SQB for Windows is designed to work with Multiquest for windows and other examination processing systems from Speedwell Computing. SQB supports various styles of question and keeps statistics relating to question performance, along with the question’s development history.

Questions are held in libraries which usually relate to the subject category. A tree structure implementation enables each of these libraries to be further sub-divided into as many categories and sub-categories as required, for example:

Pure Science
• Maths
  • Pure
  • Applied
• Physics
  • Particle
  • Astronomy and space
  • Experimental Condensed Matter
  • Theoretical
• Chemistry
  • Organic
  • Inorganic
  • Physical
  • Theoretical

This overall structure is user defined and may be modified, adding new libraries categories or sub-categories as appropriate.

How is Speedwell Question Bank used?

Having designed the structure of the question bank, an examination administrator is able to:

• Allocate questions to a specific category or sub-category
• Enter, amend or delete questions
• Select questions for an assessment by: manually browsing, randomly selecting, or by defining and using an algorithmic procedure
• Generate examination papers
• After an assessment, import and keep the question performance statistics
• Produce reports for use at examiners’ meetings
• Keep the questions development history – authorised by…, changed by …, when and for what reason etc.

 What format can the questions take?

SQB supports the various styles of MCQ’s available with Multiquest, plus the question styles for use with the Short Written Answer and OSCE (Objective Structured Clinical Examinations) systems:

Questions which are true/false
Questions with a stem and a variable number of true/false items (e.g. a stem with 5 items true/false)
Choose 1 from many (e.g. A,B,C,D or E)
Extended matching
Short written answers questions with model answers
Modified essay questions with model answers
OSCE questions and station material
Questions may also incorporate rich text, diagrams, mathematical and chemical formulae and pictures

• A log of when this question has been used is kept to enable users to examine the statistical performance, on each occasion, particularly useful when developing and trialing questions.
• A question development history is kept to show who authorised the question, and if changes are made, when, by whom, and for what reason.
• Question statistics are imported directly into SQB each time the question is used. The statistics are shown in numerical form giving detailed analysis of performance.
• The way the question discriminates between good and bad candidates is shown by dividing those that have done well, less well and poorly in the exam overall (the population divided into 5-20% groupings), and showing the proportion of candidates getting the answer correct within each group.
• The frequency of all candidates’ responses to a particular question. Highlighting the proportion of candidates getting the question right and the quality of the distracters.