Advantage 1200 User manual
About Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Scoring Tests . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Preparing the Key
Key Reset Options
Scoring
Getting a Summary of the Test Results
Processing Ballots. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Getting Elections Results
Processing Surveys. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Getting Survey Results
Data Collection Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Print Cartridge Operations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Installing a New Print Cartridge
Removing a Print Cartridge
Servicing a Print Cartridge
Connecting the Advantage to a Computer . . . . . . . 18
Calibrating Advantage . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Cleaning the Read Sensors
and Clearing Paper Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Displaying Machine Information. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Ordering Supplies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Obtaining Service for Advantage
Problems and Solutions
FCC Compliance Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
Warranty Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Table of Contents
1
The Advantage scanner is a versatile mark read scanner
designed to score tests, process ballots and tabulate surveys.
It can perform these functions in stand-alone mode or con-
nected to a computer for advanced data collection.
Advantage uses reflective read technology for superior
pencil mark recognition. Always use a No. 2 lead pencil
when completing Advantage scan sheets. The scanner will
not read marks from ink pens or markers, even if the marks
are black.
A large selection of Advantage compatible answer sheets,
ballots, surveys and analysis forms are available from Ap-
person Print Management Services. These forms have been
specifically designed to utilize the advanced features of Ad-
vantage including paper skew detection and reading student
ID numbers.
About Advantage
2
Advantage must be programmed with the correct answer
pattern prior to scoring answers sheets. To program the
scanner, simply insert the teacher key. When properly keyed,
Advantage will display the number of questions keyed on the
display window and you may begin inserting answers sheets
for scoring. Advantage will score up to 200 questions keyed.
Preparing the Key
To designate an answer sheet as a key, mark the Key
bubble [K] in the keyline as shown below.
When the Verify [V] option is marked on the keyline,
correct answers are printed on individual student answer
sheets. If the Verify [V] bubble is not marked, a dash (-) prints
KEYED 30
Scoring Tests
3
next to incorrect responses.
Mark the Rescore [R] bubble in the keyline to rescore a
previously scored test. Rescoring a test automatically enables
the verify option.
After marking the keyline, ll in the correct answer pattern
for each question on the test. Multiple marks may be keyed
as the correct answer for a question. Questions keyed with
multiple marks will be indicated with an ‘X’ printed next to the
question for veri cation purposes.
Key Reset Options
There are two key reset options available for test scoring.
When Advantage is powered on it automatically enters into
the Score Mode option. Pressing the Reset Options button
Continued on page 4
4
will put the scanner in Rescore Mode. Rescore Mode has
the identical effect as marking the Rescore [R] bubble in the
keyline.
The scanner must be in either Score Mode or Rescore
Mode to score answer sheets.
Scoring
When the key has been marked with the correct answers,
insert it through the scanner. Always verify the key has been
properly recorded before inserting student answer sheets.
Once keyed, begin processing student answer sheets. Up to
9,999 answer sheets can be processed in a single batch.
If the test includes questions from both sides of the answer
sheet, first process side 1 of the key immediately followed by
side 2 (the Key [K] bubble must be marked on each side of
the key in order to key multiple sides). When scoring multiple
sides, each side of a test answer sheet must be processed
before processing another answer sheet. You may score up
to 200 questions in this manner.
As student forms are fed through Advantage, the total
number of correct answers for each student appears in the
window display and is also printed inside the Score box at the
bottom of the form, or inside the Rescore box if the Rescore
[R] bubble was marked.
Scoring Tests . . .
5
If an answer sheet is rejected by the scanner, check the
window display for the cause of the problem. Take corrective
action and reinsert the answer sheet. If the problem persists,
refer to the Troubleshooting section of the user manual.
Getting a Summary of the Test Results
There are several summary options available once a test
has been scored. Summaries can be printed using an Item
Analysis report form or viewed on the display panel. When
viewing summary information you may insert additional answer
sheets for continued scoring at any time.
Class Average
Press Summary Display on the display panel to view the
class average and number of sheets processed.
PROCESSED 28
Avg 42.7 85.4%
Continued on page 6
6
Tally of Incorrect Answers
& Frequency Distribution Report
After processing a batch of answer sheets use Item Analy-
sis Form 23570 to get a detailed report of the test. The Item
Analysis report will provide a frequency distribution of scores
in 5% increments. The report also lists the number of wrong
answers selected for each test question.
