Exam Preparation: An Application of the Computer This Note describes a Fortran computer program that may be used t o rapidly prepare examinations while totally eliminating the need for clerical assistance. Through the use of either a text editor or punch cards, test questions are grouped by topic into a large sequential master file. The primary purpose of the program is to obtain and print selected questions of the master file into a neatly organized examination format through the use of a number of special program provisions. The special provisions included in the program allow quite a hit of latitude in examination fornulation. There arevirtually no restrictions on question presentation as the program provides for the printing of complex ring structures and for the overprinting of lines so that triple bonds and other awkward symbols and notations may be utilized. The program prints appropriate headings, including course and date, and then "looks ahead," skipping pages when necessary, to ensure that no question will "run over" from one page to another. "Answer keys" may be created concurrently with examinations. In addition to exam preparation, the program will print aneatly organized catalog of all the questions within a master file. The master question file is easily modified and appended, and once compmed, exam preparation simply involves browsing through the catalog, selecting questions from various tapin, and entering their respective sequence numbers into the computer. The secrecy and security of the program and its files is easily maintained through the use of coding routines, which we have available if they are not included in your own system's resources. Our use of the program has proven to be very successful. I t operates efficiently with very large master files, requiring a t most only one or two minutes of computer time, and i t can be used to compose material ranging from weekly quizzes, to chapter homework, to descriptions of, for example, synthetic procedures for various organic compounds. I t is ideally suited to multiple choice questions, and thus, i t has proven to be very handy far the preparation of final examinations. West Texas State University Canyon, 79016
William M. Chop, Jr. J a m e s D. Woodyard
Volume 55, Number 5, May 1978 / 337
