Secure online exams
How to Create an Online Exam in Seven Steps
To create an online exam, you plan learning goals and pass mark, write suitable questions, set the rules and invite participants. This guide shows you the seven steps, the right question types, how to prevent cheating and how to document the results.
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What is an online exam?
An online exam is a test that participants take on a computer, tablet or phone instead of on paper. Every participant answers the same questions, the answers are marked automatically where possible, and you get a result for each person. That is the difference from a quiz for practice: a quiz helps people learn, an exam checks what they know and leaves a record.
Trainers use online exams for final tests in courses, certificate courses and compliance training. Teachers use them for progress checks and class tests. To create an online exam, you need three things: clear learning goals, good questions and a tool that collects and evaluates the answers for you.
How do you plan an online exam?
Plan the exam before you write the first question. These decisions shape everything that follows:
| Decision | Question to ask | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Learning goals | What should participants know or be able to do? | “Name the three steps after a fire alarm” |
| Number of questions | How many questions cover the goals without tiring people? | 10 to 30 questions for a final test |
| Pass mark | From what score does someone pass? | 80 % for safety topics |
| Attempts | May participants repeat the exam? | Once for a certificate, freely for practice |
| Participants | Who may take part, and how do you invite them? | Only registered course participants, by email |
| Records | What do you need to keep afterwards? | Results per person and a certificate as a PDF |
Tip: Write down one learning goal per topic first and then write two or three questions for each goal. This keeps the exam balanced and makes the result easier to explain.
Seven steps from the first question to the results
Once the plan is ready, creating the online exam itself takes little time:
- Write the questions: one clear question per item, with one or more correct answers. Use free text where participants need to explain something in their own words.
- Add explanations: a short explanation of the correct answer helps participants learn from the result.
- Put the exam together: collect the questions in one exam and decide on the order of the answers.
- Set the rules: decide who may take part, whether participants may repeat the exam and whether they see their results.
- Test it yourself: take the exam once as a participant and check every question and answer.
- Invite participants: share the exam by email, link, QR code or PIN.
- Evaluate and document: check free-text answers, export the results and pass on certificates.
The same steps apply if you want to create a test online for a class or a short progress check. Only the rules in step 4 are usually looser.
Which question types work best in an online exam?
Choose the question type that fits what you want to check. Closed questions are marked automatically, open questions show understanding but need checking:
| Question type | Good for | Marking |
|---|---|---|
| Single choice | Facts, rules, definitions with one correct answer | Automatic |
| Multiple choice | Topics with several correct answers, for example all required safety steps | Automatic |
| Free text | Explanations, reasons, short case studies | By you, with a model answer; AI can pre-mark |
Write wrong answers that sound plausible, so that the question really checks knowledge. Avoid “all of the above” and double negatives: they test reading skills rather than the topic.
How do you prevent cheating in an online exam?
No tool rules out cheating completely, but these tips make it much harder. Combine technical and organisational measures:
- Lock down the exam computer: Safe Exam Browser makes other programs and websites on the exam computer harder to use.
- Restrict access: only participants you have registered can take part.
- Shuffle the questions: neighbours do not see the same question at the same time.
- Set a time limit: less time to look things up, and everyone has the same conditions.
- Ask for understanding: case-based and free-text questions are harder to look up than pure facts.
- Invigilate high-stakes exams: for exams with consequences, on-site invigilation remains the most reliable measure.
Also plan for technical problems: if a computer crashes or the connection drops, participants should be able to continue without losing their answers.
How do you evaluate and document the results?
After the exam, you need a result for each person, not just an average. Check free-text answers against your model answer and decide on the points yourself, even if AI has pre-marked them. Then export the results, for example as an Excel or PDF file for your records.
If participants need proof, a certificate as a PDF is the simplest option. Keep the results, the date and the version of the exam together, so that you can show later who passed which exam and when.
Avoid these mistakes
- No learning goals: without goals, the exam checks random details. Start with what participants should be able to do.
- Obvious wrong answers: if only one answer sounds plausible, the question checks nothing.
