Bubbling in Answers

[moshei24]

Hi,

When it comes to bubbling in answers, if I bubble a little outside the oval, am I better of leaving it or erasing the extra? Now, I tend to erase the extra, but I feel it results in the paper being messier, and it takes extra time. But how do I know when I over bubbled too much? I get worried that I'm going to mess myself over by bubbling too much, but I feel the same occurs by erasing too much. Do you have any advice for me on this matter?

Thanks so much!

[Dave Killoran]

Hi Moshe,

If it is a little outside the line, it's ok. The machine readers they use these days are really good, and small marks outside the bubble don't cause any issues. The prohibition on not marking outside the bubble is so that people don't scrawl so much that it bleeds into the bubble next to it, which would cause a problem.

So, a little outside the lines is no problem and you can leave it. A lot outside the lines would need to be erased.

Thanks!

[moshei24]

A lot outside of the line would only be when it goes into another oval? Or is there another situation where it would be too outside the line?

Thanks!

[moshei24]

And in the same regard, how much of the oval needs to be bubbled for it to not be underbubbled?

[moshei24]

And in the same regard, what do I do about smudges when I erase because my hand rubs the lead?

Sorry. This just really gets to me during the test.

[Dave Killoran]

Don't get close to other ovals. That could be trouble (although not likely given OCR accuracy these days).

At least 50% needs to be bubbled but that's not actually enough to ensure safety. Look for at least 80%, and shoot for 100% regularly. I personally like to bubble it all in because I enjoy killing questions

Smudges--depends on the darkness, but you have two options: erase them or be more careful

Thanks!

[moshei24]

So odds are most of the time, my bubbles are fine and I'm driving myself crazy for no reason?

[moshei24]

Do they ever check to see if the machine made a mistake?

[moshei24]

Do they ever check to see if the machine made a mistake?

[Dave Killoran]

Yes, you are driving yourself crazy for no reason

Machine mistakes--meaning, are the machines calibrated regularly? Yes, definitely. They run scans frequently, including just before the begin scoring the exams. And then there are spot checks during the process, etc.