Create a timed, computer-based exam, import its questions from a spreadsheet, approve it, and release the results.
An exam is a timed, multiple-choice test students sit in Lena for Students at a set time. It goes through one more
step than a quiz: you publish it, then approve it, and students see it only once it’s approved. You do both steps
yourself. Approving is your last check before students can see the exam. Only a course’s owner and teachers can work
with exams.
In the sidebar, open the menu beside New course and choose New exam. You can also go to Exam and choose
New.
2
Name it and set the marking
Choose the Course, enter an Exam title such as “Mid-semester exam”, and the Marks per question. The
total is worked out from the number of questions.
3
Set the time limit and schedule
Enter the Time limit (minutes); that unlocks the Schedule. Pick the Start and End of the window
students can take it in.If your students’ connections are patchy, you can also set an Offline allowance (minutes). See when a student’s connection drops.
A 20-minute exam, open for two days.
4
Choose the rules
Shuffle questions gives each student a different question order (we recommend leaving it on). Shuffle
options does the same for the answers. Release results automatically shows students their scores and the
answers when the exam ends.
5
Choose who can take it
Under Who can take this Exam, tick the groups that can sit it. You choose from the groups already allowed to
join the course. Tick nothing and every student on the course can take it.
6
Create it
Choose Create exam. If you ticked no groups, Lena checks with you first (“No eligible classes”). The exam is
saved as a draft.
Open the Questions tab. You can add questions one at a time or import many at once.One at a time: choose Add question. The editor works like the quiz editor:
the first option is the correct answer, students see the options in a shuffled order, and Formula inserts maths. Exams
also have Image, to add photos to a question. There’s no feedback field. Choose Save Question.From a spreadsheet:
1
Open the import
Open the menu beside Add question and choose Import questions.
Import takes one .xlsx file of up to 5 MB.
2
Fill in the template
Choose Download template. Put one question per row, under the headings Question, Option A, Option
B, Option C, Option D and Correct Answer. In Correct Answer, type the exact text of the right
option, not its letter.
3
Upload it
Drop the file in the dialog (Excel .xlsx only, up to 5 MB) and choose Import. Lena says how many questions it
imported. Rows with problems are listed in the dialog so you can fix them and try again.
Choose Publish, then Publish in Publish this Exam?. Students still can’t see it.
2
Approve
Choose Approve, then Approve in Approve this Exam?. The exam is live for the students who can take it.
Approving puts the exam in front of students.
Both steps need at least one question and run the same date checks as
graded quizzes.
An approved exam, waiting for its start time.
Check everything before you approve. An approved exam can’t be edited or moved back to drafts. You can still change
its questions until the start time; after that they’re locked.
The Submissions tab lists each student’s attempt, highest score first: In Progress, Paused, Graded,
Timed Out or Not taken. An attempt Lena handed in for the student is tagged Auto-submitted. Choose Download to save the results as an Excel file.
Each attempt with its score.
When the exam ends, it moves to Grading, and students see “Your results aren’t released yet”. Choose Release
results at the top of the exam’s page, then Release results again to confirm. Students see their scores and the
correct answers. This can’t be undone, and it closes the exam. If you turned on Release results automatically, this
happens by itself when the exam ends.
Students sit the exam in full screen. If they leave the page or full screen, they’re locked out for a short while.
You won’t see when this happens in Lena for Teachers. See exams for students.
Students can keep answering offline once they’ve started. Each answer is saved on their device and sent when they
reconnect, and Lena judges it by when they chose it, not when it arrived. An answer chosen before time ran out
counts if it reaches Lena within 5 minutes of time being up. One chosen after time was up never counts.If 5 minutes isn’t enough for your students’ connections, set an Offline allowance (minutes) when you create or
edit the exam: from 0 to 30, and 0 to start with. Answers chosen in time are then taken until that many minutes after
time is up. Keep it as short as your students need: results released automatically wait for it too.An answer that reached Lena well after it was chosen shows Answered offline on the student’s submission. It’s not
a mark against them, just a note.If a student’s hand-in is still on its way when you try to release, Lena asks you to wait: see
troubleshooting.
Duplicate Exam (from ⋮) makes a draft copy with its questions; set the dates and who can take it before you
publish. Delete Exam removes the exam, its questions and any submissions, and can’t be undone.
Assistants and student assistants don’t see exams at all.
An exam needs at least one question before you publish or approve it.
“Start date cannot be in the past.”
Pick a start time later than now.
“End must be at least 20 minutes after start.”
The time between Start and End is shorter than the time limit (20 minutes here). Move the End later or
shorten the Time limit.
“Only .xlsx files are supported” or “File too large”
Save the spreadsheet as Excel (.xlsx), and keep it under 5 MB. Split a large bank of questions into two files.
“3 imported, 2 failed”
The rows that failed are listed in the dialog with what’s wrong. Check that each row’s Correct Answer matches
one of its options exactly. Fix those rows and import just them again, so the others aren’t added twice.
“A hand-in may still be on its way from a student whose connection dropped.”
Time has just run out, and a student’s work may still be arriving. Wait a few minutes, then release again.
