Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Overview
Using Quest A+ and its associated Quest A+ Locked Browser, students can respond to Part A written
response questions with either a student or school-owned computer.
Prior to any secure assessment, the updated Quest A+ Locked Browser needs to be installed. The version
of Locked Browser that is installed must be July, 2013 or newer. It can be installed from the website
below.
Quest A+ URL:
https://questaplus.alberta.ca
Quest A+ Locked Browser URL:
https://questaplus.alberta.ca/help/requirements.html
Additional Information
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Quest A+ works on most Windows and Apple computers.
Quest A+ will work on “Netbook” sized computer or larger.
Quest A+ will work with school owned chromebooks provided that they are managed
appropriately. Quest A+ will not work with student owned chromebooks. Refer to document
Quest A+ - Using Chromebooks to manage your chromebooks appropriately.
Quest A+ will not work on devices such as iPads, etc.
Minimum Browser requirement for teacher stations: Internet Explorer 10 (or newer) or a
recent version of Firefox. All other browsers don’t respect formatting when printing.
For French typing refer to the section related to Changing your default keyboard language
settings on page 11 of this document.
The Practice Written Response Codes provided by Alberta Education will expire on June 30 of
each respective year.
Troubleshooting:
 Ensure the version of Locked Browser comes from Quest A+ and not another location
 Ensure that computers are running a recent version of flash
 If upgrading Locked Browser fails, try uninstalling and then reinstalling.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Practicing with the Quest A+ Written Response Interface
Well in advance of the actual Diploma Exam or Achievement Test, it is imperative that students
successfully access the Quest A+ Written Response interface and type a written response to a prompt
provided by the teacher.
To facilitate practicing, Examination Administration can create sets of Access Codes for a generic written
response test that are always open, anytime during the school year. This means that there is no set
period of time to access this practice “assessment”. To obtain codes for the secure, generic practice
written response, email [email protected].
Understanding Access Codes
A set of access codes is meant for one test instance. In the vast majority of cases, this is exactly what
happens – a Supervisor or school receives access codes for a specific test at a specific time. A group of
students can belong to a set of access codes.
In the case of the practice test access codes, they are always available. What this means is if a student
wrote an assessment with the a practice test code and then attempted to enter the same assessment
later, the data recovery function of Quest A+ would kick in – the student would download the same
essay that was typed in the past. The Supervisor would need to verify this data recovery with the
Supervisor PIN.
The practice written response test consists of a set of 3 generic written response prompts. Teachers can
provide the exact writing prompt(s) for the students.
Accessing Secure Exams on Quest A+
To access the secure, Quest A+ written response interface, follow these instructions:
Ensure the computer has the Quest A+ Locked Browser installed. It can be downloaded from
https://questaplus.alberta.ca/help/requirements.html.
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Go to https://questaplus.alberta.ca
Click on “Secure Exams”
Enter the Exam PIN from the excel sheet provided when access codes were obtained
(see above).
Click “Verify Exam PIN”
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
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If the exam PIN is valid, a cover page for the generic written response will appear. Use
the buttons at the bottom of the screen to click through the pages.
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On the next screen, (see below) students enter their birthdate and their Alberta Student
Number. To enter the birthdate, students can either click on the calendar to the right of
the birth date field or type in the information in the MM/DD/YYYY format. If the
information is not accurate, the student can go back and change the search information.
A common error is an incorrect birthdate. If a student can still not be found, then speak
to administrative staff at your school to check the student’s current information on
PASIprep.
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When the information has been typed in, a button will activate. Click “Search”. This
function performs a search for the student based on the information provided in the
previous step.
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The “Search” button returns back to the user their legal first name and last name. If the
information is accurate, the student clicks the checkbox next to “Yes, this is me”. If the
information is not accurate, the student can go back and change the search information.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
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If the student information is not found in the database, the student
cannot continue with the exam. Double check that the information was
entered correctly, and if so speak with administrative staff at your
school to check the student’s information on PASIprep.
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Students can now click on Download. Downloading the test will take a few seconds
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Once every student has successfully downloaded the test, the test supervisor can inform
students of the start code. Use the start code from the excel sheet provided when you
requested your access code. The start code is the Supervisor’s control over when the
test begins. Only distribute the start code once every student is ready to commence
writing the test. Students can then enter the start code for this particular test in the
last field and then click Start. Please note that the start code is case sensitive.
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The prompt for the written response question appears at the top of the screen. To gain
more room to type, students can click and drag the response window upwards (shown
by the arrow below).
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
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Below is a snapshot of the expanded written response interface window.
