc. Warnings from GREK. Obsolete '97
- index. to GREK documentation for users. Obsolete '93
- notes. for using GREK. Obsolete '96
- recit.kal. Analysis of RECIT file structure. Obsolete '93
- recit.samp. Sample RECIT file. Obsolete '93
Criticisms or additions to this page should be sent to
Joel Shapiro (shapirophysics)
Last modified: Tue Jun 2 10:55:35 2009