If Item Analysis Form 23570 is not available, the number
of wrong answers per question can be viewed in the display
Scoring Tests . . .
7
window. To view the number of wrong answers for each ques-
tion, press the Summary Display button twice. Follow the
instructions displayed in the window for viewing the tally of
wrong answers. While viewing this information you can con-
tinue processing additional answer sheets at any time.
Tally of all Marks Made
Use Tally Report Form 23580 to get a report listing a tally
of all marks entered by students. This report can be useful for
a detailed analysis of student selections on frequently missed
questions. The scanner will keep a tally of all marks selected
for up to 100 questions.
8
Ballot Form ABF-A102 is specifically designed for pro-
cessing ballots with Advantage. This form tabulates the votes
for up to 100 candidates. Election results can be obtained
by inserting Item Analysis Form 23570 through the scanner
when the batch processing is complete, or by viewing results
on the display window. Up to 9,999 ballots can be processed
in a single batch.
Ballot response bubbles are labeled 1 through 100. As-
sign each candidate a unique number which corresponds to
a number on the ballot form. You have an option of allowing
multiple votes per row or accepting only a single selection
per row. Allowing only single selections per row can restrict
students from voting for more than one candidate for an of-
fice. The Advantage default option allows multiple selections
per row.
To accept only one selection per row, you must mark
the first ballot processed as indicated below. In this mode,
if a ballot contains multiple selections on a row, none of the
Processing Ballots
9
selections for that row will be included in the tally. After each
ballot is scanned, a verification number is printed inside the
Ballot Verification box.
For information on how to process elections with more
than 100 candidates or when using a standard Advantage
answer sheet for elections, refer to the section titled Data
Col- lection Operation on page 12.
Getting Election Results
To obtain the results of an election insert side 1 of Item
Analysis Form 23570 through the scanner. The Item Analy-
sis Form can be inserted at any time during or after batch
processing without interruption of the tabulation process.
Warning, pressing the Reset Options button will clear all
election results.
In the event an Item Analysis Form 23570 is not available,
the election information can be viewed in the display window.
To view election results press the Summary Display button
after batch processing and follow the instructions displayed
in the window for viewing the results.
candidate 23
127 votes
10
Survey Form ABF-S40 is specifically designed for pro-
cessing surveys with Advantage. This form can be used for
surveys with up to 40 questions. It includes 5 choices for
each question. Survey results can be obtained by inserting
Item Analysis Form 23570 or Tally Report 23580 through the
scanner when the batch processing is complete, or by viewing
results on the display window. Up to 9,999 surveys can be
processed in a single batch.
Design your survey questions and selections to match the
bubble pattern on the survey form. On Survey Form ABF-S40,
you can choose to accept multiple marks per question or accept
only single marks. Mark your selection on the top of the first
survey scanned, as shown below. If no selection is made then
the scanner will accept multiple marks for each question.
After each survey is scanned, a verification number is
printed inside the Survey Verification box.
Processing Surveys
11
For information on how to process surveys with more than
40 questions or when using a standard Advantage answer
sheet for surveys, refer to the section titled Data Collection
Operation on page 12.
Getting Survey Results
To obtain the results of a survey, insert side 1 (and side 2, if
necessary) of Item Analysis Form 23570 (or Tally Report Form
23580) through the scanner. The Item Analysis Form can be
inserted at any time during or after batch processing without
interruption of the tabulation process. Warning, pressing the
Reset Options button will clear all survey results.
In the event an Item Analysis Form 23570 or Tally Report
23580 are not available, the survey information can be viewed
in the display window. To view survey results press the Sum-
mary Display button after batch processing and follow the
instructions displayed in the window for viewing the results.
processed 310
1b) 214 marks
12
Placing Advantage in data collection mode disables stan-
dard test scoring operations. This can be useful when process-
ing surveys, evaluations or ballots with standard Advantage
test answer sheets or customized scan forms. When in data
collection mode, the scanner will create a tally of all marks
made on the sheets. The tabulation results can be obtained by
inserting Tally Report Form 23580 through the scanner when
the batch processing is complete, or by viewing results on the
display window. Up to 9,999 scan sheets can be processed
in a single batch.
