Practice test making

Great advice, Marie! Thank you for giving us these pointers.

@Abigail: The first of the tests should be made available early August, in two weeks or so. Sorry I am just now replying; your post was just admin-verified this morning.

Thanks for informing me, Matthew. I think I can wait that long!

Why do we have 3 tests per age division?

God blessed us with many volunteers, Isaac - enough to make 3 full tests per age division. I was very happy about that! :D

I meant why do we have 3 tests? Is it because of bible versions or just because of # of volunteers?

@Sarah: I emailed you again last week… did you receive that email? I just had a couple questions for you on the test making. Thanks!

Sorry Bethany, but you have been proven wrong. I did get it, and I replied a couple of hours ago.
If you don't believe me, ask Elizabeth! :-)

Yes, I just got the reply…thanks! :)

When will the test be out? Do you have a target date?

It should be out in early August, hopefully in about 1 or 2 weeks.

can we make a few qs from the vigginete

Bethany, I think that the Week 1 vignette is the only one that really had anything that would qualify as Bible Knowledge. So although I think it would be fine to make a few (just a few) questions from the Week 1 vignette, please do not make your questions from any of the other vignettes because I believe they are only included to encourage us. Most if not all of the info in the vignettes is not applicable to the "Bible Knowledge" category that 75% of the test is supposed to be on (the other 25% on Bible Memory).

@All volunteers: I haven't stated this to everybody, but I would like you to send your completed tests to me by August 11th. If there is a few latecomers, that is okay; but we will need some time to proof the test, put it into final formatting, and upload it onto Memverse, each of which will be done by a different person. And, of course, we want to leave some time for the contestants to actually take the tests.

Matthew, are you going to send this info out in an email? (Just wondering, since not everybody checks the forum :) )

Also, a quick question - when you say "final formatting" - is there a format that we should use for our test? So far, I have been doing

Question
(then answers indented)
a.
b.
c.
d.

Question

Etc…..

…with the answers in bold.

I'm assuming you want the questions numbered?

I seem to remember in the past that the tests roughly go chronologically through the Sword Study book - am I correct?

Thanks for all your work on this!

I just now sent out an email to everybody. Thanks for reminding me of that, Grace.

Your format looks good - if everyone goes by that standard, that would definitely make it easier for me. :) Yes, I do want the questions numbered. I only mentioned putting the correct answers in bold to make it easier for the test-makers; for the proofer, though, it would probably be better to have the answers not bolded. So I would prefer that you make a separate answer sheet before you send the test to me.

Matthew, when you say "answer sheet", do you just mean a separate document with the entire test, just with the correct answers in bold? Or, do you mean a sheet that just says

1. a
2. b

etc.?

And, when we send the test to you, would you want both the test and answer documents?

First question: I think I would prefer the second option for two reasons: 1) it's shorter and would take up less space, and 2) it would be much easier to forget to bold the correct answer than it would be to forget to type in the correct answer.

Second question: Yes, please send both documents. That way I won't have to make an answer document by myself before I send it to Alex.

How will the tests be available? Will it be on a blog post on memverse? Will it be like the memverse Bible Bee quizzes?

They will be available for download on a blog post, like last year.

@ Matthew: Is there anything you could possibly have ready–or at least partially ready–sometime this week? Our local Bible Bee host asked Nicolas and me to come up with a 60-70 question mock-test for our mock-Bee this coming Saturday, and I was thinking that we wouldn't have to go to nearly as much trouble if we could just use your questions. Is that possible?

Sure Christian, can you send me an email? Bethany and I are almost finished with our full test, so I can get something ready for you.

Thank you so much! My dad's sending the e-mail right now. :)

Will the tests be available for download on this post, or another one?

They will be available on a blog post.