- Not testing the exam yourself: take it once as a participant before you invite anyone.
- Unclear rules: tell participants in advance how long they have, what the pass mark is and whether they can repeat the exam.
- Only an average score: you need a result for each person to give feedback and issue certificates.
- Results scattered across files: export them and keep them in one place, together with the date and the version of the exam.
Example: final exam for a certificate course
A training provider runs a two-day course on workplace safety and ends it with an online exam:
- The trainer defines five learning goals and writes 20 questions: 16 single and multiple choice, four free text.
- The pass mark is 80 %, and each participant has one attempt.
- Access is restricted to the 14 registered participants, who are invited by email.
- Participants take the exam in the training room on laptops with Safe Exam Browser, with the trainer present.
- The trainer checks the free-text answers, exports the results as a PDF and hands each participant who passed a certificate as a PDF.
Creating an online exam with QuizAcademy
With QuizAcademy, you create an online exam in the CMS, the browser interface for teachers: write single choice, multiple choice and free-text questions, create them from your documents with the content assistant or import them, and add them to an exam. You invite participants by email, link, QR code or PIN, and they take the exam on their own device with a username, without an account.
In the exam settings, you set a time window and a time limit in minutes (“Time controlled”), decide who may take part (“Restrict access”) and whether participants may repeat the exam (“Allow retries”), see their results (“Show results”) or get the questions in random order (“Shuffle questions”). Safe Exam Browser is built into the exam. After a crash or power cut, progress can be restored in the same browser, and exam logs record progress and the answers given. AI can pre-mark free-text answers, you make the final decision. You see the result of each person, export the results as an Excel or PDF file and download a certificate for each person as a PDF. QuizAcademy is GDPR compliant and hosted in Germany.
All features at a glance are on the page create exams and tests online. You can start for free with five exams of up to 10 participants each, see pricing.
Last updated
Last updated: 5 November 2026. Product information reflects QuizAcademy as of this date.
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FAQ: Creating online exams
How do I create an online exam for free?
With QuizAcademy, you can create an online exam for free: the free access includes five exams with up to 10 participants each. You write or import your questions in the CMS, add them to an exam and invite participants by email, link, QR code or PIN. For more participants, you need a licence, see the pricing.
How many questions should an online exam have?
It depends on the learning goals and the time available. For a final test at the end of a course, 10 to 30 questions are common. Two or three questions per learning goal give a reliable picture without tiring participants. Test the exam yourself to check how long it takes, and adjust the number of questions if needed.
What is the difference between an online exam and an online quiz?
An online quiz is for practice: participants learn, often anonymously and as often as they like. An online exam checks knowledge and records a result for each person. In QuizAcademy, quizzes run in courses and live events, while exams work with usernames, give you results per person and offer a certificate as a PDF.
Can participants cheat in an online exam?
No online exam rules out cheating completely, but you can make it much harder. In QuizAcademy, Safe Exam Browser is built into the exam and makes unauthorised aids on the exam computer harder to use, and with “Restrict access” only registered participants can take part. “Shuffle questions” and a time limit also help. For high-stakes exams, we recommend on-site invigilation as well.
Can I create an online exam from my own documents?
Yes. QuizAcademy’s content assistant creates quiz questions from your documents, for example a PDF, a Word file or slides, which you then import into the CMS. You review and edit every question before participants see it. This saves time, especially for long training materials, but the accuracy of the questions remains your responsibility.
How do participants get a certificate?
In QuizAcademy, you download a certificate for each participant as a PDF in the exam. For now, you pass it on by hand, for example as an email attachment; there is no automatic sending yet. With “Send results”, you can also email the results to participants manually, without a PDF attachment. Keep the certificates together with the exported results for your records.
Is an online exam with QuizAcademy GDPR compliant?
Yes. QuizAcademy is a GDPR-compliant platform from Germany and runs in the AWS Frankfurt region. A data processing agreement under Art. 28 GDPR is included, and an external data protection officer is your contact. Participants need no account and take the exam with a username, which can be anonymous. You decide which data you collect.