Answer Key Format

Answer Key Format

Answer keys are entered and stored inside the project, not as a separate file to be managed. There is no key file format to prepare.

Entering a key

On the Answer Key stage:

• Select the question-paper set. Each set has its own independent key.
• Type the answers into the Answers field, or
• Read From Solution Sheet… to recognise the key from a filled-in sheet, using the same recognition path as a candidate's sheet.
• Save As New Revision.

Revisions

Keys are versioned. Saving creates a new revision rather than overwriting the previous one, so a key change is traceable — and recalculating results after a key correction is a supported, recorded operation.

Verification

Verify Answer Key is required before results can be calculated. The Validation panel reports:

• missing answers,
• answers outside the choices the template defines,
• the wrong number of questions for the template.

A wrong key mis-marks a whole cohort silently and plausibly, which is why OMRFlow will not score from an unverified one.

Defective questions

Wrong questions (full credit for everyone) marks a question that should not count against anyone; every candidate receives credit for it. It is stored with the key, so the reason survives a recalculation instead of being an untraceable manual adjustment to marks.

Confidentiality

An answer key before an examination is among the most sensitive material a project holds. It lives in the project database and the project's answer_keys\ folder. Never attach a key to a public issue, even after the examination.

Related

• Answer Keys & Scoring
• Recognition Symbols
• docs/scoring.md