I already sent an email to all of my volunteers, but I wanted to put the info here so that non-volunteers looking forward to the tests could know. @Volunteers: I know that I gave you a deadline of August 11th. Since that is tomorrow already, I have decided to give you a little more time. I understand that some of you may not be able to finish a complete 200-question test. This is okay. I did not expect everyone to finish. Please send me (or your proofer) all questions you have made at the very latest (preferably earlier) August 18th. Even though your test may not be fully 200 questions, it will still be great practice for others. I appreciate the help from each and every one of you! These practice tests will be a great resource to all who take them.

On a more positive note: Bethany Pentimone and I are finished with our test and are waiting for Emily Hamilton to proof it. Isaac Hanna also informed me that he and Caleb Montgomery are finished and that I should receive the completed test from Aaron Hanna soon.

I took the 70 question test today - it was great! Except, there seem to be errors with the 10th and 41st questions:

Q 10. What Greek word fits this definition? "to win over or persuade; to be trusted, reliable"
A. Pistis
B. Pathema
C. Epaischunomai
D. Euaggelion

The only one of these that could fit the verbal definition is the deponent verb, Epaischunomai. But Epaischunomai doesn't match the definition. (I think the answer key said the answer was A.)

Q 41. What is the English word for Kerusso?
A. Preaching
B. Gospel
C. Preacher
D. Preach

The answer is D, Preach. But I think the answer key said it was C.

It was a really great test though, and thank you!

Thanks for letting me know. On Q10, could you take a closer look at the definition of Pistis in Week Three, Day One? Page 74 in the Senior Sword Study. Look at Part B, Nos. 1 & 3 especially. Option A is indeed correct.
On Q41: I'm sorry that I missed that. I believe that the Sword Study had a typo (it said that Kerusso was "preacher" and Kerux was "preach"). You are right, it is the other way round. I have noticed several errors like that in this year's Sword Study. Although I can distinguish the errors, I wish the SS would have had a little better editing this year.

I found out that Grace, Thomas, and Marie are nearly finished with their test. That will make one full test for each age division so far!

I think ISC meant to include that "Pistis" is the noun form of "to win over or persuade; to be trusted, reliable"; it actually means "faith," while the first definition is the verb form of that Greek word, not the noun form. I don't know what that verb form is, but "Pistis" is not it. I think that makes sense… Feel free to correct me, Caleb. :)

Why does the first sinor test say canseled? and why does my group now have three makers but no profer?

What other Greek words are messed Up? Please Help!

In the seventy-question test that we got from Matthew for our mock Bee, those were the only two that had slight errors. And I don't think that the Sword Study had any mistakes other than those either. So, other than what we already said, those are the only two errors that need fixing. :)

@Bethany: I misplaced Luke Purkey's email several weeks ago when I gave Joshua Smithe the wrong address. When I finally figured out my error, Luke told me he was too busy to help anymore. I then put Joshua Smithe on your test because he didn't have anywhere else to go. We just haven't found a proofer for your test yet.

@Nathan: When I said "errors", I meant several small typos that I noticed. For example, in Week Ten it looks like they got a little slap happy with copy and paste. Each of the "Write!" sections said that the passage we were to write was a good cross-reference for Chapter 1. It should have been Chapter 2 on Day Two, and so forth. The only thing I noticed that was of real significance was the kerux vs. kerusso error.

I sent Isaac and Caleb's completed test to Alex this morning!

Here is my "Ten Guidelines for Taking a Bible Bee Test" that I created:

