Frequently-asked questions (FAQs) often have to do with the number of items, and the number of data records which Lertap 5 will handle.

 

The answers depend on the version of Excel in use, on the number of columns and rows it supports.

 

Way back when, in the days of earlier versions of Excel, only 256 columns were allowed, with a maximum of 65,536 rows. In later years  these dimensions increased to 16,384 columns and 1,048,576 rows (current at 2023); this effectively means (in theory) that Lertap 5 users may have over 16,000 items, and over a million students.

 

At a practical level, here at Lertap 5 headquarters we hear from users who sometimes run as many as 500 items, and over 50,000 student data records, well within the limits of recent versions of Excel.

 

As to the speed with which Lertap 5 can process results, well, the picture is a bit mixed, depending not only on computer speed, but also on the version of Excel in use. Please see the latest performance data here: time trial summaries.

 

As to some more specific Lertap 5 specifications, items and questions may use as many as 26 responses codes, or options. If letters are used as response codes, they may be upper- or lower-case. An analysis may have virtually any number of "subtests" or "scales" (also sometimes called "domains"). Any test item or question may belong to more than one subtest or scale, and may be scored differently in each.

 

Cognitive test items may have more than one keyed-correct answer (via *mws cards). Affective (or "rating scale") items may be reverse-scored quickly (by using *pol cards).

 

The number of scoring points awarded to any response is free to take on values between -9999.9999 and +9999.9999.

 

A brag page highlighting selected Lertap 5 features is available at this website.