StudyDrome Exam Manager

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Written exams and OSCEs, one system

StudyDrome Exam Manager runs two exam types on one platform. Written exams and OSCEs share the same item bank, the same publishing engine and the same statistics. It holds eleven question types. Every published exam becomes an immutable snapshot of 40 record types. Results stay defensible at appeal.

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Which exam type do you need?

Written exams

MCQ and mixed-format papers. The exam office schedules them. Faculty author the items. The system marks what it can and queues the rest.

Written exams in StudyDrome

OSCE exams

Station-based clinical examination. A circuit rotates candidates past examiners. Examiners score checklists on a tablet. Standard setting derives the pass mark afterwards.

OSCE exams in StudyDrome

How does one item bank serve both exam types?

An OSCE station is a question. It lives in the same bank as an MCQ, under the same tags and the same clinical skills.

  • Blueprint coverage: A two-axis matrix maps either a whole bank or one OSCE exam. Each axis is a tag dimension or Skills. Each cell lists its questions with observed facility and administration count.
  • Nested banks: A bank accepts child banks when you switch on "Allow Sub-banks". No depth limit is enforced.
  • Access levels: Public, Private or Restricted. Restricted reads a per-user grant of ViewOnly or Editor.
  • Shared classification: Typed hierarchical tags, a clinical skills library, and case vignettes shared across questions.

What happens when you publish an exam?

  1. 1
    Publishing copies the whole delivery graph into a snapshot: items, banks, questions, answers, case vignettes, the roster, grading scales, OSCE stations and examiners. That is 40 record types, written under one time-ordered id.
  2. 2
    Only one publication is Active at a time. Publishing again supersedes the old one.
  3. 3
    Candidates already working keep their version and finish on it. New attempts bind to the Active version.
  4. 4
    Six settings stay editable on a live exam: grader anonymity, results detail, teacher attempt visibility, teacher grading permission, grading deadline type and grading day limit. Everything else needs a republish.
  5. 5
    That is the evidence chain an appeal panel asks for. The paper the candidate sat still exists, exactly as they sat it.

Which statistics does StudyDrome compute?

Exam Manager names every statistic it computes. Four of six competitors we track name no reliability coefficient at all.

Statistic

How it works

KR-20 or Cronbach's α

Chosen automatically. KR-20 when every scorable item is MCQ or True/False and none allows partial credit. Otherwise α. The report names which one it used.

Standard error of measurement

SEM = SD × √(1 − reliability). Computed for written exams, OSCE stations and the OSCE total.

Difficulty index (p-value)

Correct responses divided by total, to 4 decimal places.

Discrimination index

Top 27% minus bottom 27%, divided by group size. OSCE uses 33% groups.

Distractor analysis

Any wrong option chosen by under 5% of candidates is flagged non-functioning. Rolls up to one efficiency percentage.

Borderline regression

Ordinary least squares, checklist score on Global Rating. Returns slope, intercept and R².

Cohen's d and Welch's t-test

For comparing forms, cohorts and semesters.

Point-biserial

Computed on every item and available through the API.

Reliability uses each candidate's latest attempt, so retakes cannot inflate it. Items with fewer than 10 responses are marked "Insufficient Data".

Read our item analysis guide for the method behind these.

How does StudyDrome protect exam integrity?

Integrity is browser-native and adjudicated on the server, in layers you configure per exam:

  • Eight cheating-prevention controls per exam. Block copy, block paste, force fullscreen, detect window leave, plus warn and auto-finish thresholds.
  • Four violation types detected live in the browser: window leave, fullscreen exit, copy attempt and paste attempt.
  • Every violation recorded server-side against the attempt, and gathered into a per-attempt exam conduct report with a timeline.
  • Access codes, address rules and device binding, each a separate layer you can switch on independently.
  • A proctor dashboard that refreshes every 30 seconds, 1 minute or 5 minutes.
  • True real-time push the other way, to the candidate: warnings, messages, granted time and forced submit.

Exam Manager specification

Area

What ships

Question types

Eleven. Six mark themselves. Essay, file upload, short answer and OSCE station route to a grading queue. Likert is excluded from scoring by design.

Item bank

Nested banks, three access levels, per-user grants, typed hierarchical tags, clinical skills, shared case vignettes, 0–10 author difficulty.

Assembly

Fixed questions or bank sampling. Full Random, Percentage or Exact Number. Percentage shares must total 100% before publishing.

Randomisation

Question order off, shuffled, or shuffled within each bank. Answer order off or shuffled.

Delivery

Time limit in whole minutes. Attempt caps enforced across every publication. Always-available or calendar-driven windows.

Marking

Auto-marking, a grading queue for free text and uploads, blind marking enforced server-side, sequential grading history.

Standard setting

Four methods for OSCE: Custom, Angoff, Borderline Group, Borderline Regression.

Reporting

28 report pages across item analysis, reliability, cohort analytics, blueprint coverage, exam conduct and OSCE families.

Import

Questions from xlsx and docx with image extraction, banks, OSCE stations, students and holds. Parse and preview before you commit.

Certificates

Template designer, localisation, bulk issuance, expiry tracking on the issued register.

Integration and security notes

Access control runs in three layers. Codes are shared or unique per candidate. Address rules are checked when a candidate prepares, starts and resumes, so moving off-campus mid-exam is caught on the next resume. A started attempt binds to its device, and a proctor can reset that bind when hardware fails.

Banks carry one of three access levels: Public, Private or Restricted. A Restricted bank reads a per-user grant of ViewOnly or Editor.

Publishing saves the database snapshot first, then copies files in the background. A file error is logged and never rolls back a saved snapshot.

Tenant data is kept apart at the data layer, not by role rules. It holds however a role is set up. Ask us in writing for our current certification position and we will answer in writing.

Frequently asked questions

Can StudyDrome run written exams and OSCEs on the same item bank?

Yes. An OSCE station is a question type. Stations sit in the same bank as MCQs, under the same tags and clinical skills. A blueprint matrix covers either a whole bank or one OSCE exam. The same statistics engine serves both exam types. Standard setting applies to OSCEs only.

How does StudyDrome protect exam integrity?

Through browser-native controls, adjudicated on the server. Copy and paste blocking, fullscreen enforcement and window-leave detection run in the exam player. Four violation types are detected live and recorded per attempt, then gathered into an exam conduct report with a timeline. Access codes, IP restriction and device binding gate who can start, from where, and on which device.

Which reliability coefficient does StudyDrome report?

KR-20 or Cronbach's alpha, selected automatically. KR-20 applies when every scorable item is multiple choice or true/false and no item type allows partial credit. Otherwise the system computes alpha. The report always names the method it used, and adds the standard error of measurement alongside it.

Can we import an existing question bank?

Yes. Exam Manager imports questions from Excel and Word, extracting embedded images, plus banks, OSCE stations, students and holds. Every import is two-phase: the file is parsed, you preview the result with per-row errors, and only then do you commit. Downloadable templates cover each supported format.

What happens to a published exam if we change something?

Publishing creates an immutable snapshot of 40 record types, so the paper each candidate sat is preserved exactly. Six settings remain editable on a live exam, covering grader anonymity, results visibility, teacher access and grading deadlines. Any other change needs a republish, which supersedes the old publication while in-flight candidates finish on theirs.

Can we export our data?

Yes. Reports export to PDF, Excel and ZIP depending on the report. The blueprint matrix exports to a colour-banded spreadsheet. The bell curve exports to Excel with a native chart and a candidates sheet. Written-exam item analysis is available on screen and through the API.

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