Questions and test sets

How to add a question to an online test?

Adding questions to your online quizzes, tests or exams on Testportal is simple and effortless.

You can create questions yourself or use our AI assistant. Find out how to generate test questions with AI from this guide.

How to add a question to a newly created test?

To create a new test and add your first questions, follow these steps:

1. Click the New test button in the My tests view.

2. In the Basic settings, enter relevant data for your test and click the Create button at the bottom of the page.

3. The Test configuration menu will become active and you will be able to select the Questions manager tab.

4. Your new test will be empty. Click the Add question button to add the first question. It will immediately take you to the setup view of Question 1.

5. When your question is ready, scroll to the bottom of the page and click Save and add next. This will take you to the setup of the new question.

6. Repeat the previous step until you prepare all the questions you need for your online test.

Adding a question to a new test

How to add a question to previously created test?

You can add a question to an existing test if its status is "Setup in progress".

1. In the My tests view, select the test to which you want to add new questions.

2. In its Test configuration menu, click the Questions manager tab.

3. You will see a list of all the questions previously created for this test. Click the green Add question button in the top-right corner.

4. Complete the details of the new question and click Save or Save and add new if you want to add another question to that test.

5. Repeat the previous step until you prepare all the questions you need for your online test.

Adding a question to an existing test

How can I edit the test questions?

All the questions you create are available in the Questions manager. It is the core of your test and the place where you can edit them.

Test questions editor - options and capabilities

You can use the editor to work on each question. You can, for example, input the content of the question, add alternatives (possible answers), and any attachments you need. You can also change the content of the questions: bold or italicize the text; enlarge the font, change its color; add photos, audio, or video files to the question content. 

Testportal's questions editor gives you a lot of options

Testportal also features:

• an equation editor

Our equation editor takes exams to another level

• a code editor that supports the following formats: HTML / XML, JavaScript, CSS, PHP, Ruby, Python, Java, C, C#, and C++.

If you're hiring for a dev team, a programming task on Testportal will help you choose a real talent

Can I edit the online test questions after activating the test?

Activating the test means you confirm that it has been configured correctly and the test owner has checked all questions and answers. The active test is then ready for respondents to take it.

To make changes to a test you have already activated, duplicate (copy) it, correct errors in the questions, and then activate the corrected test.

What question types can I create in an online test?

Our Questions manager (available in the Test configuration menu) lets you create questions for a specific test. To allow users to create diverse and complex assessments, Testportal features several question types.

What types of questions are available on Testportal?

As a user, you can use the following types:

• Single-choice

• Multiple-choice

• Descriptive

• True/false

• Short answer

• Survey

These are all currently available question types

Automatically graded and descriptive questions

These questions will be automatically graded:

Single-choice - respondents can mark only one answer, and only one of the answers is correct.

Multiple-choice - respondents can select any number of answers or no answer, as there is a possibility that none of the answers is correct.

True/false - respondents choose between two alternatives, one of which is correct.

Short answer - respondents should enter the answer themselves. It will be automatically checked against the answer patterns you provide when creating the question. We recommend using this type only in some cases, for example, math problems.

Survey - respondents can choose only one answer, and no answers are correct or incorrect.

In the case of short answer questions, respondents can provide a correct answer which is not included in the answer key. The test owner will manually mark that answer as correct.

One question type has to be manually graded:

Descriptive - respondents provide a written answer that will not be automatically checked. It is the responsibility of the test owner after the respondent completes the test. Here, you can specify the maximum word limit for the answer.

How to create a question category on Testportal?

You can categorize the questions in your online test. Thanks to this, you will insightfully check the skills and knowledge of test takers in specific subject categories and you will achieve greater transparency of results.

Use the question category in your test if:

• your test contains a large number of questions;

• you want respondents to receive a random set of questions containing a balanced number of questions from various subject categories;

• you want to receive multidimensional results of assessing the knowledge and skills of your respondents.

Create and select question categories

How do I create and select a category for a new question in a test?

1. When configuring the test, in the Question manager tab, select the Add question option.

2. After entering the content of the question, you can choose a category from previously created ones or add a new one.

   Each question is assigned the ‘Generic’ category by default.
   

3. To add a new category, use the Add new category option.

4. In the window for adding a new category, enter its name in the ‘Category’ field.

5. Confirm new category creation with the Create button. The category will be automatically assigned to the question you are currently setting up.

How do I create and select a category for an existing question?

1. On the ‘My tests; screen, select the test for which you want to assign categories to the questions.

2. In the ‘Test configuration’ menu, select the Questions manager tab.

3. Click on the question you want to categorize.

4. In the ‘Category’ field, you can choose a category from previously created ones or add a new one.

5. To add a new category, use the Add new category option.

6. In the window for adding a new category, enter its name in the ‘Category’ field.

7. Create a new category and confirm with the ‘Create’ button. The category will be automatically assigned to the currently selected question.

