Building Assessments

Assessment Overview

Assessments in Autolab are defined as a single submission set. Labs, Exams, Quizzes, and Homeworks are all Assessments.

Each Assessment has an Assessment Configuration File, Handout files, Writeup Files, a Handin File, and Problems.

The behavior of an assessment is defined by a configuration file which is named after the assessment. A Homework assignment might be called 'homework1' and would have a directory structure like this:

homework1
|-- homework1.rb
|-- homework1-writeup.pdf
|-- homework1-handout.tar.gz
|-- handin
|   |-- student1_handin.pdf
|   |-- student2_handin.pdf

• Assessment Configuration File: The name of the configuration file (homework1.rb) must be the name of the directory and .rb. It should follow a very specific format. This file can either be built by the Assessment Builder or created by a Lab Author. This file is used to override the default behavior of Autolab.
• Handout File: A Handout File is what a student needs to start working on an assignment and typically should be downloaded exactly once by each student.
• Writeup File: A Writeup File is the assessment description that students will reference throughout the assignment.
• Handin File: The Handin File is what students will upload back to Autolab as a submission. This must only be a single file (but can be an archive of multiple files).
• Problem: A Problem is the lowest resolution of grading possible. Problems should represent any quantitative measurements for a submission. Problems are stored in the Database, not in the configuration file, but they can be pre-defined in the configuration file for easy installation semester after semester.

Creating a New Assessment

To create a new assessment, go to your Course Page and click the 'Install Assessment' button. If you already have the assessment files prepared, use Option 2 or 3.

Otherwise, follow through the Assessment Builder in Option 1. Note that an SVN provides a version control system for submissions.

Using Advanced Assessment Features

Once the assessment is created, go to its main page and 'Edit Assessment'. From this screen, you should specify assessment problems and can set grace/late days, max submissions, and release/withdrawal dates among other options.