Akindi

Akindi is a paper‑based assessment platform that enables efficient grading through automated scanning and digital analysis of answer sheets. This book provides task‑focused guidance for creating assessments, preparing and scanning forms, reviewing results, and exporting data for grading and reporting. The content is intended as tool‑specific support to help faculty and staff use Akindi accurately and effectively within the university’s broader assessment processes.

Getting Started with Akindi

What Is Akindi?

Akindi is a paper‑based assessment platform that automates the grading of multiple‑choice exams using scannable answer sheets. It integrates directly with Canvas, allowing instructors to create exams, process completed answer sheets, review results, and sync grades back to the Canvas Gradebook.
At A‑State, Akindi is supported by the Office of Accreditation & Assessment and replaces the paper exam scanning services previously provided by the Testing Center.
Akindi is well‑suited for in‑person exams, large sections, and situations where paper testing is preferred, and it serves as a modern replacement for traditional Scantron workflows.

When Should I Use Akindi?

Akindi is a good choice when you want to:
Akindi is not intended for essay‑only exams or fully handwritten responses, though hand‑graded marks can be added after scanning.

How Akindi Works 

Most instructors use Akindi in four stages:
  1. Launch Akindi from Canvas to sync your course and roster
  2. Create an assessment and print answer sheets
  3. Scan and upload completed answer sheets for automated grading
  4. Review results and send grades to the Canvas Gradebook
Each of these stages is covered in detail in the pages that follow in this book.

Accessing Akindi Through Canvas

Akindi is accessed directly from your Canvas course using the Launch Akindi link in the course navigation menu.
To begin using Akindi in a course:
The first time you launch Akindi from a course, it automatically:
No separate Akindi login is required when launching through Canvas.

Launch Akindi from Canvas at the beginning of the term—even if you are not ready to create an exam yet—to ensure your course and roster are synchronized.

Akindi pulls enrollment data from Canvas at launch. If students are added later, re‑launch Akindi from Canvas to refresh the roster before creating or printing exams.

If you do not see Launch Akindi in your course navigation, it must be enabled in the Canvas course settings.

Step‑by‑Step Instructions (External Resources)

Detailed step‑by‑step instructions are maintained by the platform providers:

What Akindi Handles Automatically

Once launched through Canvas, Akindi automatically manages several behind‑the‑scenes tasks:
This automation reduces manual setup and minimizes grading errors.

Creating assessments before your Canvas roster is finalized can result in missing students on printed answer sheets. If enrollment is still changing, wait to print answer sheets or re‑launch Akindi before printing.

What This Book Covers

This Akindi Knowledge Base book provides task‑focused guidance for faculty. It explains what you need to do and what to watch for.
The remaining pages cover:
For advanced features or detailed interface instructions, links to Akindi’s official Help Center are provided throughout this book.

Need Help?

For questions about using Akindi at A‑State—including exam setup, scanning workflows, and assessment results—contact the Office of Accreditation & Assessment.
For system‑level issues or advanced troubleshooting beyond this guide, consult Akindi’s official Help Center, which provides up‑to‑date documentation and live support options.

Creating an Exam and Printing Answer Sheets

This page explains how to prepare an exam and generate bubble sheets for paper‑based assessments using Akindi.
When you click Create Assessment in Akindi, you choose how the assessment will be created. That choice depends on whether you want Akindi to help you build the exam or whether you already have a paper exam and only need bubble sheets and automated grading.

The Two Ways to Create an Akindi Assessment

Akindi supports two assessment‑creation workflows. Both result in printable bubble sheets, automated grading, and Canvas grade sync—the difference is how the exam content is handled.
Understanding this distinction before you begin will help you choose the workflow that best fits your course.

 

Choosing the Right Workflow

If you are unsure which workflow to use:
For help deciding which workflow best fits your course, contact the Office of Accreditation & Assessment.

Regardless of the workflow, you can edit the answer key in both after scanning student responses. Akindi will automatically recalculate scores based on the updated key.

Although Akindi can support fully online assessments, A‑State faculty should use Canvas for online exams. Akindi is used at A‑State only for paper‑based assessments.

