===== Program Summaries ================================

(As listed at http://www.nine-patch.com)

101/102/103 True Score
----------------------
The program scores for both rank (traditional scoring) and for 
knowledge and judgment.  When a test is created with True Test 
Writer, True Score can create one item analysis from multiple 
forms of a test.  The program is also optimized for small data 
sets.  It makes two estimates of difficulty and two estimates 
of discrimination ability.  It labels question quality bad, 
good, better and best.  It labels questions that need to be 
discussed with the class and gives an indication of why the 
question or the students performed poorly.

201/202/203 True Test Writer
----------------------------
This program was created to assist in writing large numbers of 
high quality questions from current class activities and 
reading assignments.  They were needed in the test booklets 
administered to measure knowledge and judgment.  Students were 
given the responsibility to report what they knew or could do 
with confidence, based on their own judgment.  This is the 
basis for authentic assessment.  Such testing demands timely,
high quality, questions as part of an instructional system.

True Test Writer (TTW) contains the same question editor 
designed for students.  TTW creates more complex tests.
All files hold up to 200 questions.  TTW creates single column
and double column (NCLEX style) tests.  It also creates
multiple form tests that can be reduced to one item analyis by
True Score.

301/302/303 True Study Skills
-----------------------------
True Study Skills contains the routines students have reported 
helped them to start studying seriously and to become 
self-correcting scholars.  The program allows students to 
report what they know or have learned from their class 
activities and reading assignments in stylized paragraphs:
(statement, label, relate and classify)

1.  An opening statement.               The question stem.
2.  A related label or part.            The first right answer.
3.  A second related label or part.     A second right answer.

During review, the above returns as a short answer question or 
flash card.

4.  An unacceptable label or part.      The first wrong answer.
5.  Up to 3 more labels or parts that   Second to fourth wrong 
    are not within acceptable limits.   answers.
    
A fully developed question returns at five levels of thinking 
or questioning.  When writing, students need to determine what 
is like and unlike, what is within and outside of acceptable 
limits, what is related and what is not related to the question 
stem.  This is applied critical reading and thinking. 

Large type makes the program usable for the visually 
handicapped and for group activites.  Printing practice tests 
in two columns (question on the left and answers on the right) 
produces short lines that are easier to read than one column 
tests.

401/402/403 True Competency Test
--------------------------------
True Competency Test presents one question at a time.  The
examinee can answer or pass.  The examinee may take several
passes to complete all questions.  The examinee can scroll
through the test and change answers.  Scoring takes place after
all questions have been answered.  Two scores can be extracted:

1.  Quantity, how many right answers, a ranking.
2.  Quality, how well the examinee knew what he/she reported,
             an indication of what value the knowledge was to
             the examinee, an indicator of competency.  

When two examinees obtain the same score or rank, the one 
with the highest quality is the more competent.
