TLS is leading a pilot project during the 2025–26 academic year to explore Assign2 as a potential replacement for Scantron in processing paper-based multiple-choice assessments. The university’s Scantron platform is approaching end of life at Carleton, and this pilot is helping us evaluate a modern and sustainable solution guided by instructor feedback.
Winter 2026 Update
The Assign2 vendor has been highly responsive to our support requests, resolving issues to the satisfaction of pilot instructors and incorporating many of Carleton’s quality-of-life suggestions into the product or their future roadmap.
A cross-functional project team—bringing together TLS, Scheduling and Exam Services, Information Technology Services, the Paul Menton Centre, The Print Shop and instructors—meets regularly to identify bottlenecks in the grading workflow and to reduce risks should Carleton transition away from Scantron.
Instructor feedback to date indicates that the overall workload using Assign2 is comparable to Scantron, with the added benefit of greater control over timing and faster local resolution of issues. The pilot has also surfaced some practical best practices, such as using the regular PDF option when scanning, preferring scan-to-USB on departmental multifunction devices where possible, confirming that USB drives can be written to before scanning and using scan-to-email for smaller batches when needed. Instructors are encouraged to check that QR codes, barcodes and IDs are fully visible before and after printing, to print a small surplus of bubble sheets to account for mishaps and to note that coloured paper can still be used effectively when different exam versions or groups need to be distinguished.
Several concerns raised by pilot instructors remain under active review – including feature parity (multiple correct answers as an example), the importance of high-quality scans from the university’s current fleet of devices and understanding workflows that are important for stakeholders.
Other items have already been resolved. Grades imported to Brightspace are now limited to two decimal places for clarity, scaled grading logic has been refined for situations where questions are removed after an exam is graded, and exam coversheets now include both the course name and course code, with the file prefix moved to avoid crowding QR codes and barcodes.
A decision on whether to proceed with adopting Assign2 as Carleton’s primary tool for bubble sheet exam creation and grading will be made in late spring, following the conclusion of the pilot in April 2026.
If the decision is to move forward, a phased implementation will support instructors who wish to migrate in the upcoming academic year, with Scantron services continuing in parallel during a transition. The earliest that we anticipate a possible complete transition to a new platform would be fall 2027.
About Assign2
Assign2 is already being used at Carleton as a grading workflow tool to support grading paper-based and computer programming assessments. It also has the ability to process multiple-choice bubble sheet assessments.
- A small group of instructors used the multiple-choice functionality last year with promising results.
- Bubble sheets are printed and scanned using existing multi-function printers on campus (no specialized hardware required).
- Results can be quickly uploaded, graded and analyzed within Assign2.
For more details on how Assign2 bubble sheets work, please see the Assign2 documentation.
Pilot Project Details
A limited number of instructors will be selected to participate in the pilot. Participants will receive:
- Guidance and support from TLS in building, printing, scanning and grading multiple choice assessments.
- Opportunities to provide direct feedback, shaping the decision on whether Assign2 can replace Scantron across campus.
Criteria for participation:
- Teaching at least one course in fall 2025 or winter 2026.
- Administering at least one assessment with fewer than 100 multiple-choice questions (single correct answer format only).
- Assessments must be for individual students only (no group assessments).
- Willingness to try the Assign2 bubble sheet workflow and provide constructive feedback.
To learn more about the project, please contact us at tlssupport@cunet.carleton.ca.
Assign2 Quick Guide
If you’re participating in the pilot project, please review this Quick Guide for some detailed instructions to help you get set up.