Taking an Exam
When you are ready to take an exam, the platform guides you through a clear process — from reviewing instructions to answering questions. This page covers everything from starting the exam to understanding the exam-taking interface.
Starting an Exam
1
View Exam Details
From the My Exams page, click on an available exam card. This opens the exam detail page showing subject, instructor, duration, question count, difficulty, total marks, and any special instructions.
2
Review Instructions
Read the instructions carefully. Key reminders include: answers are auto-saved every 30 seconds, the exam auto-submits when time expires, and you can mark questions for review. If proctoring is enabled, a separate alert will inform you about camera and screen monitoring.
3
Check Attempts Remaining
The sidebar shows how many attempts you have used and how many remain. Each attempt is represented by a dot indicator — filled dots are used attempts, empty dots are remaining.
4
Start or Resume
Click "Start Exam" to begin. If the exam has proctoring enabled, you will first be redirected to a proctoring pre-check screen to verify your camera, microphone, and browser settings before entering the exam.
Exam Detail Page
Before starting, the detail page shows two main areas:
- Exam Information — Subject, instructor name, and a description of the exam content and objectives.
- Key Details Cards — Four highlighted cards showing Duration (minutes), Questions (count), Difficulty (Easy/Medium/Hard badge), and Total Marks.
- Instructions Alert — A blue info panel with exam-specific instructions and standard reminders about auto-save, auto-submit, and marking questions for review.
Question Display
Once the exam starts, questions are displayed one at a time in a card layout. Each question card shows:
- Points Badge — The marks allocated for the question (e.g., "2 marks")
- Difficulty Badge — Color-coded difficulty level (green for Easy, orange for Medium, red for Hard)
- Question Type Badge — The type of question (MCQ, True/False, Essay, Fill in Blanks, Matching)
- Question Text — The full question content with whitespace preserved
- Answer Input — An input area matching the question type (radio buttons for MCQ, text area for Essay, etc.)
Supported Question Types
The exam interface supports all question types available in the BeamEdUp question bank:
- MCQ — Select one or multiple correct options from a list
- True/False — Choose between two options
- Essay — Free-form text response with optional word limits
- Fill in Blanks — Type the correct answers for each blank
- Matching — Match items from the left column with corresponding items on the right
Exam Header
A sticky header bar remains visible at the top of the screen throughout the exam. It displays the exam title, your current question number (e.g., Question 3 of 20), an offline mode indicator if applicable, a save status badge showing when your answer was last saved, and the countdown timer.