The Grade Wizard has been broken out into its own utility (the Grade Wizard Answer Key Utility), which can be accessed without launching the entire Remark application. This means you can setup answer keys ahead of time.

One advantage of using the Grade Wizard utility is that you can setup generic answer keys (*.gaky files). This type of answer key does not save any information for ungraded questions, allowing a generic answer key to be applied to any form type (template) with enough graded questions and answer choices.  If you wish to use generic answer keys, you must first set one up. Once setup, the answer keys can be applied to various form templates.

Tip: Before creating and using generic answer keys, we suggest that you read the sections of the User's Guide that explain all of the available options in the Grade Wizard in detail. Those options will not be repeated here, as this item is meant to explain generic answer keys.

To setup a generic answer key using the Grade Wizard Utility:

1. Select the Start menu, click Programs, Remark Office OMR or Remark Classic OMR, then Remark Office OMR/Classic OMR Grade Wizard.

2. You have two choices at this point: you can create an answer key for an existing form template file, or you can open an existing answer key file and make modifications to it.

3. Click the Browse button and choose the form template to which you would like to apply this answer key.

4. In the Getting Started window, choose the options you would like to apply to this answer key: specify learning objectives, multiple test versions and benchmark scores. Click the Next button to continue.

5. In the Answer Key window, type in the appropriate answers for the questions you wish to include in the grade operation. Remember, we are creating a generic answer key first, which we can later apply to other form templates. Click the Next button to continue.

6. If desired, in the Question Properties window, make any other changes desired to the questions in the form template. The changes you make here will not affect the actual form template. Click the Next button to continue.

7. If desired, in the Learning Objectives window, add any learning objectives you wish to apply to this generic answer key. You may type in the learning objective names or import them from an existing file. Click the Next button to continue.

8. If desired, in the Overall Grade Scale window, choose or create a grade scale to apply to this answer key. You may also click the Learning objectives grade scale link in the left Task Pane to adjust the grade scale used for all learning objectives defined. Click the Next button to continue.

9. If desired, in the Custom Report Header window, define a report header to be used for each resulting report when this answer key is used. Click the Next button to continue.

10. Review the information you have entered in the Review Selections window. Click the Save button to save the answer key file. In the Save as type drop-down list, choose Generic Answer Key (.gaky). Provide a name for the file in the File name box. Be sure to note where the answer key is saved so that you may refer to it later.

11. Click the Save button. The generic answer key is now saved. You may now apply this answer key to other form templates.

Once you have created a generic answer key, you can apply it to multiple form templates as long as they have enough graded questions and answer choices. You can process forms and then apply the generic answer key to the data, as described below.

To use a generic answer key file in the Grade Wizard:

1. In Remark Office OMR or Remark Classic OMR, open a form template and process forms as you normally would. Alternatively, open an existing data file.

2. Select the Tools menu, click Analysis and then click Grade Wizard. Click the Next button to continue.

3. In the Answer Key window, use the drop-down list for Answer key source to choose a generic answer key file. If the answer key can be applied to this form template, you will receive a message that the answer key was applied successfully. You may click the Finish button to grade the data, or navigate through the Grade Wizard screens to make any desired changes.


You can use the Grade Wizard utility (as described previously) to select a form template and then apply the generic answer key to it to make new answer keys.

To apply a generic answer key file to other form templates using the Grade Wizard utility:

1. Select the Start menu, click Programs, then Remark Office OMR/Remark Classic OMR, then Remark Office OMR/Remark Classic OMR Grade Wizard.

2. Click the Browse button and choose the form template to which you would like to apply this answer key. You do not need to make any adjustment in the Getting Started window because once the generic answer key is selected in the next step, all associated options will be applied. Click the Next button to continue.

3. In the Answer Key window, use the drop-down list for Answer key source to choose a generic answer key file. If the answer key can be applied to this form template, you will receive a message that the answer key was applied successfully.

4. Click the Save button to apply and save this generic answer key to this form template. We suggest saving the file as an Answer Key (.aky) file.

You may now utilize the answer key file within the Grade Wizard in Remark Office OMR/Remark Classic OMR to grade a data set.

Note: Alternatively, you can create a text answer key outside of the Remark software. This would be formatted as a tab or CRLF (carriage return/line feed) delimited text file containing the numeric indices of the correct answers for the graded questions. The question text can optionally be appended to each correct answer (delimited by a pipe character (|)). You can then apply this text answer key to any appropriate form template. This method would be recommended for advanced users only.