Remote exam configurations¶

This page walks through common assessment configurations for remote exams, where students are not physically present in the same location as the proctors.

Use the assessment Access page to configure availability, deadlines, time limits, PrairieTest access, after-completion visibility, and student-specific or student-label overrides.

These examples use modern assessment access control. Existing assessments that still use allowAccess can use the legacy access control documentation.

Student-specific access overrides are managed from the assessment Access page. Use Specific students for assessment-specific exceptions such as one-off makeups or alternate exam windows. Use student labels for groups that are maintained across multiple assessments, such as remote sections, online cohorts, or standing accommodation groups.

Exams in a PrairieTest-managed testing center¶

For a PrairieTest-only access path, enable PrairieTest on the assessment and leave date control disabled.

In the UI:

Open the assessment Access tab.
Click Edit in Defaults.
Leave Date control disabled.
Under Integrations, enable PrairieTest.
Enter the PrairieTest exam UUID from the PrairieTest exam settings.
For After completion, choose what students can see after they finish while their reservation is still active.
Use the top-level After completion settings for what students can see after the reservation ends.
Click Save.

Some notes about this configuration:

The PrairieTest exam UUID should be copied from PrairieTest for the specific exam. Each exam has its own unique UUID, and it's vital that the correct value is used for each separate exam.
Do not configure date control or a PrairieLearn time limit.
Apply overrides and disability accommodations in PrairieTest. Do not use overrides in PrairieLearn.
Use the PrairieTest exam's after-completion visibility setting if students should not review questions or scores after finishing while their reservation is still active.

JSON

infoAssessment.json

{
  "accessControl": [
    {
      "integrations": {
        "prairieTest": {
          "exams": [
            {
              "examUuid": "c48e40db-258d-43c8-bb26-1f559ffe2228"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    }
  ]
}

Testing center exams with a few students outside PrairieTest¶

Sometimes a PrairieTest-managed exam needs a separate access path for a small number of students who are not taking it through PrairieTest. Start with the PrairieTest-only defaults, then add an override that gives the selected students a date-control access path.

Use a student-specific override for one-off exceptions, since the affected students usually change from assessment to assessment. Use a student label only when the same group should be managed together across multiple assessments.

In the UI:

Configure the defaults as a PrairieTest-only exam.
On the assessment Access page, click Add override.
Choose Specific students and select the enrolled students.
Click Override next to Release and set the remote exam start time.
Click Override next to Due date and set the remote exam end time.
Click Override next to Time limit and enter the working time for the remote exam.
Click Save.

Some notes about this configuration:

The override uses date control to create a non-PrairieTest access window with its own time limit. See the synchronous exam notes for details about choosing the window and time limit.
The override can be added at any time, including after other students already completed the exam using PrairieTest. This is useful for accommodations or makeup exams.
For a reusable cohort, choose Students by label instead of Specific students and select the appropriate label, such as "Remote section".

JSON

This reference shows the reusable-cohort version using a student label.

infoAssessment.json

{
  "accessControl": [
    {
      "integrations": {
        "prairieTest": {
          "exams": [
            {
              "examUuid": "c48e40db-258d-43c8-bb26-1f559ffe2228"
            }
          ]
        }
      }
    },
    {
      "uuid": "22222222-2222-4222-8222-222222222222",
      "labels": ["Remote section"],
      "dateControl": {
        "release": { "date": "2020-04-20T11:00:00" },
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-20T12:40:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 90
      }
    }
  ]
}

Synchronous, timed exams¶

Tip

We recommend that exams held outside a controlled testing center should be run using a synchronous, timed configuration.

This configuration is good when:

Almost all students take the exam at the same time.
Some students have accommodations, such as 1.5x time.
Some students need an alternate exam window.

Warning

Use student-specific overrides for one-off alternate windows or unusual combinations of accommodations. Use student-label overrides only for cohorts that are already maintained as labels or should intentionally be reused across assessments. If a student matches multiple label overrides, override priority determines which settings apply.