Filtering questions by category

On the Questions manager screen, you can filter questions by the categories to which they are assigned. This will allow you to review the prepared questions in an orderly way.

On the top bar, click on the ‘Category’ field next to the question number to display a list of all question categories used in the test. Then select the category to show.

Questions category management

You can add and remove question categories from your test at any time using the Manage categories option. The ‘Question categories’ screen allows you to add a new specific subject category and remove selected categories from the list.

To add a new question category, enter its name in the ‘Category name’ field in the ‘Add new question category’ section. Confirm with the Add button so that it goes to the list of created question categories.

You can also remove categories from the list. In the ‘Created question categories’ section, select the ones you want to remove and use the Delete selected option, or just click the trash icon next to the category you want to get rid of. In the pop-up window, you will be asked to confirm that you want to delete the category.

Remember that questions assigned to a deleted category will go to the ‘Generic’ subject area.

How do I add a file to a question or answer on Testportal?

Testportal allows you to add various files to your questions and answers to make them more challenging or entertaining. With Testportal, you can use almost any type of attachment.

Can I attach an audio, PDF or image file to the question (or answer)?

You can attach any file under 5 MB in size (20 MB in the case of video files). In practice, it means that you can add audio, video, image (we suggest compressed formats, such as JPEG, JPEG 2000, and PNG), PDF files or Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

Apart from uploading a video file you can also link to YouTube / Vimeo content. Uploading videos from Google Drive or Microsoft OneDrive / Sharepoint / Stream is not possible.

Adding a file from your device to your questions is super easy

How can I add an attachment as a test owner?

1. Go to the test you want to configure.

2. Click the Questions manager tab.

3. Select a question and then use the editor to add your file. In most cases, you can upload files from both your computer and online sources.

How to add image to a question?

1. In the Questions manager, select a question to which you want to add an image.

2. In the question editor at the top of the page, find a landscape image icon titled Insert/edit image. Click it.

3. A dialog window will open, where you can drag&drop your file or use the Browse for an image button to look it up on your device.

How to add video to a question?

1. In the Questions manager, select a question to which you want to add a video.

2. In the question editor at the top of the page, find a triangle icon titled Insert/edit media. Click it.

3. A dialog window will open, where you can look up a media file your device.

How to add audio to a question?

1. In the Questions manager, select a question to which you want to add an audio.

2. In the question editor at the top of the page, find a triangle icon titled Insert/edit media. Click it.

3. A dialog window will open, where you can look up a media file your device.

How to add PDF to a question?

1. In the Questions manager, select a question to which you want to add a PDF.

2. In the question editor at the top of the page, find a triangle icon titled Insert/edit media. Click it.

3. A dialog window will open, where you can look up a media file your device.

How to add an attachment as a test respondent?

As a respondent, you can add an attachment to a descriptive question. It means that this option will only appear if the test owner allows it for a specific question.

How many times can respondents play an audio or video file?

There is no limit on the number of times a respondent can play a file.

Assigning points to questions on Testportal

Assigning points for correct and incorrect answers is an important part of creating online assessments on Testportal. It lets you easily tell who passed the test, who failed and distribute grades. Assigning points also gives you a lot of actionable insights into your respondents' skills and knowledge.

Assigning points to questions looks different depending on the types of questions.

• Single-choice, multiple-choice and true/false questions, feature two options: Points for correct answer and optional Points for incorrect answer. Obviously, test owners can decide to use the latter to give negative points for wrong respondent choices during a test.

• Short answer and survey questions have only one space for points for each answer. It can be used to assign positive or negative points.

• Descriptive questions come with a Max. number of points field, but test owners have to grade respondents' answers and assign points themselves. This type of question doesn't feature automated grading.

How to create your question bank for the online test?

Currently there are no ready-made questions available on Testportal, but there are ways to reuse the content you have created in the past.

How to create your question bank?

Each test (whether it is currently being created, active, scheduled, or ended) is a subset of the questions you created.

To reuse one or more of them, select the test and then find the question in the Questions manager. Next, click the three-dot icon and choose the Copy to option, then specify the target test. Confirm your choice by clicking Copy.

This way, you can reuse any question saved in a previously created test.

Read the instructions on copying questions for more details on how to copy a question.

By copying questions from multiple tests into one, you will create a question bank that allows you to create separate tests and test sets. Simply use the New test and Create test from scratch options on the "My tests" screen. Then, give it a name and use the Copy to option to copy questions from other tests into it.

How to create test sets?

Creating test sets will help you limit recurring problems or information exchange and cheating among your respondents. With a suitable number of questions, you can ensure that every test set is unique.

Configuring test sets

Go to the selected test and click Test sets in the Test configuration menu. You can choose between two options:

Fixed question order - each respondent receives the same test, consisting of all the created questions.