Question Types and Bubble Sheet Design

Regardless of the workflow you choose, Akindi uses a standard bubble sheet format. Bubble sheets always consist of a fixed number of questions, each with five response bubbles (A–E).

The difference between workflows is where the responsibility for adapting question types lies.

  • In the new assessment workflow, Akindi automatically adapts supported question types for paper delivery.
  • In Akindi Classic, the instructor adapts the paper exam so that student responses can be captured using the standard bubble sheet.

How Question Types Are Handled

Workflow A: Creating the Exam in Akindi (New Assessment Workflow)

After launching Akindi from your Canvas course and clicking Create Assessment, Akindi opens the Paper Assessment workflow by default.
To begin, select Continue to Question Import. Akindi then launches its newer assessment interface, where you can create or import questions and manage the assessment structure.

How the New Assessment Workflow Works

With Akindi:

Creating the Assessment

Choose the bubble sheet layout based on the maximum number of questions on your exam. Akindi will ignore any unused question numbers.

Multiple versions are especially useful in large sections. Akindi automatically sorts versions during grading.

See the Akindi Create Assessment guide for general instructions. 

For detailed instructions, see the Akindi Paper Assessments guides. 

Workflow B: Using Akindi Classic for an Existing Paper Exam

After launching Akindi from your Canvas course and clicking Create Assessment, Akindi opens the Paper Assessment workflow by default. To begin, select Akindi Classic from the Create Assessment dialog. Akindi skips exam creation and allows you to define the correct answers for your existing exam.

How Akindi Classic Works

With Akindi Classic:

Akindi Classic is commonly recommended when instructors have an established exam‑creation process and only want automated grading.

Creating the Answer Key in Akindi Classic

You will:

Verify the answer key before printing student answer sheets whenever possible.

See the Akindi Classic guides for detailed instructions. 

Printing Answer Sheets (Applies to Both Workflows)

Regardless of which workflow you choose, printing and administering answer sheets works the same way.
You can:

Printing answer sheets before your Canvas roster is finalized can result in missing students. If enrollment is still changing, wait to print or re‑launch Akindi before printing.

See the Akindi Downloading & Printing guides for detailed instrctions.

What’s Next?

After printing and administering your exam, continue to:

 

Scanning and Uploading Answer Sheets

This page explains how to scan completed Akindi bubble sheets and upload them for grading. It focuses on recommended practices and common issues.

At A‑State, instructors are responsible for scanning and uploading their own answer sheets using departmental scanners.

Before You Scan

Taking a few moments to prepare your answer sheets can prevent most scanning issues.

General Preparation

Keep answer sheets flat and free of folds or staples. Damaged or distorted sheets are more likely to require review after upload.

Scanning Answer Sheets

Akindi processes scanned answer sheets as PDF files. Most instructors use a multi‑function copier or document scanner.

You do not need to sort the test sheets. Akindi will automatically sort test sheets by version, by student name and ID, and even rotate them if they are scanned upside down.

Uploading Answer Sheets

Once scanning is complete, answer sheets can be uploaded to Akindi for processing.

Upload Options

Akindi supports two upload methods:

Your uploads email address is unique to you and should not be shared.

Email uploads are not instant. Processing time can vary depending on file size and system load.

What Happens After Upload

After you upload or email your scanned answer sheets, Akindi:

Seeing review items at this stage is normal and does not mean the upload failed.

If You Emailed Answer Sheets but Don’t See Results

If you emailed scanned answer sheets to Akindi but do not see results displayed in your course, there are a few common causes to check.

First, check for an Akindi confirmation email

When Akindi successfully receives and processes an email upload, it sends a confirmation message.

If you received a confirmation email

This means Akindi processed the email, but the results may require additional action.

Common reasons include:

If you did not receive a confirmation email

This usually means the email upload did not reach Akindi.

Check the following:

Email uploads are processed asynchronously and may take additional time depending on file size and system load.

For detailed instructions, see I emailed bubble sheets to Akindi, but the results are not displayed.

Common Scanning Issues to Be Aware Of

The following situations commonly require review after upload:

Damaged or Obstructed Locator Marks

Akindi relies on locator marks printed on the corners of answer sheets. If these are torn, folded, or obscured, the sheet may require manual review.

