8 Factors of an Online Testing Platform
Thu 26th May 2016< Back to Blogs and Tutorials
Are you looking to take your tests from paper to online, but you are not sure what to look for? Questions that should immediately come to mind are "Is my data secure?" "Is my account, tests and my user's privacy kept private?" "Will my data remain in my account?" "Will I receive help if needed?" "Will I be able to purchase a package that actually suits my needs?" "Do I still own my content?"There are a number of crucial questions to consider when deciding what you want in your online testing platform. Let's go over the most important things you need to consider - security, privacy, pricing, trial period, refund policy, customer support and compatibility.
1) Security
Security needs to be given top priority for any website that you will add information to. You want to know that your data is 100% secure and you should never have to pay more for full security.
With ClassMarker's online secure testing platform, you can expect:
- Dedicated Servers kept up to date with the latest security updates.
- Password protected & traceable Test access.
- ClassMarker is hosted in a US-Central data center which boasts on-site security highlighted by motion-detecting CCTV security cameras monitoring the entirety of the data center, employee-only access, 24/7 manned security, the latest security systems controls as well as reinforced poured concrete walls.
- Your data is kept private with our 24/7 monitored high security hosting.
- Backups: Stay safe with your data backed up securely every 30 minutes.
- We do not store any credit card details on ClassMarker. All payments are processed by PayPal and Stripe.
There is a reason that ClassMarker is the chosen online test creator used to create and give exams online by Governments, Education Institutions, Fortune 500's, Medical, Transportation, Oil, Shipping, Banking, Aviation, Recruitment, Defense and more industries (Review ClassMarker Clients) - this is because security is ClassMarker's number one priority.
2) Privacy
ClassMarker takes a COMPLETE privacy approach when it comes to not only student/test-taker data, but in fact ALL data added by an administrator to ClassMarker.
Test-takers cannot see any other person's data; the only person who can access a test-taker's data is themselves or the account administrator/instructor who set their test. All test-taker data can be edited or removed from ClassMarker at any time by the account administrator.
Email addresses are optional. No registered user is required to have their email address in ClassMarker at all. Only administrators need to have their email address registered.
No data in ClassMarker is ever shared with a 3rd party.
All data in ClassMarker is held private to the account owners only, you can choose to share your Tests with other administrators, however, by default, all your data is private and you have multiple ways to control Test Access.
Only you have access to your account and anyone else you give permission to.
3) Your Content
Two major questions to ask when it comes to your content - who does your content belong to once you add it? Will your content be removed at any point? Some websites state that as long as it's on their website, they have rights to your content, that it then becomes their property to do with what they choose. Others may want you to pay more for having full rights to your content. Additionally, if you do not upgrade when you complete your trial, your data may be removed entirely or if you only have a certain package, your data may be removed after a certain time limit.
With ClassMarker, your content always remains your property. ClassMarker does not and will never take the rights to your content. The content you add is yours before you added it, it remains yours once you add/upload it to your account and will always remain yours.
Your data will never be removed by ClassMarker. Whether you have a trial, a free account, an upgraded account or an expired account, we do not remove your content. We also do not place time limits on how long your data will remain in your account and we do not require you to purchase more expensive plans/credit packs to keep the data in your account.
4) Customer Support
Will you be provided with customer support throughout? We have all had experiences where before you purchase something, the customer support seems to be terrific, however, once you make the purchase or become a member the support you are now provided isn't up to par. Or, what about some of those offers, where you can get basic customer support with a basic plan however if you go for their higher price plans, you will receive better customer support? Shouldn't all users, no matter how much you spend receive the same exceptional support?
At ClassMarker, we provide all of our customers with the same 24 hours, 7 days a week quality support that you deserve, whether you have a free plan, 30 day trial or an upgraded Professional Plan/Credit Pack. You do not need to spend more money in order to receive more personalized, helpful support. This applies to pre-sales, general inquiries, account set up, technical, etc.