In the UI:

On the assessment Access page, click Edit in Defaults.
Enable Date control.
Set Release to the exam start time, such as Apr 20 at 11:00am.
Set Due date to slightly after the ordinary time limit, such as Apr 20 at 12:05pm for a 60-minute exam.
Enable Time limit and enter the ordinary working time, such as 60 minutes.
Leave After due date set to No submissions allowed.
Under After completion, set Question visibility to Hide questions permanently. Leave Score visibility visible after completion if students should see their total score.
For students with extra-time accommodations, click Add override. Choose Students by label if you already maintain an accommodation label such as "Extended time"; otherwise choose Specific students.
In the extra-time override, click Override next to Due date and Time limit. For 1.5x time on a 60-minute exam, use a 90-minute time limit and extend the due date to cover that time.
For students taking the exam in an alternate window, click Add override. Choose Specific students unless this is a reusable cohort that should be managed by label.
In the alternate-window override, click Override next to Release, Due date, and Time limit for the alternate exam window.
For students who need both an alternate window and extra time, add a student-specific override or a dedicated reusable-cohort label override listed below the other matching overrides.
Click Save.

Some notes about this configuration:

Set the exam window (release to due date) to be 5 minutes longer than the exam time limit. Students will not be able to submit past the due date under any circumstances. If a student starts this exam more than 5 minutes late, then the countdown timer on their exam will reflect the time remaining until the due date.
If a student closes their web browser accidentally during an exam, they can reopen PrairieLearn and continue where they left off. They can also switch computers and continue the same exam. The timer does not pause while the browser is closed.
Remember to extend both the due date and time limit for students with extra-time accommodations.
After the timer expires the exam will auto-close and grade any saved but ungraded questions. Students cannot submit after their timer expires or after the due time, whichever comes first. Once the assessment is complete, students can see their final score but cannot review any questions.
If a student closes their web browser before the exam is complete, their exam will be automatically closed and graded within 12 minutes after their timer expires. If they try and access their exam during this time it will immediately close and grade.
Before downloading final scores, wait at least 12 minutes after the last student would have finished to ensure all exams are closed. You can also check and manually close exams on the Students page under the assessment in PrairieLearn.
Because no after-deadline submission mode is configured, submissions are not allowed after the due date. The Question visibility setting keeps completed exam questions hidden while the total score remains visible by default. This does not prevent students from seeing questions or grading feedback while they are taking the exam.

JSON

This reference shows an extra-time label override and an alternate-window override for specific students.

infoAssessment.json

{
  "accessControl": [
    {
      "dateControl": {
        "release": { "date": "2020-04-20T11:00:00" },
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-20T12:05:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 60
      },
      "afterComplete": {
        "questions": { "hidden": true }
      }
    },
    {
      "uuid": "22222222-2222-4222-8222-222222222222",
      "labels": ["Extended time"],
      "dateControl": {
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-20T12:40:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 90
      }
    },
    {
      "uuid": "33333333-3333-4333-8333-333333333333",
      "dateControl": {
        "release": { "date": "2020-04-20T23:00:00" },
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-21T00:05:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 60
      }
    }
  ]
}

Asynchronous, timed exams¶

We do NOT recommend running high-stakes exams using this configuration. While giving exams asynchronously will simplify exam administration and provide students with more flexibility, it comes at the expense of making it easier to cheat. We recommend synchronous, timed exams unless you have a secure testing environment.

This configuration is good when:

Students can choose when to take the exam over a long period, typically about 24 hours.
Once a student starts working on the exam, they have limited time, such as 1 hour.
Some students have accommodations, such as 1.5x time.
There is no need for alternate exam windows because students can choose their own time.

Warning

Use student-label overrides only for cohorts that are already maintained as labels or should intentionally be reused across assessments. Otherwise, use student-specific overrides. If a student matches multiple label overrides, override priority determines which settings apply.

In the UI:

On the assessment Access page, click Edit in Defaults.
Enable Date control.
Set Release to the start of the availability period, such as Apr 20 at 6:00am.
Set Due date to the end of the availability period, such as Apr 21 at 6:00am.
Enable Time limit and enter the ordinary working time, such as 60 minutes.
Leave After due date set to No submissions allowed.
Under After completion, set Question visibility to Hide questions permanently.
For students with extra-time accommodations, click Add override. Choose Students by label if you already maintain an accommodation label such as "Extended time"; otherwise choose Specific students.
In the extra-time override, click Override next to Time limit and enter the accommodated working time, such as 90 minutes.
Click Save.