Random question order - the questions you create are randomly selected based on the randomization settings for each question category. For example, if you are creating an extensive language test, you can pick questions from categories such as vocabulary, grammar, and reading comprehension.

Our system will draw a specific number of questions from each category and create a unique test set for each respondent.

You can choose between two available options

Question randomization

To produce valid and reliable data, you should always strive to minimize the impact of cheating on your online tests. One of many methods of achieving it available on Testportal is question randomization.

Question randomization in practice

To use this feature, go to the Test sets tab in the Test configuration menu. There, you will see two options:

• Fixed questions and answers order as defined in Questions manager.

• Random questions and answers order.

If you select the first one, all the questions in your online assessments will display to the respondents in pre-defined order, from the first question to the last one. You can change the order of question in the Questions manager.

The second option will randomize all your questions and answers.

Drawing questions from test sets

To make your online assessments more unique and curb cheating attempts, you can create test sets. Each can contain different type of questions and Testportal can draw from each of your sets to create even more unique tests for each of your respondents.

Can respondents return to previous test questions?

Your online tests can be as easy or as challenging as you want! Allow your respondents to go back to previous questions (backtracking) or skip questions during an assessment, or switch this feature off.

Why would you want to switch backtracking and skipping questions?

• It raises the bar for your respondents, especially when used together with time limit per test.

• It discourages cheating during an online test as your respondents won't be able to go back and correct a previous answer even if they manage to look the question up or ask a peer for the correct answer.

To enable or disable this option, use the toggle at the bottom of the Time settings page.

You decide whether respondents can navigate back to previous questions

Next, simply save your changes with the Save button at the bottom of the page and you're all set.

How to copy an online test question?

Testportal is an easy test maker, but it is also a convenient space for test storage. You can reuse your archived assessments to make your work easier and more efficient.

Copying a question to another test

If you want to copy a question from one of your assessments to another:

1. Select a test in My tests.

2. Use the Questions manager to find the question you need.

3. Click the Copy to icon next to the selected question and choose to which test the question should be copied.

Copying a question to another test takes only a second

If you need to copy a significant part of questions from one of your tests, it may be a better idea to duplicate the entire test. Here's how to create a copy of the test.

How to print a test?

Testportal is an online skills and knowledge assessment platform. Among other helpful features, it allows you to download test sheets. Use this feature when some of your respondents don’t have access to a computer, a tablet or a smartphone.

You can also use it when you need a paper version of the test sheet or want to attach it to the documentation. Please note that using a test sheet and an answer sheet helps you save paper.

Step-by-step test download

1. On the My tests screen, select a test you want to download.

2. Click the Print button in the upper right corner of the screen.

3. In the Download a printable version window, select Test sheet and then Download. In addition to downloading a test sheet, you can also download an answer sheet and a list of correct answers (an answer key).

4. The downloaded file is in .pdf format and has the same name as the test. It will be saved on your device.

This is how you can download a printable version of your test

Printing the test from Testportal

1. Find the test file on your computer.

2. Open the file and use the Print option.

Printed versions of the answer sheet and the answer key have exactly the same dimensions. For faster test-checking, you can print the answer on the foil. To further speed up your work, you can also cut out windows in the paper version.

Testportal also allows test results report download.

How can I import an online test to Testportal?

At the moment, you can import your test to Testportal by filling in a Microsoft Excel form. You can get such a form from the Testportal team upon request. To receive it, contact our Customer Success.

Importing questions and tests is available to users of the EDU School, EDU University plans and all business plans.

Our import supports only the three question types mentioned below:

• Single-choice

• Multiple-choice,

• Descriptive.

Marks: 'S' — single-choice question, 'M' — multiple-choice question, 'D' — open question, 'x' —correct answer.

You can add attachments (e.g., images and audio or video files) and format text after importing the test. To do that, log into your account and use the questions editor. Test owners must also configure all settings for the imported test before it can be activated and shared with respondents.

Where can I send a filled-in Microsoft Excel form?

Send your prepared file in .XLSX format to support@testportal.net or reply to the message you received from our Customer Success team.

When will the test appear in my account?

We do our utmost to ensure that the imported test appears in the test owner's account within 12 hours from the moment we receive the import request. However, actual times may vary depending on how many similar requests we receive on a particular day.

The test is already visible on the My Tests dashboard, but it is incomplete. What now?

After the import, questions and their correct answers will appear in your account. Proper test configuration (selecting test access, grading criteria, safety mechanisms, test activation method, etc.) is the responsibility of the test owner.

When preparing the file, remember:

• Complete the file based on the form you receive from our support.

• If you include characters that are not supported by the Testportal font, import might fail.

• Use letters (S, M, or D) to tag the question type. You can find the description of the letters earlier in this article.