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During an actual Diploma Exam or Achievement Test, an “index” number will be
automatically inserted for the student. The index number is linked to the Alberta
Student Number and exam instance. It will be automatically printed as a header on
every page.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Spell Checking with the Written Response Interface
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The written response interface has a built-in spell checker. Students should be made
aware that if a word is underlined, they may left-click the word and suggestions for
correct spelling appear. The student can then choose the appropriate alternative. The
right-click button is disabled during secure assessments.
Written Response Interface Toolbar
A.
B.
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I.
J.
“Save”. Quest A+ automatically saves student responses to the Assessment database after
every 100th character. However, students can click “save” to force a save at any time.
Cut/Copy/Paste
Undo/Redo
Bold/Italics/Underline
Left/Centre/Right/Justify
Decrease Indent/Increase Indent
Single/Double Space
Insert Special Characters and Symbols
Thesaurus (New)
Zoom – the printed output is automatically converted to Times New Roman, 12 point, however
students can zoom in on the written response interface if desired.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Thesaurus
The thesaurus is new can be accessed by clicking the button labelled “I”
above. To the right is a screenshot of what is displayed when the
thesaurus button is clicked.
French Thesaurus
The Thesaurus is available in the French language as well, but it
functions differently depending on the device the student is using:
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Mac devices will load the French thesaurus without issue.
Chromebooks will not load the French thesaurus.
PCs will load the French thesaurus, but will also trigger a UAC prompt (below). Students must
click “No” in order to enable the French thesaurus. Clicking “Yes” will disable the French
thesaurus for the duration of the exam. The student will have to re-enter the exam to
regenerate the prompt below.
Printing
Even though student responses are sent to the Assessment database throughout the exam
administration, during an actual PAT or Diploma Exam, written responses must still be printed and
stapled. However, the power to print from the student interface has not been enabled. This is to
prevent students from saving the written response document to a virtual PDF printer or some other
online printing destination.
Therefore, printing student responses can be achieved through the use of the Quest A+ Test Monitor.
The test monitoring system displays:
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All of the students logged into the test
The time of the last response by each student
The number of responses for each student (applicable for machine-scored assessments)
If the student is “active” or “finished”
How many students are logged into the test
How many students have finished the test
A print icon for each student (only active if the test has a written response component)
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
The test monitoring system can help test supervisors determine any problems with the test
administration. For example, if a student is logged into a test and is responding to questions, the test
monitor should show progress. However, if the test monitor is NOT showing progress for the student, a
problem may exist. In this circumstance, obtaining technical assistance is important.
To access the test monitoring system:
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The Supervisor must enter the Exam PIN that was used to access the test. An Exam PIN is only
valid during the test administration.
Click “Verify Exam PIN”
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At the top left corner of the Exam cover page, click on the “Monitor” button
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Enter the Supervisor PIN for the test and click “OK”.
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In a few seconds, the Quest A+ Monitor will appear.
The test Supervisor will be able to see all of the students in the test, the time of the last
response, and whether each student has finished or not.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
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The test monitor also displays a “print” icon for each student. When pressed, it accesses the
Assessment database for responses for the selected student for this exact exam administration.
At any time during an exam administration, written responses can be printed for students. The
student needs to indicate to the Supervisor that printing is required.
Data Recovery
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As students type, responses are automatically sent to the Assessment database every 100
characters.
Students can also “force” the response to save at any time by pressing the “save” icon.
Students should be made aware of the automatic save function and the ability to force save
before beginning.
In the case of a situation where a computer fails, the student can move to another workstation
and continue approximately where the computer failed (last save point).
In this situation:
o The student needs to access a computer that is in working order
o Navigate to the Quest A+ website
o Click on Secure Exams
o Enter the same Exam PIN for the test as provided earlier
o Verify the Exam PIN and enter the demographic login area
o Complete the demographic information
o At this point, the program sends a request to the Assessment database to see if the
student has already started this assessment. If so, a data recovery window will appear.
The Supervisor will need to intervene with the Supervisor PIN. They will also need to
enter a description of the event.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Accommodations
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If a student is entitled to receive the extra time or audio accommodation, this can be met by
entering the appropriate accommodation in Quest A+
o The extra time accommodation doubles the amount of time students receive for their
assessment. For instance, a student who gets extra time would receive 4 hours plus an
additional 30 minutes for a 2 hour exam.
o The audio accommodation is only available for PATs and Diplomas. When selected, an
alternate exam package is loaded which contains audio controls that will allow the MP3
files to be played for each respective question in the exam. These exam packages are
larger than regular ones and will take more time to download. It is recommended to
order CDs as backup.
