How scoring works
The universal model Theta uses to compare what a learner submitted against the case you designed.
Every element in Theta — audiometry, otoscopy, tympanometry, acoustic reflexes, the speech tests — is scored the same way underneath. Once you understand the model on this page, each element's own Scoring section is just a short list of which fields that element exposes. This page is the hub those pages point back to.
The universal model
Scoring always compares two things:
- the designed value — the true answer you set when you built the case (the "answer key"), and
- the submitted value — what the learner recorded while working the case.
For each field that's turned on, Theta checks whether the submitted value matches the designed value. A match counts as correct; a mismatch counts as incorrect. Nothing else feeds the score — not how long the learner took, not how many times they re-tested. (Those details are captured separately for the report's activity trail, but they don't change the number.)
Scoring is automatic. As soon as a learner submits, Theta compares their values against your answer key and stores the result. You don't grade by hand — you decide what gets compared, and Theta does the comparing.
What counts as a "match": exact vs. template
Most elements support two ways of being correct, and many cases use both at once depending on which field is being checked.
Exact-value scoring
The submitted value must equal the designed value (within any tolerance — see below). This is used for concrete measurements: a threshold of 45 dB, a tympanogram peak, a reflex threshold at a given frequency, an SRT in dB.
Template-category scoring
Instead of a single literal number, the field is judged against a category or classification the learner is expected to identify. Examples:
| Element | Template-category field |
|---|---|
| Audiometry profile | Degree of loss (min/max), audiogram type, configuration |
| Otoscopy | Ear-canal/eardrum category (e.g. normal, cerumen, perforation) and whether referral is needed |
| Tympanometry | Tympanogram type (e.g. Type A / B / C) |
| Word recognition | WRS performance classification |
Because elements can be templates (the underlying values regenerate per submission from a chosen category) or fixed (the same values every time), template-category scoring lets you grade the clinical conclusion even when the exact numbers differ from one learner's case to the next. A single element can mix both: e.g. score the exact thresholds on the audiogram and the degree/type/configuration profile category.
When you want learners judged on "did they reach the right clinical picture" rather than "did they hit the exact number", reach for the category/profile fields. When you want precision, use the value fields.
The per-field tri-state: Off / Scored / Report-only
You don't score a whole element all-or-nothing. In each element's Scoring panel, every individual field has a small control you click to cycle through three states:
| State | Marker | Counts toward score? | Shown on report? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Off | (blank) | No | No |
| Scored | green S | Yes | Yes (always) |
| Report-only | blue R | No | Yes |
Clicking the control cycles Off → Scored → Report-only → Off. A scored field is always shown on the report — there's no separate "include on report" toggle, which keeps the dense scoring grids uncluttered.
Use Report-only for things you want the instructor and learner to see on the PDF for reference, but that shouldn't move the grade — for example, showing the expected masking levels next to the learner's, without penalising the masking decision itself.
When a value is given to the learner, it can't be scored — only set to report-only. The clearest example is an auto-filled audiogram: if you hand the learner the unmasked thresholds (or the complete audiogram), those fields can't earn points because the learner didn't find them. The control hides the "Scored" state for those fields and cycles Off → Report-only → Off instead.
Lenient ("optional") scoring
Some clinically defensible choices can't be judged in foresight — for instance, whether to mask the better cochlea, or a masking-dilemma frequency where either decision is reasonable. Theta marks those rows as accepted either way: the learner gets the point regardless, and the report annotates the row with an asterisk and a short reason. You don't configure this; the scorer applies it automatically where it applies.
Tolerances
Exact-value fields can allow a margin so a near-miss still counts. Tolerances live in the element's scoring panel where they apply:
| Element | Tolerance | What it means |
|---|---|---|
| Audiometry | Threshold tolerance | How many dB the submitted threshold may differ from the designed one and still count (0 = exact). |
| Audiometry | PTA tolerance | The allowed difference on the pure-tone average (defaults to a small margin so rounding doesn't fail an otherwise-correct PTA). |
Category/template fields don't use a numeric tolerance — the submitted category either matches the designed category or it doesn't. Elements that don't expose a tolerance field score their values exactly.
How an element's score is computed
For one element, Theta:
- Looks at every field set to Scored (Off and Report-only fields are skipped for counting).
- Compares each scored field's submitted value to the designed value, applying any tolerance.
- Counts correct out of total scored fields — that's the element's
points. The percentage iscorrect / total.
Fields set to Report-only are gathered separately so they can be shown on the report without affecting the count. An element with only report-only fields shows as Reference only — it appears on the report but contributes no points.
How the lesson (submission) total is computed
The submission's overall score is simply the sum across all elements: total
correct divided by total scored points, expressed as a percentage. Elements with
nothing scored don't dilute the total — they're not counted. In the instructor's
Scoring Summary, you'll see the overall percentage at the top and each
element's own correct/total and percentage below, with expandable breakdowns
field-by-field.
The breakdown colour-codes performance: roughly green ≥ 80%, amber 60–79%, and red below 60% — both per element and for the overall score.
Re-scoring after you change settings
Scores are computed against the scoring settings as they were when the submission was graded (a snapshot). If you later edit what's scored on the lesson, already-graded submissions don't silently change. The Scoring Summary flags this with a "settings changed" notice and a Re-score button, so you choose when to apply the new rules. Re-scoring recomputes against the current settings.
Where each element's scoring is described
Each element's page lists the exact fields it exposes and any element-specific behaviour. Start there once you've read this model:
- Audiometry — thresholds, PTA, masking work, profile (degree/type/configuration), tolerances, auto-fill.
- Otoscopy — category and referral-needed.
- Tympanometry — tympanogram type.
- Acoustic Reflexes — ipsi/contra thresholds and classifications by frequency.
- Speech in Quiet — SRT, WRS, and sound-sensitivity fields.
- Information — reference text; collected responses are shown on the report, not auto-scored.
When you're ready to see how scored and report-only results turn into a PDF, read Reports & PDFs.