In this guide, instructors will learn how to prepare for different situations on exam day.
Below are our recommended best practices to help you develop your exam delivery policies.
In this guide:
Pre-Exam Day Preparations
- Exam-Taker Communications
- Mock Exam
- Preview Your Exam
- Assessment and Post Settings
- Proctor Training and Preparation
- Additional Preparations for On-Site Exams
Exam-Taker Communications
Student Welcome Letter
All of the following information and links are available within the Student Welcome Letter. We recommend distributing a Student Welcome Letter to all new students using Examplify for the first time. You can generate a custom Student Welcome Letter tailored to your individual program via this Student Welcome Letter Generator.
If you need details about the particulars of your institution, reach out to the Institution Administrator or your CSM.
Student Resource Links
- Best Practices for Exam-Takers
- Exam Taker Quick Start Guide
- Disable Anti-Virus Software
- Resources for Students Video Tutorials
If the exam-takers will use their own devices:
- Encourage them to download the exam as early as possible. This way, if they have any issues, they'll have time to get help before the exam begins.
- Instruct them to Disable Their Anti-Virus Software before exam time and re-enable it after completing the exam.
- Advise the exam-takers to fully charge their devices before the exam.
- For optimal performance, advise the exam-takers to restart their devices within 24-48 hours of exam day.
Mock Exam
Create a Mock Exam for your exam-takers before the first exam posting. This enables them to ensure that their devices meet requirements and are properly set up. They can also become familiar with the exam features.
When building a Mock Exam, make it as similar to a regular exam as possible. Add notices and attachments. Include at least one of each question type that you plan on using this semester. Enable the same features that you intend to enable on the actual assessment, such as Spell Checker and Text Highlighting.
A Mock Exam is critical if you are using ExamID, so that you can capture a baseline photo.
You can download a sample mock exam to upload within the relevant ExamSoft portal, located in the chart below.
For Legacy users: Legacy Portal mock exams should be in .rtf format for import.
- If you intend to download a Legacy file from a link in the chart below, be sure to convert it to .rtf before attempting to import it into the Legacy Portal.
- To convert, download and open the .docx file; then, select File: Save As.
- In the save-as option window, open the file format options to select among other format types.
- Choose Rich Text Format (.rft) and Save.
| Enterprise Portal | Legacy Portal |
| Examplify-Tutorial Mock Exam Questions | Examplify-Tutorial Mock Exam Questions |
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Reach out to your CSM if you intend to give a mock exam with ExamMonitor H.R. (Human-Review) enabled, as this feature has specific dependencies that must be strictly configured.
Preview Your Exam
Use the Preview Exam feature to view your exam as an exam-taker would, but without actually taking the exam. This is an excellent way to review the questions on the exam and make necessary changes before posting it.
- Enterprise Portal: Create and Preview a Practice Exam
- Legacy Portal: Create and Preview a Practice Exam
Assessment and Post Settings
- When setting up the assessment, add your exam proctor(s) to the course settings or to the assessment settings so that they will have access to the assessment information.
- When you post this assessment, set the Download Start date/time to 24-48 hours before the actual date/time of the exam. This way, the exam-takers have plenty of time to download the exam.
- Exam-takers should also be given only one download for an exam. If additional downloads are needed, they can easily be changed on an individual basis.
Proctor Training and Preparation
Ensure that the proctors are aware of how to access the assessment information, including the assessment password, the universal resume code, and the list of exam-takers, among other details.
Also, ensure that they know how to adjust the number of downloads, check the status of uploads, and remove an upload. View the Enterprise Portal: Exam Proctoring guide.
If your institution has a support package, provide the ExamSoft Support number to the exam proctor(s).
Additional Preparations for On-Site Exams
- Bring a list of all exam-takers scheduled for the exam. Take attendance to determine who needs to be contacted and scheduled for a makeup exam.
- As a backup, it's helpful to print a copy of your exam and to bring Scantron forms in case any exam-takers experience technical issues or forget their devices. You can import the answer files to ensure that their results are included in the assessment reports. View the Enterprise Portal: Print an Assessment guide.
- Consider preparing loaner devices. Set up the devices with Lab User accounts to ensure that no exam-taker information is stored on the devices. View the Examplify: Basic Lab Setup or Examplify for iPad: Lab Setup guide.
- If you are using lab computers or providing loaner devices:
- Install the latest version of Examplify. View: Examplify for Windows and Mac: Download, Install, and Register Examplify or Examplify for iPad: Download and Install Examplify
- Disable Anti-Virus Software before the scheduled exam time.
- If the exam uses ExamID, the exam-takers must have an internet connection to start the exam. View the Connect Your Device to the Internet for Exams with ExamID guide.
Potential On-Site Issues
Internet Issues
- For exams with ExamID, the devices must be connected to the internet to start the exam. In the event of an internet outage, a hotspot connection can be used.
- For exams without an ExamID, if the exams have been downloaded in advance, exam-takers will be able to complete their exams without internet access. The answer file will be saved and secure on their device until they are able to reconnect to the internet and upload their answer files.
- If your exam has an upload deadline, edit the Post Settings to adjust the deadline as needed. This will enable students to access an area with internet connectivity to upload their answer file.
- They will not be able to re-enter their exam once they've exited a secure exam.
- Be ready to make photocopies or print from your downloaded file, if students are unable to download their exam.
Power Outage
If the devices have fully-charged batteries, it's possible that the exam-takers will be able to complete the exam.
If you choose to postpone your exam until power is restored, ask the students to completely shut down their devices to stop the timer on their exam.
Site Evacuation
If exam-takers are required to leave the site (for example, in the event of a fire drill), follow these best practices.
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Instruct the exam-takers to completely shut down their devices to stop the exam timer. Examplify saves content periodically. Anything that was entered 60 seconds before the shutdown is secure.
Do not instruct them to submit the exam.
- Closing a laptop may only put the computer to sleep rather than shut it down. If the computer is not shut down, the timer will continue to run.
- When you are ready to resume the exam, announce the universal resume code. You can find this code on the Proctoring page.
- When the exam-takers restart their devices, they will need to enter this code to resume the exam.
Bring-Your-Own-Device Issues
- If an exam-taker experiences technical issues or has forgotten to bring a device, we recommend providing a loaner device or furnishing printed exams and a Scantron form.
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If device issues occur during the exam, we recommend powering down the device immediately.
Do not instruct the exam-taker to submit the exam.
- After the device has been off for at least 5 seconds, restart it.
- Depending on the length of the outage, the exam-taker may be able to resume the exam immediately or might require a resume code (which can be found on the Proctoring tab).