Multiple-choice test maker: create, run and grade a secure online MCQ
An explicit marking scheme, a different paper for every participant, and proctoring set to what the exam is worth.
Evalmee creates, runs and grades online multiple-choice tests. Closed questions, true/false, single choice and multiple choice, are graded automatically against the marking scheme you set before the exam: reward, penalty, floor, or discordance scoring. Each participant can receive a different draw, within a time limit, with the proctoring you choose to switch on.
Three closed question types, a fourth in beta
An Evalmee multiple-choice test is built from true/false, single-choiceSingle-choice questionA variant of the multiple-choice question in which exactly one of the options offered is correct. The candidate can tick only one item, which simplifies the marking scheme and removes partial-credit rules, but increases the role of chance: four options give a twenty-five per cent chance of guessing right. and multiple-choiceMCQ (multiple-choice question)A closed question offering several possible answers, one or more of which are correct; the candidate ticks the ones they accept, and that set of ticks is their answer. A test made of such questions is a multiple-choice questionnaire, and the abbreviation MCQ is used for both the question and the test. A single-answer MCQ has exactly one correct option; a multiple-answer MCQ requires the candidate to tick every correct option and no wrong one. Example: “Which of these four statements about mitosis are correct?”, with two correct options out of four. The format allows instant automatic marking, covers a lot of content in little time and yields statistics for every question. Its quality rests almost entirely on the distractors: wrong options that look plausible to someone who has not understood and are dismissed at once by someone who has. An MCQ measures poorly the ability to produce, structure or justify an argument, and it leaves a share to chance that the marking scheme has to handle: partial credit, negative marking or discordance scoring, depending on the institution's assessment regulations. questions. Matching, which pairs the items of two lists, also exists, in beta. All four types are graded without a marker and without AI: the marking scheme decides, not a model.
- True/false: the participant chooses between true and false
- Single choice: one correct answer among the options
- Multiple choice: one or more correct answers, with a cap on selectable options if you set one
- Matching (beta): available in the editor, still being stabilised
- Rich question text: formatted text, images, tables, LaTeX formulas, and an attached PDF, audio or video file
A marking scheme, not a score
A score counts correct answers. A marking schemeMarking schemeThe rule that converts a candidate's answers into a mark. It sets the number of points per question, any penalties, and the way partial credit is awarded. Published before the exam, it constitutes the examiner's commitment as to what will be rewarded. says what a mistake costs, what a partial answer earns and where the mark stops. On choice questions, Evalmee has you set these points before the exam, and grading applies them to every paper. To see what a penaltyNegative markingThe deduction of points for wrong answers to a closed question, intended to discourage answering at random. The practice also penalises reasoned risk-taking and, according to the research available on the subject, disadvantages cautious candidates more than it disadvantages the ones who are poorly prepared. does to a mark before you set it, the test grade calculator runs the same calculation, in the browser.
- Reward: all or nothing, or proportional to the number of correct options
- Penalty: none, cumulative or absolute
- Calculation base: standard, balanced, moderate or manual
- Floor: none, zero, or a value you set
- Cap on selectable options: the participant can only tick the expected number
- Discordance scoring: the mode used in health-studies entrance exams, ticked and unticked options both counted
What stops cheating
A multiple-choice test is quick to cheat on: a tab, a message, a second screen. Evalmee closes those doors in a standard browser, with no software to install, and hands you back what happened in a timestamped integrity report. The risk score closes no exam: the examiner decides. What is recorded, who can access it and how long it is kept is written on the online exam proctoring page.
- Time limit: set on the exam, extended automatically for profiles with an accommodation
- Mandatory full screen: the participant works in full screen and is warned when leaving it
- Copy-paste and second screen detected: every event is timestamped in the integrity report
- Paper not downloadable: questions are loaded when the exam opens, not before
- Webcam and microphone optional: video proctoring is switched on exam by exam, and the participant is informed
A different paper for every participant
The random draw pulls the number of questions or exercises you set from a question bank. Each participant receives their own draw, and the order of sections, pages, questions and options can be shuffled. Two neighbours are therefore not working on the same page.
The draw is set from the paper's Structure menu: you create a bankQuestion bankA reservoir of indexed, reusable questions, classified by topic, level or competency. It allows an exam to be assembled by random draw, papers to vary from one session to the next, and the statistical history that makes a question reliable to accumulate, item by item., put in more questions than needed, and state how many to pull. Twenty questions drawn from a bank of forty rarely produce two identical papers, and the shuffled order does the rest.
RandomisationRandomisationRandom drawing of questions from a bank and of the order of the options, so that two neighbouring candidates do not see the same paper. It is the cheapest defence against copying between candidates; it assumes questions of comparable difficulty if it is to stay fair. does not replace the marking scheme: each drawn question keeps its points and settings. Nor does it replace distractorsDistractorAn incorrect option in a multiple-choice question. A good distractor is plausible to anyone who has not understood and clearly ruled out by anyone who has: a distractor nobody ever chooses carries no information and reduces the question to a narrower choice.: a test whose wrong answers can be spotted at a glance stays easy, shuffled or not.
One limit to know: question banks are not shared between exams. They are added exam by exam, by hand or by bulk import in Excel or Moodle XML format.
After the exam
Closed questions are graded automatically, with no intervention. The Statistics screen shows the lowest, average and highest marks, then the success rate of each question. Marks export to Excel, graded papers to PDF.
