Abstract
The objective of this work was to develop Optical Mark
Recognition (OMR) software for implementation in the simple
scanner and for its usage as an OMR machine. It was
developed using Java language. The software will help the
assessor to capture and score responses of the multiple
choices-answer sheets with accuracy and efficiency.
Moreover, it was proposed to be a replacement for the costly
OMR machine. The developed software was evaluated by
simulating an actual implementation. It interpreted 1,000
answer sheers scanned by 5 different scanners in 4 different
resolutions. The evaluation’s results were favorable, with
an estimated number of mistakes were less than 1 per 1,000
or 0.1 percent. As a result, the quality and accuracy of the
software that has been developed is thus within acceptable
limits.
Keyword: Optical Mark Recognition, Optical Mark Reader
1. Introduction
It is undeniable that the method of assessment is very
important in any education system. The assessment is a powerful
force in driving the way students learn. From the students’
perspective, only the most important knowledge in a subject is
assessed. Also, the teachers usually apply an appropriate
assessment method to ensure that their students gain the
maximum knowledge from the instruction. So by changing the
assessment method, the various subject teachers can affect the
way students learn the subject content.
Different ways of assessment provide the measurement of a
student’s capabilities in different contexts. Stiggins [1] groups
the different methods of assessment into 4 main categories :
Selected Response, Essays, Performance Assessment and
Personal Communication.
The Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs), which is a method
in the Selected Response category, is the most common method
chosen to assess the students in primary and high school of
Thailand because it facilitates the assessment of a broad range
of learner knowledge in a short period of time. A large number
of MCQs can be developed for a given content area, which
provides a wide range of concepts that can be assessed
consistently. Moreover, MCQs allow for test reliability if they
are provided by a well-trained assessor.
To facilitate the assessor to capture and score responses
of the student in MCQs, the answer sheets are implemented.
This techniques help the assessor to reduce the time spend in
looking for the students’ responses in whole exam paper but
only looking for it in the area provided in answer sheet that
correspond to their answers the exam paper.