Even minor damage to corner locator squares can prevent automatic processing. Handle printed sheets carefully before and after the exam.

In some cases, damaged or missing corner locator squares can be repaired with assistance from the Akindi support team. If this occurs, contact the Office of Accreditation & Assessment, who can help determine what support is needed.

QR Codes on Answer Sheets

Each Akindi bubble sheet includes a QR code that identifies the test sheet's origin, including the instructor, course, and assessment.

QR codes allow Akindi to sort multiple versions automatically. Do not cover or alter the QR code area when printing or scanning.

When uploading test sheets manually through the Akindi dashboard, you have the ability to select whether the test sheets will be uploaded to the selected assessment regardless of what the QR code says (this is the default) or if Akindi will sort the test sheets by QR code.

What if the QR code is scanned by a phone camera?

The QR code on the test sheets cannot be scanned by a phone camera. Scanning the QR code will lead to a dead-end search result.

No information about the assessment, the instructor, or the student can be accessed by scanning the QR code with a phone camera.

Uploading to the Wrong Assessment

If answer sheets are uploaded to the wrong assessment, they can be removed before grading is finalized.

Uploading scans to the wrong assessment does not permanently damage the data, but it should be corrected before proceeding to review and grading.

If You Need to Re‑Upload

If an upload needs to be corrected:

For detailed interface instructions, refer to Akindi’s official guidance.

What’s Next?

After answer sheets are uploaded, the next step is to review the processed scans and resolve any issues before grades are finalized.

Continue to:

Learn how to review results, address flagged items, and send grades to Canvas

Additional Resources (Akindi Help Center)

For step‑by‑step instructions and advanced troubleshooting, see:

These resources are maintained by Akindi and reflect the most up‑to‑date interface details.

Reviewing and Finalizing Grades Before Sending to Canvas

This page explains what to do after answer sheets have been uploaded to Akindi. It covers how to review processed scans, resolve issues Akindi flags during grading, and send finalized grades to the Canvas Gradebook.

Final Review and Grade Preparation

After scanning and uploading answer sheets, Akindi analyzes the responses and attempts to interpret each sheet automatically. Before you send the grades to Canvas, you will want to review the assessment Results to confirm accuracy. This review may include resolving items flagged in Review & Fix as well as making instructor‑identified corrections or adjustments.

Review & Fix

When information is missing, unclear, or ambiguous, Akindi flags the item for review. 

To see these flagged items, select View Results from the Akindi dashboard for the assessment.

This opens the Review & Fix view, where Akindi displays processed results and identifies any issues that must be resolved before grades are finalized.

Any flagged items then appear in the Exceptions tab within Review & Fix.

Exceptions are typically generated when Akindi cannot confidently determine one of the following:
Common causes include light marks, multiple selections, missing identifiers, or scanning artifacts. You do not need to resolve every issue on your own; Akindi will guide you through each flagged item.

Seeing items in Review & Fix is normal. It does not mean the upload failed; it just means Akindi needs clarification before finalizing results.

Resolving Review Items

Within the Exceptions tab of Review & Fix, Akindi presents each issue individually and prompts you to confirm or correct the information.
Examples of actions you may take include:

Work through Review & Fix items carefully before proceeding. Resolving these issues ensures grades are accurate and prevents downstream problems when syncing to Canvas.

You can save your progress and return to Review & Fix later if needed. Fixed issues will no longer appear on the Review & Fix page, unless you enable the "Show Fixed" tag. 

For detailed, step‑by‑step instructions on specific review scenarios, refer to Akindi’s official Review & Fix guides.

Instructor Corrections

Not all grading decisions are surfaced as exceptions. The following steps cover additional actions instructors should review and complete before grades are sent to Canvas.

Removing Uploaded Responses

In some situations, you may need to remove uploaded response sheets before grades are finalized. This is most common when:

  • Response sheets were uploaded to the wrong assessment
  • Duplicate uploads occurred
  • Sheets need to be rescanned and replaced

Removing responses clears the associated student data but does not affect the assessment setup itself.

For detailed instructions, see Delete responses from an assessment in the Akindi Help Center.

