Build exam questions

You've created a draft CBT exam — now it needs questions. This guide walks you through adding each question, putting them in the right order, checking how the exam looks, choosing which streams sit it, and finally publishing so students can take it.

Step 1: Open the exam

In the left sidebar, under Dashboard, click My Subjects and choose the subject. Open the exam you want to work on. You'll see its title with a small draft label next to it.

Step 2: Go to the question builder

Click the Actions button (top right) and choose Edit questions. If the exam has no questions yet, you can also click Add questions from the preview. This opens the builder, where every question appears as a card you can expand and edit.

Step 3: Add a question

Click Add question. A new card opens ready to fill in:

• Prompt — type the question exactly as students will read it. This field is required.
• Type — pick how it's answered: Single choice, Multiple choice, Short text, Long text, or Math.
• Marks — how many marks the question is worth. Required.

Step 4: Set the answer

What you fill in next depends on the Type you chose:

• Single choice / Multiple choice — type each choice under Answer options. Use the round (or square) marker beside an option to mark it correct: for single choice, tick the one correct answer; for multiple choice, tick every correct answer. Click Add option for more choices.
• Short text — list every spelling you'll accept under Accepted answers, one per box. Click Add answer for more. Use Match mode to decide how strict the grading is: Exact, Case-insensitive, or Trimmed.
• Long text — nothing to set; long answers are graded by hand later.
• Math — enter the Canonical expression and an optional Tolerance. Math answers are graded by hand for now.

Step 5: Save the question

Click Add question at the bottom of the card to save it. When you reopen a saved question, the same button reads Save question. The card then collapses to a summary row showing the question type and its marks.

Step 6: Add the rest, then arrange them

Repeat Steps 3 to 5 for every question. To change the order, use the up and down arrows on each card to nudge it one place. For bigger reshuffles, click Arrange questions (top right) — the cards shrink to compact rows you can drag by the handle. Click Done when the order looks right; changes save as you go.

Step 7: Preview the exam

Use the back link to return to the exam, where the preview shows it as students will see it. Click any question to open its detail panel and double-check the prompt, the options, and which answer is marked correct.

Step 8: Assign it to streams

Still on the exam page, open the assignments and click Assign stream. A panel titled Assign streams opens:

• Class — pick the class.
• Streams — tick one or more streams within that class.
• Opens and Closes — set the window when students can sit the exam.
• Max attempts — how many tries each student gets.

Click Assign stream to save. You can assign more streams the same way; a stream already assigned won't appear in the list again.

Step 9: Publish

When everything looks right, open Actions and choose Publish. Confirm, and the exam moves from draft to published.

What happens next

• The exam's label changes from draft to published, and you see an "Exam published" confirmation.
• Students in the assigned streams can sit it during the Opens to Closes window, up to the Max attempts you set.
• When you're finished, use Actions → Close exam to stop further attempts.

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