To enter an accommodation:
o Wait for the student to proceed to the last login screen (after searching for ASN and
clicking the checkbox next to “Yes, this is me”).
o Instead of clicking “download”, click “change accommodations”.
o A pop-up window will appear. Check the accommodation number. In the case of extra
time, the accommodation is #3. Select accommodation #1 or #2 to load the audio exam
package.
o Exit the pop-up window.
o The Supervisor PIN area will now turn white. The Supervisor must enter their PIN in this
area. The student can now click “download” and enter the Start Code with the rest of
the class.
Supervisor Responsibility for Student Identification
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Once students are in an assessment, Quest A+ displays the student information at the top of the
screen. The student’s name is displayed. Mousing over the name reveals the Alberta Student
Number and date of birth. It is the responsibility of the Supervisor to ensure the correct name
is displayed at the top of each student’s screen.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Checklist
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All students have downloaded the Quest A+ Locked Browser
All students have completed at least one secure assessment. Teachers can provide their
own writing prompt to students. The writing prompt for these practice Access Codes is
generic.
All Supervisors are aware of how to print.
Actual PAT or Diploma Exam Administrations
For an actual PAT or Diploma Exam Administration, Access Codes for each assessment will be provided
to your school. Email [email protected] for these Access Codes. If your school has several
smaller groups (eg – several classrooms), separate Access Codes can be provided. In doing so, the
Supervisor will only see a list of students who are logged into the particular Access Code which they are
using. This will assist in exam administration and printing.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Changing your default keyboard language settings.
The following steps are used to change your default settings on a PC or Mac in order to type using the
French keyboard in QuestA+. The keyboard is usually set to default to English if you have not completed
these steps. Once an exam or test is started Quest A+ will use its default settings. Please change the
keyboard default and test your system before starting a test to ensure correct settings.
Remember to set all options before starting QuestA+
Windows 7
Open your Control Panel
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Click “Language and Region"
Click "Keyboards and Languages”
Click “Change keyboards "
Click “Add”
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
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Scroll down to the language you want to add, like “French (Canada)”, click + next to it, then
select the Keyboard Canadian French
Click OK in each dialog window.
To use the Keyboard layout associated with French (Canada), click the language input button on
the taskbar (it probably says EN) and choose French (Canada).
Remember to set all options before starting QuestA+
Windows XP
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Open your Control Panel (via Start menu or My Computer)
Double-click "Regional and Language Options"
Click "Languages"
Click "Details"
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
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Click "Add"
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Under "Input Language" pick the language you want to add
Under "Keyboard layout/IME" make your selection
Click “OK” in each dialog window.
Remember to set all options before starting QuestA+
Mac Operating System 10 French Language Installation
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International >> Input Menu
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Scroll Down and checkmark “French.” Make sure you also checkmark “Show input menu
in menu bar.” This will enable you to switch between languages on the top right of your
screen.
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Close the “International” window. Now, you should have “French” installed on your
computer.
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To activate the Mac “keyboard viewer” go to System Preferences >> International >>
Input Menu, and checkmark “Keyboard Viewer,” which is found on the third line down.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Inserting Special Characters in Word Processor
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Select the special characters button
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This shows the special characters that will be inserted into document by clicking.
Using Alt Codes
 Schools can now use Alt Codes to enter special characters in Quest A+.
 For instance, holding down the “Alt” key and then typing “0224” will place “à” in your
document.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
Basic Quest A+ Login Procedure Overview
Notes:
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The Exam PIN is checked against the start time of the exam. It becomes active 30 minutes prior
to the start of the exam.
Check for previous exam: Quest checks to see if a student has already started the exam, and
requires data recovery. In the vast majority of instances, this is not an issue.
The extra time accommodation doubles the amount of time for the exam. For example, an exam
that is 2 hours, with an additional 30 minutes would have a new maximum time of 4 hours, 30
minutes.
The start code is checked against the start time of the exam. The start code will not work if the
start time for the exam has not yet been reached.
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Quest A+ - Written Response Pilot
February 2013 Word Processor Update
Update 1: Hard Space Exclusion
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Spaces entered by the student for formatting purposes will not be respected when printed. An
example of this would be holding the space bar down in an attempt to center text. Students
should always use the formatting options available to them (e.g. centre, left justify, etc.).
o When students use spaces to format text, the printed HTML output can be adversely
affected. By using the formatting options available to students, correct HTML output
can be assured.
Update 2: Enhanced Cut/Copy/Paste Support
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In past versions of Quest A+, students who attempted to cut/copy, then paste from one written
response to another were unable to do so. If a cut attempt was made between one written
response and another, the student work was often lost.
Students can now cut/copy and paste from one written response to another.
Update 3: New login procedure, Thesaurus and French alt code support
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Students are prompted to enter their Alberta Student Number and their birthdate. In the past
students were required to enter their first name, last name, birthdate and gender.
A thesaurus was added for both the English and French languages.
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