Correcting the Answer Key After Upload

Occasionally, an issue with the answer key is discovered after response sheets have been uploaded. In these cases, the answer key can be corrected directly from the results view.

Correcting the answer key:

  • Automatically regrades affected responses
  • Updates scores immediately based on the revised key
  • Does not require re‑uploading answer sheets

This is commonly used when a question was mis‑keyed or an alternate correct answer should be accepted.

For detailed instructions, see Edit answer keys from results in the Akindi Help Center.

Hand‑Graded Questions

Some questions, such as written responses, short answers, or diagram‑based items, cannot be graded automatically.
For these questions, you will need to enter hand‑graded marks directly in Akindi before grades are finalized.

Hand‑graded marks are combined with automatically graded responses when total scores are calculated.

See the Enter Hand-Graded Marks guide to learn more about adding columns for questions that could not be answered with the bubble sheet. 

Grade Adjustments

The ‘Adjust Grades’ feature lets you boost the overall average of an assessment by adding the same number of points to each student’s score - similar to applying a curve.

To make an adjustment, select View Results from the Akindi dashboard to open the Review & Fix view. Then, from the Responses tab, select Adjust Grades.

You can then enter the number of points you'd like to add to the student totals, and if you would like that to be able to exceed 100%. To remove this adjustment, repeat these steps and set the number of points to zero.

For detailed instructions, see Adjust Students' Grades in the Akindi Help Center.

When Grades Are Ready

You should only proceed to send grades to Canvas when:
This review step is the final checkpoint before grades are shared with students.

Sending Grades to Canvas

Once results are reviewed and finalized, grades can be sent to the Canvas Gradebook.
At a high level, sending grades involves:

Sending grades to Canvas makes the scores available to students. Be sure all review items are resolved before syncing.

If grades are sent again, the new sync may overwrite existing scores in Canvas, depending on the selected options.

For detailed, step‑by‑step instructions, refer to Akindi’s official Send Grades to LMS guide.

If You Encounter Issues Sending Grades

If grades do not send as expected:
For system‑level issues, contact the Office of Accreditation & Assessment for assistance.

What’s Next?

After grades have been sent to Canvas, you may want to explore assessment data in more depth.
Continue to:
Learn how to interpret performance trends, item analysis, and student reports

Additional Resources (Akindi Help Center)

For step‑by‑step instructions and advanced scenarios, see:

 

Analyzing and Exporting Assessment Results

This page focuses on understanding, interpreting, and re‑using assessment results after grading has been finalized and grades have been sent to Canvas. The tools described here support instructional improvement, departmental review, and assessment documentation.
This page does not cover grading workflows or LMS sync. Those steps are addressed earlier in this book.

Understanding the Results Views in Akindi

After selecting View Results for an assessment, Akindi provides several ways to look at student performance. Each view serves a different purpose.

Overview

The Overview provides a high‑level snapshot of assessment performance. Instructors commonly use this view to:
  • Check overall score patterns
  • Identify unusually high or low averages
  • Confirm that results align with expectations
Think of the Overview as an at‑a‑glance summary before digging deeper into specific questions or students.

Graphs and Distributions

Graph‑based views help visualize how students performed across the assessment.
Common uses include:
  • Reviewing grade distributions
  • Spotting clustering at the high or low end
  • Identifying potential issues with difficulty or time constraints
These visualizations are especially useful when comparing multiple sections or reviewing results shortly after an exam.

Responses

The Responses view provides a detailed, spreadsheet‑style breakdown of student performance.
In this view, instructors can:
  • See individual student scores
  • Review how students responded to each question
  • Switch between assessment versions to view responses as students saw them
This view is often used when instructors need student‑level detail or want to investigate how specific questions functioned.

The Responses view may look different depending on how the assessment was created.

