Practice tests vs. official exams: how tests work and their settings

Tests are practice; official exams are graded

Students have two places to answer questions, and they work differently:

So a student can take 30 practice tests on SAT Math the week before the final: none of them changes their grade. Only the official exam does, with the best attempt in real mode. By default the subject grade is 80% official exams and 20% assignments; you can change it in each subject's grade weights (see Gradebook and grade weights). To create exams, see Create timed exams.

How students build a practice test

In Tests, students see your syllabus (the Assessment Center) and the rule in force, for example "Active rule: 3 wrong answers cancel 1 correct." They can choose:

• Practice topic on a single topic.
• Global Test to mix every topic of a block.
• Multiple topics in the Selection type menu, ticking several, and then Generate selection.

Then they set up the test:

Acatudy first picks questions the student hasn't seen in tests they've already completed, and only repeats when the topic runs out of new ones. If the topics have no questions at all, the student sees "The selected topics have no available questions." Add them in your practice bank (see Practice bank vs. exam bank).

Written-answer questions aren't marked automatically: they wait for a teacher's grading (see Written-answer questions and manual grading).

If the student leaves without submitting

Closing the tab, going back or navigating away voids the test: it doesn't count in statistics or mistakes, and the student sees "You left the test without submitting it: the attempt was voided and doesn't count." An accidental reload is forgiven if they come back within a few seconds. On an official exam the consequence is stronger: the attempt is closed with a score of 0 and uses up that attempt.

The mistakes review

Every question a student gets wrong in a test is saved in Mistakes (Mistake Training). There they answer them again one by one, with the explanation: a correct answer removes the question from the list, and a wrong one shows "Mistake recorded · It will be repeated at the end." It's a great routine before an exam: Ava clears her 14 Algebra mistakes before Friday.

Mistakes is included in the Professional and Institutional plans, and can be turned off in My academy → General → Modules.

Academy-wide settings

Go to Courses → Settings → Tests & exams. The changes apply to the whole academy when you click Save settings.

1. Question style

   How your students see questions when answering tests: Classic (a sober vertical list) or Cards (colored options laid out horizontally). Under Question image in the Classic style, choose where a question's image goes: Above the question (default), Below the question or Don't show. In Cards, the image always sits above the question.

2. Penalty per wrong answer in student tests

   How many wrong answers cancel one correct answer in the tests students generate:

   • No penalty, as on the SAT and ACT. A good choice if you prepare students for those exams.
   • Each wrong answer cancels 1 correct, or from 2 to 6 wrong answers cancel 1 correct. The default is 3.
   • Automatic (based on each question's number of options).

   Blank questions never subtract. The rule is saved in each test when it's created: it applies to tests generated from now on, and tests already taken keep theirs. Each exam has its own penalty, set in the exam itself.

3. Syllabus order in exams

   Exams and the question bank list units in this order. Without a custom order, they're listed alphabetically. Use the arrows to move a unit (for example, put Linear equations before Quadratics), or Restore alphabetical order. The badge shows whether you're using Custom order or Alphabetical order (default).

Frequently asked questions

Can I set a timer of my own for practice tests?

No. Timed tests always use 1 minute per question (5 minutes minimum). If you need a specific duration, create an exam: you choose from 5 to 300 minutes.

Can I make practice tests count toward the grade?

Tests built by students don't count. If you want practice to weigh in, create a practice test in Exams and give practice tests a weight in the subject's grade weights (0% by default).

I changed the penalty and an old test's score didn't change

That's expected: each test keeps the rule that was in force when it was created, so scores never change after the fact.