Automatic gradingAutomatic markingThe award of points by the platform, with no human intervention, for questions whose expected answer can be decided in advance: multiple choice, matching, fill-in-the-blanks, a numeric value within a stated tolerance. It makes the result immediate and removes marker-to-marker variability on those items entirely. applies the marking scheme to every paper, and the scheme stays editable afterwards. A correct answer ticked wrong, an ambiguous question to neutralise: from the Paper tab, you edit the question, then run Recalculate marks. Every paper is recalculated, none is reworked by hand.
Question by question, the Statistics screen gives the number of participants who answered and the success rate; on click, the share obtained by each option. That is the reading that revises a paper: a correct answer chosen by a fifth of the group points to a question to review as much as to a notion not yet learnt.
The participant sees what you decide to show. Three settings are independent: the mark viewable, the graded paper viewable once the exam is over, and the answer shown after each question, for a practice test. The integrity report is never shown to them.
| Export | Format | Content |
|---|---|---|
| Simple marks | .xlsx, immediate download | Marks and main participant details |
| Detailed marks | .xlsx, sent by email | Weightings, raw results question by question, reprocessing formulas |
| Paper archive | .zip | One PDF per participant |
| All papers | Every graded paper in a single document |
Importing an existing test
A test already written is not retyped. The AI-assisted import reads a Word, PDF or Excel document or an image and proposes its questions, which you review one by one. Three structured formats import directly: the supplied Excel template, a text syntax and a Moodle XML export.
From Moodle, export the bank or the quiz in Moodle XML format: multiplechoice and essay questions are taken over, other types are not. From Word or a spreadsheet, the free Moodle converter turns your questions into Aiken, GIFT or Moodle XML in the browser, and flags the line that would block.
The Excel template accepts multiple-choice and open question types, up to ten options per question, with sections, points and tags. The text syntax accepts LaTeX in question text and options, and requires an exam title, without which the import fails.
Multiple-choice tests on Google Forms, Kahoot, Moodle or Evalmee: what changes
Google Forms, Kahoot and Moodle all make a multiple-choice test. They do not all make a graded test with negative marking, a per-participant time limit, a draw from a bank and proctoring. The table sticks to what each tool publicly documents.
Google Forms suits a survey or a low-stakes quiz. Kahoot runs a live class game, and that is its strength. Moodle can draw questions at random and limit time; proctoring there goes through Safe Exam Browser, a locked-down browser to install on every machine. Evalmee requires no locked-down browser: detection happens in the browser, and the examiner reads an integrity report rather than a lockdown log.
| Feature | Google Forms | Kahoot | Moodle | Evalmee |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Negative marking | No | No | Yes, as a negative percentage on an option | Yes: penalty none, cumulative or absolute, floor, discordance scoring |
| Per-participant time limit | No | Per question, live | Yes | Yes, extended automatically for accommodated profiles |
| Random draw from a bank | No; question order can be shuffled | No, the game is shared by all | Yes, by question category | Yes: the number of questions or exercises you want, and the order of sections, pages, questions and options shuffled |
| Exam proctoring | No; locked mode limited to managed Chromebooks | No | Not without Safe Exam Browser | Full screen, screen exits, copy-paste, second screen; webcam and microphone optional |
| Graded open questions | Short answer or paragraph, manual marking | Typed short answer, checked against a list of accepted answers | Yes, Essay question | Yes: six open types, marked by a marker with AI assistance |
| Graded paper as PDF | No | No | Not as standard | Yes, one PDF per participant or every paper in one document |
When the exam carries no stakes, those three tools are enough and Evalmee adds nothing: a survey stays simpler on Google Forms, a class revision livelier on Kahoot, and a practice quiz already in Moodle has no reason to leave it.
And when the exam is not a multiple-choice test?
A multiple-choice test measures what can be ticked. An essay, a calculation in a workbook, a diagram, code or an oral go through Evalmee's six open question types, marked by a marker. One exam can mix both: a multiple-choice section, then an open question, with a single mark at the end.
The ten question types, the structure in sections and exercises, the four import paths and their limits are described on the exam creation page. On written answers, the Evalmee AI assistant suggests points and feedback that the marker approves answer by answer; on a multiple-choice test, it plays no part. A multiple-choice test also serves to sit candidates before an interview: how it is sent out and marked in that context is described on the online recruitment tests page.
Frequently asked questions
Yes. Closed questions, true/false, single choice and multiple choice, are graded automatically against the marking scheme set before the exam, with no marker and no AI. Matching, in beta, is too. The scheme stays editable afterwards, and every mark is recalculated.
Yes. On choice questions, the penalty can be none, cumulative or absolute, with a floor at zero or at the value of your choice. Discordance scoring, used in health-studies entrance exams, marks the gap between the ticked answer and the expected one, unticked options included.
Yes. The random draw pulls the number of questions or exercises you set from a question bank, and the order of sections, pages, questions and options can be shuffled. Banks are not shared between exams: they are added exam by exam.
Time is limited, the paper cannot be downloaded in advance, the participant works in full screen and is warned when leaving it. Copy-paste and the presence of a second screen are detected and timestamped in an integrity report. Webcam and microphone are optional. The risk score closes no exam: the examiner decides.
Yes. The AI-assisted import reads a Word, PDF or Excel document or an image and proposes questions to review. The supplied Excel template, a text syntax and a Moodle XML export import directly; Moodle XML only takes over multiplechoice and essay questions. The site's free Moodle converter turns a Word file or a spreadsheet into Aiken, GIFT or Moodle XML.
Used by
- Universities
- Medical schools
- Business and engineering schools
- Training centres
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