Responses in the New Assessment Workflow vs. Akindi Classic

How responses are displayed depends on how the assessment was created:
New assessment workflow

Because the questions are created or imported directly into Akindi, the system understands how questions relate across multiple versions. By default, the Responses view shows questions and the answer key in the original, unscrambled order in which you created them. This allows you to see:
  • The question text and answer key in a consistent order
  • The specific answer each student selected
  • Whether that response was correct for the randomized version that the student received
You can also switch views to see responses as students encountered them on their randomized versions of the exam. For detailed instructions, see the Analyzing the Responses Tab in Akindi guide. 
Akindi Classic

In the Classic workflow, each version of the bubble sheet and answer key is defined independently. Because Akindi does not have access to the underlying question structure, it cannot determine which questions are equivalent across versions. As a result:
  • The All Versions view indicates whether each question was correct or incorrect, rather than showing the specific letter selected
  • To view answer keys and responses, you must select a specific version

For detailed instructions, see the Analyzing the Responses Tab | Akindi Classic guide. 

What Is the Same in Both Workflows?
These differences affect how results are displayed, not how scores are calculated. In both workflows, the Responses view shows the underlying data Akindi uses to calculate scores. Even though the amount of contextual question text may differ, core interaction features are the same in both workflows, including:
  • Clicking the magnifying glass icon to view the student’s raw scanned answer sheet
  • Clicking the report icon to view the student’s individual report
  • Sorting by any column (such as Student ID, Name, Version, Mark, or Date)
  • Toggling between raw marks and percentages using the Percentage switch

Interpreting Question Performance

Beyond individual scores, Akindi provides tools to help instructors evaluate how well questions performed.

Question and Answer Breakdown

Question‑level views allow instructors to:
  • Identify the questions most students missed
  • See which incorrect options were most frequently chosen
  • Detect ambiguous or misleading answer choices
These insights are valuable for refining future exams or revisiting topics in class.

Discrimination and Reliability (High‑Level)

Akindi includes several statistical indicators that describe how well questions differentiate between higher‑ and lower‑performing students.
At a conceptual level:
  • Discrimination metrics help indicate whether a question distinguishes between students who performed well overall and those who did not
  • Reliability indicators help describe the internal consistency of the assessment
These measures are most useful for exam revision and long‑term assessment planning, rather than individual student grading.

You do not need to be a statistician to use these indicators. Look for outliers or unexpected patterns rather than precise thresholds.

To learn more about how to use the Results view, see the Analyzing the Results guide. 

Adjusting Questions After Reviewing Results

In some cases, instructors may decide to adjust how one or more questions are scored after reviewing assessment results. This typically occurs when a question performs unexpectedly due to ambiguity, misalignment with instruction, or widespread misunderstanding.

In these cases, Akindi provides three options for adjusting scores after they are graded. These options are:

For detailed instructions for how to make these adjustments and to see how they will affect students' grades, see Adjusting questions to improve the average

Identifying Students and Special Cases

Akindi also provides tools for examining results at the student level.

Students Who Missed the Assessment

Instructors can quickly identify students who did not submit a completed answer sheet. This is useful for:
  • Confirming absences
  • Following up on make‑up exams
  • Ensuring records are complete

For detailed instructions, see the Who missed the assessment? guide. 

Individual Student Actions and Reports

For individual students, Akindi allows instructors to:
  • Review a student’s responses
  • Confirm grading outcomes
  • Generate individual student reports
These tools are helpful when responding to student questions about exam performance.
For detailed instructions, see the Individual Student Report guide. 

Exporting Assessment Results

In addition to reviewing results within Akindi, instructors may export assessment data for use outside the platform.

Exporting Results as CSV

Assessment results can be downloaded as CSV files, which can be opened in Excel or other data analysis tools.
CSV exports are commonly used for:
  • Additional analysis beyond Akindi’s built‑in views
  • Departmental or program‑level review
  • Accreditation and assessment documentation
  • Comparing results across semesters or sections
Exported data may include student scores and question‑level information, depending on the selected options.

Exporting results does not affect grades in Canvas. Exports are for analysis and record‑keeping only.

For detailed instructions, see A Full Guide to Exporting Assessment Data.

Using Exported Data Effectively

When working with exported results, instructors often:
  • Filter or sort questions to identify patterns
  • Compare performance across different versions or sections
  • Track changes in question performance over time
These practices support continuous improvement and evidence‑based course adjustments.

Additional Resources (Akindi Help Center)

For detailed explanations of specific analytics and export options, see Akindi’s official documentation, including: