ALAN testing nightmare........................!

[Kyle]

We have just tried to sit 40 pupils through ALAN testing, some doing numeracy some literacy. Out of the 40 we have 12 successfully finish. The majority could not log on. With an error saying that only 50mb of hard disk space was left onto he machine which had the shared folder, but i checked the HDD an there was over 60gb spare.

 

I phone Tech Support and they tried to ell me it it was a permissions problem on the shared folder and then on the Program files directory. I assured them that this was all correct and that the permissions on the Program files directory was set in a Path Rule to 'Everyone Full Control' as they tell you to.

 

They came up with all sorts of crap excuses but i think it was their end not ours.

 

Has anyone else had any similar trouble with this software?

[Quackers]

I'm currently trying to set an exam for the first time since it changed from Exam Base. I'm not impressed. Exam base just worked, this Promiser software with the edexcel web site is a joke, talk about a down grade.

[TechMonkey]

I have had similar experiences of random suggestions for things it can not be. Our server wasn't connecting so obviously we must be blocking port 80 and 445 at our firewall. So how do I get the interent? ermmmmmmm.....! Not sure if their tech suport don't know the product or just have a very limited script.

 

Our tests did run ok though once we had jumped through all the hoops so can't help with what it might have been. Sorry.

 

@ Quackers: Totally agree. All the old system needed was an interface the Exam officer could use to interact with the server and it would have ben perfect. This is a bit of a steaming pile now.

[mrforgetful]

Do you have quotas set on the machine with the shared folder?

[Joanne]

back to pen and paper maybe?

[Kyle]

OK here3 goes one reason we had so much trouble.

 

The old NM set this up on a Win XP Pro workstation, but had installed the ESM_Test share on the workstation as well. I took it for granted the share was on a server. ( I only pop in here when someone is off sick) As you know XP Pro only allow 10 concurrent connections to the share. Hence only 10/12 kids being able to sit the test.

 

I checked the documentation on the web and also the install documents and it does not say anything about this at all. I then spoke to tech support again and the guy admitted it should state this.

 

Now I know most techies now about the windows XP Pro share restrictions on numbers of users but some time Exam Officers/secretaries deal with a lot of this and they would dnot know.

 

 

I will be re-installing on a server now and then editing the registry of all computers with the test software on to point to the correct path of the server folder now and not the workstation.

[sahmeepee]

I've had some bumph from Edexcel about their GCSE Onscreen Testing Pilots shoved under my nose today.. Is this the same turkey?

 

It mentions:

 

"If you already run onscreen tests with Edexcel for Skills For Life (Key Skills/ALAN) you do not need to install again but you will need to contact us"

 

Please tell me it's not as big a faff as the QCA KS3 tat I find myself setting up again this year!

[Sylv3r]

We are doing ALAN tests again this year on Thursday - in the past i've had no problems with it, although that doesn't mean Thursday will go to plan!

[mortstar]

We are doing ALAN tests again this year on Thursday - in the past i've had no problems with it, although that doesn't mean Thursday will go to plan!

 

They have stopped supporting the ExamBase software and have moved on to this terrible piece of kit provided by Promissor - a step backwards is an understatement.

 

They've literally managed to remove all that was good about ExamBase and provided us with a steaming pile of crap. Nearly as much faffing as QCA KS3 ICT Testing. The server it is installed on must not be using port 80 and the software ports CANNOT be changed. They've called the testing client the Administrator?!?!?!?. Another terribly written piece of Educational software - but what's new with that?

 

Also the installation guide is so patronising and blasé about school network support. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ...and of course I've been given a 3-line whip from the SLT to get this installed ASAP - seen as ALAN tests improved our 5 A-C score by 11% this summer it's become a gateway to our target of a 11% rise this year........rant rant rant!

[Sylv3r]

We are doing ALAN tests again this year on Thursday - in the past i've had no problems with it, although that doesn't mean Thursday will go to plan!

 

They have stopped supporting the ExamBase software and have moved on to this terrible piece of kit provided by Promissor - a step backwards is an understatement.

 

They've literally managed to remove all that was good about ExamBase and provided us with a steaming pile of crap. Nearly as much faffing as QCA KS3 ICT Testing. The server it is installed on must not be using port 80 and the software ports CANNOT be changed. They've called the testing client the Administrator?!?!?!?. Another terribly written piece of Educational software - but what's new with that?

