Tutorial

This tutorial will give you an understanding of how the Threshold Achievement system is used to administer tests. You will find more detailed descriptions in the online help that is available throughout the system. Let's start by defining some of terms used by the system.

A Test is the fundamental unit that the system supports. Each test you create is a separate entity. You can create any number of tests.
When you register yourself on the Threshold Achievement web site, you become a Test Manager. Each test can have only one test manager.
When you have set up your test the way you want, you will be ready to Start Testing. Once you start testing you cannot make any changes to the setup of your test.
Each test has a unique Test Key assigned to it. Each Test Key is six characters long and contains only alphabetical characters, for example: FAEBDC. When you add a test, its unique Test Key is created and assigned automatically by the system.
Each of your students must have a Student Key in order to access the test. Each Student Key can be used only once, so each student must have a separate Student Key. The system will allow you to create Student Keys after you start testing.
While your test is Running, your students will take the test by going to https://thresholdachievement.com/test and entering the Test Key and their unique Student Key. You can also create a link that will take your students directly to the test. See our FAQ for details.
After you have tested all of your students, you will Stop Testing. Students can no longer take the test after you stop testing.

Manager Dashboard

All of the core functionality of the Threshold Achievement system is provided by the Manager Dashboard which allows you to set up, administer, pay for, and download reports for your Threshold Achievement tests. Once you sign in from the Threshold Achievement web site, you will be presented with your Manager Dashboard. Below is an example of what you might see:

Let's discuss the layout of the Manager Dashboard. At the top is the Header, displayed in black. Inside the header is the Threshold Achievement logo, Threshold Achievement icon , and the Manager Dashboard title. Clicking on either of these will return you to the Manager Dashboard from anywhere in the system. To the right of the title is the Help icon, . Every page in the system has a help icon. Click this icon to display a popup window with help information about the page you are on.

On the right-hand side of the header is the Settings icon, . Click either the icon or your name to edit your personal settings. And all the way to the right on the header is the Close icon, . Click this to sign off the system.

Below the header is the Discussions section. Test Managers and other registered TATIL users can use Discussions to share information, ask and answer questions, or simply describe something others may find useful. You must be logged in to read and add to discussions.

Next is the Messages section. Any messages that have been generated by the system are displayed here. Each message is preceded with an icon indicating whether this is an informational, , message or a warning or reminder, , message and the date the message was delivered. After you have read a message, you can remove it from the Manager Dashboard by clicking the Close icon, , to the right of the message. You can view all of your read messages at any time by clicking the More icon, , to the right of the Messages heading.

The Tests section lists all of the tests you have created. To create your first test, click the Add icon, , to the right of the Tests heading. There will be more about creating tests below. As shown above, each test has a Test Title which is assigned by you. Also displayed are the Test Key and current Status for each test. The Completed column shows the number of students who have completed the test. This gives you a quick way to monitor how a test is progressing.

To the far right is the Actions column. Each of the action icons displayed here allows you to perform a specific operation on your test. Some of the icons will be gray, indicating that that action is not currently available for the test. For example, you cannot stop testing before you start testing. Here is an example of what the action icons look like:

Here are the operations for each action icon:

The Member icon allows you to authorize read-only access for other test managers at your institution.

The Setup icon allows you to view and edit the setup of the test.

The Preview icon allows you to preview your test setup in a new window.

The Delete icon allows you to delete a test if no students have completed the test.

The Start icon allows you to start testing.

The Key icon allows you to create Student Keys for the test.

The Activity icon allows you to view student activity and download a file containing the Student Keys of those students who have completed the test.

The Stop icon allows you to stop testing.

The Payment icon allows you to arrange payment for the test.

The Report icon allows you to prepare or download your report for the test.

The Copy icon here allows you to create a new test using the same setup as this test.

You can see the progression of actions going left to right. Once you have added a test, you can elect to authorize read-only access to others, , edit the setup, , or preview the test, . If you decide not to use the test, you can delete it, .

After your setup is complete, you start testing, , and create Student Keys, , for your students to use. As you are testing, you can view your students' activity or download a list of Student Keys of those students who have completed the test, .

When all testing is completed, you will stop testing, , and make payment, . Once a test has been stopped you can prepare your report, . You can only download your completed report after payment has been received by Association of College and Research Libraries.

All of this is done from the Manager Dashboard.

The remaining sections of the tutorial below can be expanded by clicking the section title. You can collapse an expanded section by clicking the section title again.

Your Settings

Adding a Test

To create your first test, click the Add icon, , to the right of the Tests section heading. The test edit form will be displayed as shown here:

Fields that are required to be completed are marked as such.

You must enter a title for your test. Most test titles contain the time period they cover in order to make it easier to find the correct test at a later date.

You must also agree to the Terms of Use before you can create a test.

From time to time, there will be promotional discounts available. If you have a Promotion Code, you can enter it here.

There are four different modules available for the Threshold Achievement Test for Information Literacy. You must select which module you want to administer. Only one module can be administered in a test.

Select your institution type. Institution types are used for generating cross-institutional analyses in reports.

Select how you will administer the test. We will use this information for determining if there is any difference in the performance of students when the test is administered in a classroom, unsupervised, or both.

You can select amoung three different types of Student Keys. You can use the system-created Standard Student Keys, which are randomly generated six-digit numbers. If you have a list of local institutional identifiers, that is, either Student IDs or email addresses, of the students who will be taking the test, you can use one of these instead. You will need to upload the list of local identifiers to the system before your students can take the test. The prompt your students see when logging in will match the type of Student Key you select.

If your institution requires that you inform your students about how you will be using the results of the test or if you have specific information that you would like your students to see before they begin the test, you can enter this information in the Informed Consent Text field. This is entirely optional.

Also, your institution may require that students be able to opt-out of having their responses used. You can allow your students to do this by checking the Informed Consent checkbox. When enabled, immediately after your informed consent text, your students will be presented with the question:

May we use your responses for our research project?

to which they must select either Yes or No before they can proceed. Student who opt-out will still be able to complete the test, but their responses will not be included in your report and you will not be charged for them.

You can choose to have a report of your students' results presented to them at the end of the test. They will have the option to download this report as a PDF document. If you do not select this option, your students will be taken directly to the thank you page. The results documents are still created and will be included in your report download for your use. If you have provided a Return URL (see below), your students must click the Exit button at the bottom of the report to be taken to that web page.

When your students have completed the test, they will see a thank you page. You have the option to have your students sent to a web page on your web server once they have completed the test. This is called a Return URL. Enter the complete URL of the web page where your students should be sent in the field provided. The Test Key and Student Key of the student completing the test will be appended to the URL you provide. This can be used for tracking or extended surveying on your web site if you have web programming skills.