Before you begin: You need to be a teacher with an existing course and
enrolled students.
Creating a new exam
Open your course
Navigate to the course in the Teacher App and go to the CBT section. The CBT exams list for your course appears.
Fill in exam details
| Field | Description |
|---|---|
| Title | Exam name (e.g., “Midterm Exam”, “Final Assessment”) |
| Description | Instructions for students (read before starting) |
| Duration | Time limit in minutes (e.g., 60, 90, 120) |
| Start time | When the exam window opens (students can start from this time) |
| End time | When the exam window closes (students can’t start after this) |
| Max attempts | How many times a student can take the exam (usually 1) |
| Shuffle questions | Randomize question order for each student |
| Show results | When students can see their scores |
| Tab-switch limit | Maximum tab switches before auto-submission (e.g., 3) |
Adding questions
CBT questions are all multiple-choice format.Open the exam
Find your exam in the CBT list (under Drafts) and click it. The exam detail view opens.
Add a question
For each question:
- Write the question text — Use the editor to format your question. You can include bold, italics, lists, and more.
- Add answer options — Enter options A, B, C, D (and more if needed). Each option has a text field.
- Select the correct answer — Mark which option is correct.
- Set marks — How many points this question is worth.
Use the math editor (optional)
For math and science exams, use the math equation editor to add properly formatted equations to questions and answer options.
Preview questions
Use the Preview feature to see how questions will look to students before publishing. The preview opens showing the student’s view of the question.
Importing questions from an Excel file
If you have many questions to add, you can import them in bulk from an Excel spreadsheet instead of entering them one by one.Download the template
In the Questions tab of your exam, tap the Import or Upload button. You’ll see an option to download the template. Download it to use as a starting point — the template file has the correct column headers pre-filled.📥 Download question import template
Fill in the template
Open the template in Excel or Google Sheets. Each row is one question. The first two columns are required, and you can add as many option columns as needed:
The
| Column | Required | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Question | Yes | The question text |
| Correct Answer | Yes | The text of the correct answer (must exactly match one of the option columns) |
| (Option columns) | At least 1 | Additional columns for answer options — you can name them anything (e.g., Option A, Option B, Option C, Option D) |
Correct Answer column should contain the exact text of the right answer. All other columns beyond Question and Correct Answer are treated as answer options. You need at least one option column in addition to the correct answer.Example spreadsheet:| Question | Correct Answer | Option A | Option B | Option C | Option D |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| What is the capital of Nigeria? | Abuja | Abuja | Lagos | Kano | Port Harcourt |
| Which planet is closest to the Sun? | Mercury | Venus | Mercury | Mars | Earth |
| What is 2 + 2? | 4 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
The correct answer text must appear exactly in one of the option columns. Lena uses this to identify which option is correct. The answer options are automatically shuffled for each student during the exam.
Upload the file
Select your completed
.xlsx file and upload it. Lena validates the file and shows a summary of the questions that will be imported.Assigning students
Specify which students can take the exam:Go to the Students tab
Open your exam and navigate to the Students section. The student
assignment view appears.
Exam settings explained
Duration and time window
- Duration — How long each student has once they start (e.g., 60 minutes)
- Start time to End time — The window during which students can begin the exam
Tab-switch limit
Set the maximum number of tab switches before the exam is auto-submitted:- 0 — No tab switches allowed (strictest)
- 3 — Three warnings before auto-submission (moderate)
- Unlimited — No restriction (most lenient)
Show results
| Option | Behavior |
|---|---|
| Immediately | Students see scores right after submitting |
| After deadline | Scores visible after the exam window closes |
| Manually | You control when to publish results |
Publishing the exam
When your exam is ready:- Review all questions using the Preview feature
- Confirm students are assigned
- Tap Publish. The exam is now visible to assigned students during the exam window.
Managing your exams
Your CBT exams are organized into tabs:| Tab | Description |
|---|---|
| Drafts | Exams you’re still building (not visible to students) |
| Published | Active exams that students can take |
| Past | Completed exams whose time window has passed |
Proctor invitations
If your school admin assigns you as a proctor (invigilator) for another teacher’s exam, you’ll receive an email invitation. You can accept or decline:- Open the Teacher App — you’ll see the pending proctor invitation
- Review the exam details, assigned class, and any notes from the admin
- Tap Accept to confirm you’ll proctor the exam, or Decline if you’re unavailable
Proctoring is in-person — your role is to oversee students physically
during the exam session. The CBT system does not include live screen
monitoring.
Tips for creating effective exams
- Write clear questions — Avoid ambiguity in question text and answer options
- Use the preview — Always preview questions to check formatting, especially for math equations
- Test the duration — A good rule: give students 1-2 minutes per question
- Set a reasonable tab-switch limit — 3-5 switches is common (some are accidental)
- Provide instructions — Use the description field to tell students what to expect
Related guides
- Managing Exam Results — monitor submissions and publish results
- Exam Rules & Policies — understand the rules your students will follow
- Admin CBT Oversight — how admins approve exams before they go live
- CBT Troubleshooting — solutions to common CBT issues