 

Also the installation guide is so patronising and blasé about school network support. Arghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! ...and of course I've been given a 3-line whip from the SLT to get this installed ASAP - seen as ALAN tests improved our 5 A-C score by 11% this summer it's become a gateway to our target of a 11% rise this year........rant rant rant!

 

When was it changed? We used the Promissor software from about May this year. The testing client being called Administrator was a bit baffling I must admit.

 

I installed onto a spare Windows 2000 box I had. If I didn't have this box im not sure how I would have got it all setup.

[mrforgetful]

I concur completeley, this new software has made it a nightmare like most other online testing things whereas last year the Exambase stuff went without a hitch.

[plexer]

I still don't have a working msi for the client install.

 

Everything I've tried to repackage it has failed.

 

Ben

[Quackers]

I still don't have a working msi for the client install.

 

Everything I've tried to repackage it has failed.

 

Ben

 

I've just pushed out an MSI of Administrator last night to 120 stations, which has worked, except the NTFS permissions have been set to Administrator full control, and nothing else. So i had to use group policy to alter the permissions after, which was a bit odd.

[mullet_man]

We had lots of problems with this, the other day there server was down so when I scheduled an exam, I could not unlock the exam for the pupils.

 

Am pretty certain with the last software you could schedule an exam a few mins before, now its a 4 hour wait, and what do I do try and schedule an exam in the morning for an hour later, SMT not impressed, I blaimed the software :-) !!!!

 

The software is awful, the only plus I can give is that you can get results almost straight away.

[plexer]

Quackers: What did you use to create the msi?

[Kyle]

Just successfuly sat 40 kids through this this morning.

 

All worked fine after installing it on the server.

[Quackers]

Quackers: What did you use to create the msi?

 

WinInstall LE, the one thats on the Windows 2000 Server CD.

[plexer]

Tried that and didn't get a successful capture.

 

Ben

[plexer]

Ok found another way someone mentioned they couldn't create an answer file for this.

 

You can you need to run the following command:

 

\\eserver01\esm_test_centre$\Updates\AdmSetup.exe /a /r

 

This will create a setup.iss file in the c:\windows directory on the machine you run it on. This is because it's in package for the web format.

 

To install it using your answer file copy that file to esm_test_centre$ share and run:

 

\\eserver01\esm_test_centre$\Updates\AdmSetup.exe /s /a /s /sms

 

For a complete silent install.

 

Ben

[plexer]

Or you can pull out the files from the temp directory and just use those to record from and install from.

 

If you've recorded an answer file from the pftw you can use it with the setup.exe you'll find in temp directory by using:

 

setup.exe /s /sms

 

Ben

[Oops_my_bad]

I just can't believe they expect you to install the program with a share that needs full permissions granting to everyone - talk about suicidal

[Quackers]

For everyone else who is unhappy with the peice of junk, i just ran into another issue, where i had to manually verify 100+ students when the exam was due to start there and then, when i phoned up support at the end i said this software is junk i need exambase back, he said i need to contact

 

[email protected] and make it for the attention of Emma Vann , so intend on e-mailing her today and complaining like mad. Hope you lot will do the same to show that there are some unhappy people.

[plexer]

Well after much playing with this as I couldn't get a msi to create I now have a vbscript that does 3 things.

 

1st checks to see if the prmissor folder exists and is therefore probably installed.

 

2nd calls an encrypted runas script which runs the install with admin priveleges.

 

3rd calls and encrypted runas script which uses xcacls.vbs to set the local folder permissions.

 

This can be run as a student or anyone else.

 

I'm going to set it as the login script for the user the kids login as to do the test.

 

Ben

[Kyle]

where i had to manually verify 100+ students

 

I had to do this with 40 odd kids today as well. Bloody nightmare that you cant do all at once.

[rogerblue]

I'ts american crap, and the testing screen looks like it's designed in ASCII !

 

And the reason the schools like the alan tests is a pass for a pupil in level 2 for both Numeracy and Literacy gets pupils an equivalent to 'B' gade gcse pass, and if only a level 1 pass still the school gets to claim every child left with a qualification.

 

I will not go into how abused the system is to get these passes lets just say my dog could pass! how can you need a 'reader' for a literacy exam??????