Adding Questions
Once an exam is created, the next step is adding questions. BeamEdUp supports two approaches: selecting existing questions from your question bank or creating new questions inline. Questions are managed through the /exams/:id/questions endpoint.
Adding from Question Bank
The question bank provides a centralized pool of reusable questions organized by subject, difficulty, and category. Using the bank ensures consistency across exams and saves time.
1
Open the Questions Tab
From the exam detail page, navigate to the Questions section or click "Add Questions" from the action menu.
2
Browse the Question Bank
The question bank panel shows available questions filtered by subject, type, difficulty, and category tags.
3
Select Questions
Check the questions you want to include. You can select multiple questions across different types and difficulty levels.
4
Set Points and Order
Assign marks to each selected question. Optionally reorder questions using drag-and-drop or the order field.
5
Save to Exam
Click "Add Selected" to attach the questions to the exam. The total marks are recalculated automatically.
Creating Questions Inline
You can also create new questions directly within the exam. These questions are added to the question bank automatically and can be reused in future exams. The inline editor supports all question types.
| Field | Required | Type | Description |
|---|---|---|---|
Text | Required | text | The question prompt displayed to students. |
Type | Required | select | Question type: MCQ, ESSAY, TRUE_FALSE, FILL_IN_BLANKS, MATCHING, MATRIX, or HOTSPOT. |
Points | Required | number | Marks allocated to this question. Contributes to the exam total marks. |
Order | Optional | number | Display position in the exam. Auto-assigned if not specified. Ignored when shuffle is enabled. |
Options | Optional | array | Answer options for MCQ and True/False questions. Each option has text, isCorrect flag, and optional order. |
Type-Specific Configuration
Each question type has additional fields beyond the base fields:
- MCQ — Options array with
isCorrectflag,multipleCorrecttoggle, andshuffleOptions - Essay —
minWords,maxWords,rubricfor grading criteria, and optionalsampleAnswer - True/False —
correctValue(boolean) with optional custom labels - Fill in the Blanks —
blanksarray with accepted alternatives andcaseSensitivetoggle - Matching —
pairsarray with optional distractor items - Matrix — Rows and columns with answer mapping
- Hotspot —
imageUrlwith clickable regions defined by coordinates (rectangle, circle, or polygon)
Section-Based Exams
For larger exams, you can group questions into sections. Each section can have its own title, instructions, and independent time limit. Sections help organize exams by topic or difficulty tier, and students see clear section boundaries during the exam.
Marks Allocation
Each question has a points field that defines its mark value. The exam totalMarks is the sum of all question points. When you add or remove questions, the total is recalculated automatically.
Question Ordering
Questions are displayed to students in the order you define. You can drag and drop questions to reorder them, or set the order field manually. If shuffleQuestions is enabled in the exam configuration, the display order is randomized per student — the saved order serves as the default for the instructor's view.