Some notes about this configuration:

All of the notes above still apply.
For long asynchronous windows, consider running the exam early-morning to early-morning, with a due date around 6am. Students are less likely to be active between about 4am and 7am, based on PrairieLearn usage data, so this can reduce end-of-window pile-ups and confusion about exactly when the exam closes.

JSON

This reference shows the reusable-accommodation version using a student label.

infoAssessment.json

{
  "accessControl": [
    {
      "dateControl": {
        "release": { "date": "2020-04-20T06:00:00" },
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-21T06:00:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 60
      },
      "afterComplete": {
        "questions": { "hidden": true }
      }
    },
    {
      "uuid": "22222222-2222-4222-8222-222222222222",
      "labels": ["Extended time"],
      "dateControl": {
        "durationMinutes": 90
      }
    }
  ]
}

Post-graded exams¶

This post-graded configuration is NOT our recommended approach, but it is good for mimicking traditional pen-and-paper exams. Exams run in this manner forfeit the ability to provide immediate feedback as well as partial credit to students. Instead, we recommend synchronous, timed exams.

This configuration is good when:

You want to mimic a pen-and-paper exam as much as possible.
You have a Scantron exam you would like to convert to PrairieLearn.
You want to prevent students from finding out which questions they answered correctly.
The exam only contains multiple-choice questions or very simple numeric questions. More complex questions need to allow students multiple attempts, which this configuration disables by turning off real-time grading.

In the UI:

On the assessment Settings page, under Grading, clear Allow real-time grading and save the settings.
On the assessment Access page, click Edit in Defaults.
Enable Date control.
Set Release to the exam start time, such as Apr 20 at 11:00am.
Set Due date to the exam end time, such as Apr 20 at 12:10pm.
Enable Time limit and enter the ordinary working time, such as 60 minutes.
Under After completion, set Question visibility to Hide questions permanently.
For students with extra-time accommodations, click Add override. Choose Students by label if you already maintain an accommodation label such as "Extended time"; otherwise choose Specific students.
In the extra-time override, click Override next to Due date and Time limit. For 1.5x time on a 60-minute exam, use a 90-minute time limit and extend the due date to cover that time.
For students taking the exam in an alternate window, click Add override. Choose Specific students unless this is a reusable cohort that should be managed by label.
In the alternate-window override, click Override next to Release, Due date, and Time limit for the alternate exam window.
Click Save.

Some notes about this configuration:

Clearing Allow real-time grading hides the Save & Grade button on student question pages; only the Save button will be available. The Grade saved answers button on the assessment overview will also be hidden.
When they are doing the exam, students can save answers to a question as many times as they like. When the exam finishes, the most recent saved answer for each question, if any, will be graded. Any earlier saved answers will be ignored.
With this configuration students will never see their grading results for specific questions. This is because real-time grading is disabled during the exam, and Question visibility hides per-question grading results after the exam is over.
To prevent students from seeing their total exam score after their assessment is graded, set Score visibility to Hide score permanently; otherwise the students will see their total score even if the per-question results are hidden.
Having real-time grading disabled means that students are unable to re-attempt questions. This means you should not include complex numeric or programming questions, because students will often need multiple attempts at a question after grading feedback to correct minor typos and errors.
It's possible to also combine this configuration with asynchronous, timed by clearing Allow real-time grading on the assessment Settings page.

JSON

This reference shows an extra-time label override and an alternate-window override for specific students.

infoAssessment.json

{
  "allowRealTimeGrading": false,
  "accessControl": [
    {
      "dateControl": {
        "release": { "date": "2020-04-20T11:00:00" },
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-20T12:10:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 60
      },
      "afterComplete": {
        "questions": { "hidden": true }
      }
    },
    {
      "uuid": "22222222-2222-4222-8222-222222222222",
      "labels": ["Extended time"],
      "dateControl": {
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-20T12:40:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 90
      }
    },
    {
      "uuid": "33333333-3333-4333-8333-333333333333",
      "dateControl": {
        "release": { "date": "2020-04-20T23:00:00" },
        "due": { "date": "2020-04-21T00:10:00" },
        "durationMinutes": 60
      }
    }
  ]
}