1. Take the test quietly. Try not to disturb your neighbors.
2. NEVER try to cheat. Cheating is grounds for disqualification. Keep your eyes on your own test.
3. Do not write anywhere you are not supposed to on the bubble sheet. The scoring machine may interpret this wrongly and take away points. You are allowed to write on the test papers with the actual questions.
4. To get the test done in 60 minutes, you must take on average 18 seconds per question. Try to take about 15 seconds/question. This will allow you 10 minutes for review. Wear a stopwatch if you want to so you can watch your time. If you finish the test, go over your questions until the time runs out.
5. Don’t take too long on questions that are easy for you.
6. Don’t misread the questions! Read them carefully. Sometimes, there are two or three partially correct answers, but the right answer might be “All of the above” or something similar. Read all of the options before you choose.
7. NEVER skip a question. If you have no idea, simply put down an answer and move on. At least if you put down an answer, you have a 25% chance of getting it right, whereas if you skip it, you have no chance of getting it right!
8. If you are not sure of the answer to a question, put a question mark or other scratch on it so you can review it later if you have time. Try to keep marks to a minimum, about 1 per 10 questions.
9. If, when reviewing a question, you still are not sure of the answer, do not change the answer you put down. Your first intuition is more often correct than second-guessing.
10. Ask any questions you might have before the test begins. You want to be as informed about the procedure as you can.

SavedByGrace is right. Pistis means 'persuasion; credence; faith; moral conviction'. It really isn't a big deal, I just thought I say.

For anyone who's curios - the verbal form of Pistis is Pisteuo. (Meaning, I have faith.)

Excellent things to follow, Matthew! My worst one on keeping strictly is #6. If I think A is right, I don't always read B-D - something that probably gets me in big trouble on scores!

I thought was #5 was funny :)

Excellent things to follow, Matthew! My worst one on keeping strictly is #6. If I think A is right, I don't always read B-D - something that probably gets me in big trouble on scores!

I do the same thing….

My hardest is number 2… just kidding, just kidding!! :) My hardest is really number 9. I missed two questions at our mock Bee because I went back and put in an answer other than my first guess for a question I wasn't sure about.

Yay! Carissa Pentimone and Sarah Eddy are finished with their Junior test! We are now waiting on Sarah Frisk to check it.

would you like me to ask Siri (Dod I spell that right)Lenord if she would like to prof our test? She is Alitha and Kerestell lenords sister sorry my trying to learn to puncuate and spell is turning out to be a dasitor

Well, at least I can read what you typed. :)
Sure, you can ask Shiri if she can proof your test. Bethany Pentimone already volunteered, but she's already got a test to proof (plus the fact that she's not a Primary).

Well maybe your excited but i don't think that that will happen soon:(

Bethany, you have been proven wrong for the second time on this forum! I am working on proofing right now. Maybe you should stop saying that I'm not doing stuff!

I have finished 100 questions and sent them to my partner a few days ago. Do I need to send them to anyone else? Is there anything else I am supposed to do? Thanks!

Looks like for the most part, your part is finished. When Courtney gets to checking the questions, she will give you ideas on how to change them or tell you about problems she found with them.

I really liked the tests! Thanks to everyone who helped make them! I am really impatient for the rest! On the primary test, I missed 5% of the questions, but on the Junior test I missed 20%! So, I have a lot of studying to do.

Well, two days before the competition, all of the Local practice tests have been finished. There is at least one full 200-question test per age division (2 in the Primaries). Congratulations everybody, and great job! I trust this has been good practice for everyone and will be good practice for those who are still to take the tests. If you would like to receive the tests that are not available on Memverse, please email me. I will make it a point to check my email often tomorrow. :)

Thank you so much for the practice tests. I took the the senior one, and I am grading the junior :) thanks!!!!

Thank you so much for the practice tests. I took the the senior one, and I am grading the junior :) thanks!!!!

@Matthew: When will we start making the tests for nationals? When are they supposed to be done by?

You can start working on questions whenever you want to. I will email everyone within a couple days with the partnerships. As for when they should be done by - the end of October would be a good goal, but if you can't make that, just get it done soon enough so that we can put it on the blog a few days before Nationals.

@Matthew: Okay. I will start working on questions. Hannah M. is going to be helping with making the tests and Rionna Flynn is still deciding.

If you need more help for nationals, I'd be willing to work on a practice test. But if you don't need it, I'm perfectly fine with that.
Luke