To enter into Data Collection Mode press the Reset Op-
tions button 2 or 3 times until Data Collection appears in
the display window.
In this mode, all selections for each question will be tabu-
lated. Up to 100 questions can be tabulated in Data Collection
mode. When tabulating questions which are on both sides of
an answer sheet, scan side 1 of a sheet followed by side 2
before continuing onto the next sheet.
The following data collection options can be enabled by
making the appropriate selection on the keyline of the first
sheet scanned.
Data Collection Operation
13
To obtain the results from data collection processing,
insert side 1 (and side 2, if necessary) of Tally Report Form
23580 through the scanner. This form will provide a tabula-
tion of all marks entered during batch processing. The Tally
Report Form can be inserted at any time during or after batch
processing without interruption of the tabulation process.
Warning, pressing the Reset Options button will clear all
data collection information.
Continued on page 14
Mark ‘R’ if you will be perform-
ing data collection on both
sides of the sheet.
Mark ‘V’ if you want a scan verification
number printed in the score box of each
sheet.
Mark ‘K’ to accept only one selection per row. If you
select the ‘K’ option, when a sheet contains multiple
selections on a row, none of the selections for that
row will be included in the tally. If the ‘K’ option is not
marked on the first sheet scanned, multiple marks will
be allowed throughout batch processing.
MARK THESE OPTIONS ON THE FIRST SHEET ONLY.
14
In the event an Tally Report Form 23580 is not available,
the results can be viewed in the display window. To view the
results press the Summary Display button after batch pro-
cessing and follow the instructions displayed in the window
for viewing the tabulated results.
Data Collection Operation . . .
15
Advantage uses two disposable Hewlett-Packard ink
cartridge for print operations. Under normal operating condi-
tions the cartridges should provide reliable service for up to
two years.
Installing a New Print
Cartridge
1. Squeeze the print cartridge
cover and rmly press in
the tab located on the right
side to disengage the cover
(Fig. 1). Lift the cover away
from the scanner (Fig. 2).
2. Remove the protective
tape that covers the silver
nozzle plate of the car-
tridge (Fig. 3, pg. 16).
3. Insert the print cartridge
into the scanner (Fig. 4, pg.
16).
Continued on page 16
Print Cartridge Operations
Figure 1
Figure 2
16
4. Replace the printer cover by aligning the locking tabs
with their corresponding holes on the scanner housing.
Firmly press in the tab on the right side of the cover and
press into the housing until the tabs lock into place.
Removing a Print Cartridge
1. Squeeze the print cartridge
cover and firmly press in the
tab located on the right side
to disengage the cover (Fig.
1, pg. 15). Lift the cover
away from the scanner (Fig.
2, pg. 15).
2. Remove the cartridge from
the scanner (Fig. 5).
Print Cartridge Operations . . .
Figure 3
Figure 5
Figure 4
17
Servicing a Print Cartridge
1. Remove the cartridge using the instructions listed on
page’s 15 and 16.
2. Gently wipe the silver nozzle
plate of the cartridge with a
tissue (Fig. 6). Inspect the plate
to ensure all dust and lent has
been removed.
3. Replace the cartridge following
instructions 3 and 4 on page’s
15 and 16 — Installing a New
Print Cartridge, and as shown
in Figure 4 and 5.
If a cartridge continues to print poorly after wiping the
nozzle plate, a new print cartridge may be necessary.
Figure 6
WIPE PLATE HERE
18
Advantage 1200 can con-
nect to a computer through
USB or with a standard 9-pin
serial cable. To use the USB
connection, it is first necessary
to install the USB driver on the
computer. This driver can be
downloaded from www.apper-
sonedu.com\downloads.
Using your Advantage™
scanner with DataLink™ software you can create ASCII files
of data transmitted from the scanner. DataLink™ is a soft-
ware application developed by Apperson for retrieving data
from Apperson’s line of test scoring scanners. DataLink™
also includes test analysis reports and a survey tabulation
report. Data collected using DataLink™ can be saved and
used by spreadsheets, databases or statistical applications.
DataLink™ is a PC application.
Advantage transmits ASCII data in a variety of formats. If
you are building a customized interface for a specific applica-
tion, contact Apperson for documentation on communication
specifications.
Connecting the Advantage to
a Computer
Table of contents
