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Exam question template — step-by-step guide

This is the exact format the exam creation form expects when you upload a questions-and-answers file, instead of adding rows one at a time in the browser.

1. Download the template

On the Exams page, click Download the template (.csv) above the file upload field, or grab it directly at templates/exam-questions-template.csv. It already contains a header row and a few worked examples — open it and you'll see exactly what a valid file looks like before you change anything.

2. The four columns, exactly as required

Column	Required?	Accepted values
`question_text`	Always	Any text — the question itself.
`type`	Always	Exactly one of: `mcq`, `true_false`, `short_answer` (lowercase, no spaces).
`answer`	Required for `mcq`/`true_false`; blank for `short_answer`	The exact correct answer — for `mcq`, must exactly match one of the `options` values.
`options`	Required for `mcq` only	Semicolon-separated list of choices shown to the student, e.g. `London;Paris;Rome;Berlin`. Leave blank for `true_false` and `short_answer`.

MCQ is a real dropdown on the student's screen — students choose from the exact list in options, they don't type free text. This removes typo risk entirely for this question type.

How grading uses answer: for mcq and true_false, a student's submitted answer is compared to this column as plain text, ignoring case and leading/trailing spaces — so Paris, paris, and Paris all count as correct, but Paris, France would not match. For true_false, use the literal words true or false. short_answer rows are never auto-scored — the host reviews these manually on the results page.

The template intentionally has only these four columns. Multiple-choice options now live in their own options column (semicolon-separated) rather than being written into the question text — the student sees them as an actual dropdown.

3. Filling it in

Excel or Google Sheets

Open the .csv file directly, edit like a normal spreadsheet, and when saving choose CSV (Comma delimited) or CSV UTF-8 as the file type — not .xlsx, since the system only reads .csv. UTF-8 is safer if any question text uses non-English characters.

Notepad / any plain text editor

Write each question as one line, values separated by commas, matching the header order exactly:

question_text,type,answer,options
What is 7 x 8?,mcq,56,42;49;56;64
Water is a compound.,true_false,true,
Describe Newton's second law.,short_answer,,

If a question or answer contains a comma, wrap that whole field in double quotes so it isn't mistaken for a column break:

question_text,type,answer,options
"Which of these are prime numbers: 2, 3, 4?",short_answer,,

Keep the header row as the very first line — don't delete, rename, or reorder it.

4. Uploading it back

On the exam creation form, click Browse under "Questions and answer key" and select your saved .csv file. You do not also need to fill in the manual question rows — if a file is uploaded, it's used as the complete question set and any rows added by hand are ignored entirely. Prefer to build the exam entirely by hand instead? Just skip the file and use the "Add question" rows as before.

5. If the file has a mistake

The system checks the file on the server and rejects it with a specific message rather than silently dropping bad rows:

Missing/misnamed header → "Template file must have columns named exactly: question_text, type, answer, options."
Invalid type value → "Row 4: type must be exactly one of mcq, true_false, short_answer — got 'multiple'."
Missing answer on a scorable row → "Row 2: answer is required for type 'mcq' (only short_answer can be left blank)."
MCQ missing its options → "Row 3: mcq questions need an 'options' column, semicolon-separated (e.g. 'London;Paris;Rome')."
MCQ answer not one of the options → "Row 3: answer 'Pariss' must exactly match one of the listed options."

Fix that specific row in your spreadsheet, save, and re-upload — the rest of the file doesn't need to be touched.

6. Worked example, start to finish

question_text,type,answer,options
What is the capital of Japan?,mcq,Tokyo,Beijing;Tokyo;Seoul;Hanoi
The Great Wall of China is visible from space with the naked eye.,true_false,false,
Summarize the causes of the French Revolution.,short_answer,,

Uploading this creates a 3-question exam: the first two are auto-scored the moment a student submits (the MCQ renders as a real dropdown of the four listed options), and the third appears in the host's results view for manual reading and is excluded from the score total — no extra setup required beyond this one file.

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