Create a CBT exam
Set up a computer-based test for a subject you teach.
You teach a subject and want students to sit a test on screen — a computer-based test, or CBT. This guide walks you through setting one up: you create the exam shell first (its name, term, timing and pass mark), and the app saves it as a draft you can add questions to afterwards.
Before you start
You need to be assigned as a teacher for at least one subject. If you don't see My Subjects in the sidebar, you aren't set up to teach any subjects yet — ask a school admin to assign you. You'll also pick a term for the exam, so the campus needs an academic term set up. Exams can only be created while the academic year is unlocked — on a locked year the Create exam button doesn't appear (see Lock an academic year).
Step 1: Open My Subjects
In the left sidebar, click My Subjects. You'll see a card for each subject you teach. Each card shows the subject name and how many streams it covers.
No subjects?
If the page says "No subjects assigned", you aren't teaching any subjects yet. An admin needs to assign you before you can create an exam.
Step 2: Open the subject
Click the card for the subject you want to test. The subject page opens on the Exams tab, which lists any CBT exams you've already made. (The Gradebook tab next to it is for marks — you don't need it here.)
Step 3: Start a new exam
Click Create exam (top right). If this is your first exam for the subject, you'll see a "No exams yet" message with a Create exam button in the middle — click that instead. Either way, the New exam form opens.
Step 4: Fill in the exam details
Under Exam details, enter:
- Title — what students see, e.g. End of Term Test. This one is required.
- Term — open the Select term dropdown and pick the academic term this exam belongs to. Required.
- Timing — choose Whole exam (one time limit for the whole test) or Per question (each question is timed on its own).
- Duration (minutes) — how long students have, e.g. 60.
- Pass mark — the score needed to pass. Optional; leave it blank if you don't need one.
Whole exam needs a duration
If you pick Whole exam timing, you must fill in Duration (minutes) — the form won't save without it. For Per question timing, you set each question's time later when you build the questions.
Step 5: Choose what to monitor
Under Integrity monitoring, you'll see a set of on/off switches that control what the app watches for during the test. Turn each on or off to suit your exam:
- Record video and Record audio — capture the student's camera and microphone.
- Track tab switches — note when a student leaves the exam tab.
- Track copy / paste — note copy-and-paste activity.
- Track focus loss — note when the exam window loses focus.
- Require fullscreen — ask students to sit the exam in fullscreen.
- Face check — confirm a face is present on camera.
Sensible defaults
Most of these are switched on already. You can leave them as they are and adjust later if you need to.
Step 6: Save the exam
Click Create exam at the bottom of the form. You'll see an "Exam created" confirmation, and the app opens your new exam so you can start adding questions. To back out without saving, click Cancel.
What happens next
- Your new exam is saved as a draft and opens straight away.
- It now appears in the Exams tab for this subject.
- It has no questions yet — your next job is to add them.
- Students won't see it until you've added questions, assigned it to streams, and published it.
Next: add your questions
A draft exam is empty until you add questions. Head to Build exam questions to write them, set marks, and get the exam ready to assign and publish.