Even if you just need a suggestion as to how to best create tests, we are happy to provide you with some suggestions and ideas as to what may work best for you. If it's not "in the box", we then think outside the box to help you find a solution that will best suit your testing needs. We want you, along with your test-takers to have the best testing experience possible.
5) Trial Period
Before making any purchase, it's understandable that everyone wants to trial the product first. Some issues that arise with this however are, either the trials are very short where you cannot fully test out the product, you are not given all features to fully test things out or how about those pesky ads while you are trialing a product? Or, what if after your trial is over and you have still not decided, there is the concern that all of your data is removed. Then, there are always the trials that state you will not be billed for the trial, however you are asked for a credit card anyways, in hopes that you will forget when your trial ends and before you know it, you have been billed automatically.
ClassMarker offers a 30 day free trial with all features included - this includes plenty of time and credits, enough to actually send Tests out to users and fully trial the ClassMarker system because we give you all our online exam platform features to trial. We do not place those pesky ads into your trial or the constant annoying 'Upgrade now' notification each time you log into your trial account. We also do not ask for credit card details when you register for a trial and we do not remove your content when your trial expires.
We want you to fully experience ClassMarker in the trial, with everything included. We want you to be 100% certain that ClassMarker is the right fit for you. As always, ClassMarker's customer support team is always here to help you with any questions you may have.
6) Pricing
Only pay for what you use. Nobody likes to pay for something that they are not going to use or have to pay for more options that should already be included.
With ClassMarker, cost is based on your usage of the system and not what should be considered standard options that everyone should have. Not only do we not charge more for what is mentioned below, we do not charge anything for these.
- We do not charge more if you want better service. You will always receive the best customer service we can provide, whether you are a free user or an upgraded user.
- We do not charge more for better security and privacy. We feel all of our users should receive this, no matter what amount of money you spend or don't spend.
- We do not charge more if you want to keep your data longer. No matter what plan/credit pack you have, your data will always remain in your account. We will never delete your data, even if your account were to expire. The only time your data will be removed is if you choose to have it removed.
- We do not charge more for transferring ownership of your account.
- We do not charge more for you to keep the rights to your content. Your content is your content.
- We do not charge additional fees for installation or maintenance - ClassMarker is a wholly online application. All you need is a reliable internet connection, a modern web-browser (with Javascript and cookies enabled) and you can create and take Tests anywhere. There are no downloads or updates for you to worry about.
ClassMarker pricing - "what you see is what you get" - the prices that are listed on our Pricing pages are the prices that you will pay. There are no hidden fees or surprises.
We have both Professional Plans and Credit Packs designed to suit your testing needs. We can also create a bespoke plan for your organization.
Flexible payment options: Both yearly and monthly.
Payment Methods: Credit Card, Bank Transfer, Check and Purchase Orders.
7) Refunds
ClassMarker holds a 30 day refund policy on all our accounts.
You can find our refund policy in our Terms and Conditions, section 8.2
8) Compatibility
ClassMarker is compatible with all devices. It is easy-to-use with all common web browsers, operating systems and smart devices including:
- Windows, Macintosh, Linux, ChromeOS/Chromebook
- Internet Explorer, FireFox, Chrome, Safari, Opera
- iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Android
So, let's go over a checklist of these crucial questions you need to ask:
- Will my data be secure?
- Is my privacy and that of all test-takers and all information kept private?
- Do I own my content - does my data remain as my property?
- Can I remove my content at any time?
- Am I receiving full customer support regardless of what I purchase? Is the support available 24/7?
- Will my data remain in my account and not be removed unless I choose to do so?
- Is it compatible with all devices and browsers?
- Is there a full trial period where I can fully test the system and have access to all features?
- If I decide to purchase, is there a refund policy?
- Can a custom plan be created to meet my requirements?
ClassMarker is happy to say we can answer 'yes' to all of the above questions.
Register Here to start using ClassMarker today and see for yourself why ClassMarker is the choice for giving professional exams online.
Happy Testing!
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