Usually only KEY1= is needed for an MCQ scoring key.
Key format
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Key1= ABDE .... for 0,1 data
Key2= BCCA.... for 0,1,2 data
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Key1= * list * is not available. Use IREFER= Example 5. IREFER= * list *
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Key1= filename.txt is not available. Use IREFER= Example 5 and IREFER= Example 1. IREFER=*filename.txt
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Up to 99 keys can be provided for scoring the response choices, with control variables KEY1= through KEY99=. Usually KEY1= is a character string of "correct" response choices. The standard is one column per correct response, or two columns if XWIDE=2.
As standard, responses matching the characters in KEY1= are scored 1. Other valid responses are scored 0. KEY2= through KEY99= are character strings of successively "more correct" response choices to be used when more than one level of correct response choice is possible for one or more items. The standard score value for KEY2= is 2, and so on up to the standard score value for KEY99= which is 99. The values assigned to these keys can be changed by means of KEYSCR=. If XWIDE=1, only the values assigned to KEY1= through KEY9= can be changed, KEY10= through KEY99= retain their standard values of 10 through 99. If XWIDE=2, the all KEYn= values can be changed.
More complicated scoring can be done with IREFER=
Example 1: A key for a 20-item multiple choice exam, in which the choices are coded "1", "2", "3" and "4", with one correct choice per item, scored 1. Wrong, invalid and missing responses are scored 0.
CODES = 1234 ; valid codes
KEY1 = 31432432143142314324 ; correct answers scored 1
; incorrect responses in CODES= automatically scored 0
MISSING-SCORED = 0 ; scoring of responses not in CODES=
Example 2: A 20-item MCQ test with responses entered as "a", "b", "c", "d". Wrong responses scored 0. Invalid and missing responses are scored "not administered", and so excluded from the analysis
CODES=abcd ; valid responses
KEY1 =cadcbdcbadcadbcadcbd ; ; correct answers scored 1
; incorrect responses in CODES= automatically scored 0
MISSING-SCORED = -1 ; scoring of responses not in CODES= (default)
Example 3: A 20 item multiple choice exam with two somewhat correct response choices per item. One of the correct choices is "more" correct than the other choice for each item, so the "less correct" choice will get a score of "1" (using KEY1=) and the "more correct" choice will get a score of "2" (using KEY2=). All other response choices will be scored "0":
CODES=1234 valid responses
KEY1=23313141324134242113 assigns 1 to these responses
KEY2=31432432143142314324 assigns 2 to these responses
; 0 is assigned to other valid responses
ISGROUPS = 0 ; for the Partial Credit model
MISSING-SCORED = 0 ; scoring of responses not in CODES=
Example 4: A 100 item multiple choice test key.
CODES= ABCD
KEY1 = BCDADDCDBBADCDACBCDADDCDBBADCDACBCDADDCA+
+DBBADCDACBCDADDCDBBADCDACBCDADDCDBBADCCD+
+ACBCDADDCDBBADCDACBC ; continuation lines
Example 5: Multiple score key for items 1 to 10. Items 11 to 15 are on a rating scale of 1 to 5
CODES = abcd12345
KEY1 = bacdbaddcd*****
RESCORE= 111111111100000 ; RESCORE= signals when to apply KEY1=
ISGROUPS= 111111111122222 ; 1 indicates dichotomy, 2 indicates rating scale
Example 6: A 12 item test. Items 1-5 are MCQ with responses entered as "ABCD", with one of those being correct: Item 1, correct response is B. Item 2 is C. 3 is D. 4 is A. 5 is C. Then items 6-10 are partial-credit performance items rated 0-5. Items 11-12 are two dichotomous items, scored 0,1.
CODES =ABCD012345 ; screen for all valid codes in the data file
KEY1 = BCDAC******* ; Key1= automatically has the value "1", etc.
RESCORE= 111110000000 ; "1" selects the KEY1=
ISGROUPS=111110000022 ; 1 indicates MCQ, 0 indicates partial credit, 2 indicates dichotomy
Example 7: Item 1 has correct options B,D,E. Other items have only one correct option.
ITEM1=1
NI=10
NAME1=11
NAMELENGTH=8
CODES = "ABCDE"
; B,D,E ARE ALL CORRECT FOR ITEM 1
KEY1 = BBADCBDDC
KEY2 = D********
KEY3 = E********
KEYSCR = 111 ; ALL KEYS ARE WORTH 1 POINT
&END
Item 1
Item 2
Item 3
Item 4
Item 5
Item 6
Item 7
Item 8
Item 9
END NAMES
123456789
ADABADCCD Person 1 ; this scores as 001000000
BBDDDCAAB Person 2 ; 110100000
CDCCDBABA Person 3 ; 000001000
DCBCCACDC Person 4 ; 100010011
EDCDCDCBD Person 5 ; 100110000
Example 8: the answer to each one of the options, but the options differ across items. Item 1 has options ABC with correct option B. Item 2 has options CDEF with correct option E.
CODES = ABCDEF ; all options
KEY1 = BE ; correct options
