When students take a test online, you can't look over their shoulder the way you would in an exam hall. Examplary gives you other ways to keep an eye on things: settings that control when and how a test can be taken, secure exam apps that lock down a student's device, a live view of everyone's progress, and a detailed timeline of what each student did.
This guide walks through all of them, in the order you'll usually need them: before, during, and after the test.
Before the test: set the ground rules
Open your test, click the settings icon and go to the Online assessment tab. The Security section has the options that control access to the test:
- Start and end dates — students can only take the test within this time window. If a student hasn't finished when the window closes, their answers are saved and they can't continue.
- Enforce time limit — gives each student a fixed number of minutes. Once time is up, their current answer is saved and the test ends for them.
- Require passcode — students need to enter a secret code before they can start. Share the code in the room when everyone is ready, so nobody can start early from home.
Further down the same tab, you'll find a few options that shape how students move through the test:
- Allow switching between questions — turn this off so students work through the questions in order, instead of jumping between them.
- Disable browser spell check — useful for language tests. Some browser extensions or apps can still override this, so for a guarantee you'll want a secure exam app (see below).
Passcodes, disabling spell check and Safe Exam Browser are available on the Examplary Pro and Examplary for organizations plans.
Lock down the student's device
The settings above control when a student can take the test, but on a regular browser nothing stops them from opening another tab or app while they work. For high-stakes tests, you can require students to take the test in a secure exam app instead. These apps lock down the device for the duration of the test, so students can't switch to other apps, websites or files.
Examplary works with three of them. You can require one per test, in the same Security section:
| App | Devices | Good to know |
|---|---|---|
| Safe Exam Browser | Windows, Mac, iPad and iPhone | A free, open-source lockdown browser. Works for any test without extra setup: students who open the link in a normal browser get instructions to install it. You can choose whether students can quit early, see a clock, change Wi-Fi settings or use spell check. |
| Schoolyear | Windows, Mac and school-managed Chromebooks | Your organization connects Schoolyear once. The test needs a start and end date, and only signed-in students can take it. From the test settings, you can open Schoolyear's exam dashboard to supervise students while they work. |
| Muute | Windows, Mac and school-managed Chromebooks | Your organization connects Muute once. For each test, you create a room in Muute that opens the test link, and optionally add the room's access code so students don't have to type it in. |
If your organization has connected Schoolyear or Muute, those options replace Safe Exam Browser in the test settings.
During the test: follow along live
The test's results are always live. As soon as a student starts, they appear in the Students tab with the status Student started, and every answer shows up as soon as the student gives it. You don't need to refresh the page: you can keep the results open during the test and see at a glance who has started, how far everyone has got, and who has handed in.
You can also open a single student's results while they're still working, to see their answers so far and their events timeline up to that moment.
After the test: review the events timeline
While a student takes a test online, Examplary records what happens in their browser: when they open the test, when they start and submit each answer, and when they leave the test and come back. You can see all of this on the events timeline in each student's results.
Opening the timeline
Open your test's results, go to the Students tab and select a student. In the summary box at the top, click Show timeline.
The Events timeline runs from the moment the student started the test (on the left) to the moment they completed it (on the right). Above it, you'll see when the student started and how long they took.
Each dot is a moment in the test. Hover over a dot to see the exact time and what happened. When several things happen close together, they share one dot, and the tooltip lists all of them.
The colour of a dot tells you what kind of event it is:
- Blue — the student started an answer.
- Yellow — the student submitted an answer.
- Pink — the student pasted something from their clipboard.
- Green — the student completed the test.
- Grey — something happened in the browser, like leaving or returning to the test.
Window and tab events
Most questions about the timeline are about the grey dots: window blurred, tab blurred, window focused and tab focused. "Blurred" is a technical term for losing focus: the test is no longer what the student is actively using. "Focused" means they've come back to it.
The difference between window and tab is about what the student can still see:
| Event | What it means |
|---|---|
| Window blurred | The browser window with the test stopped being the active window. For example, the student clicked on another app or another browser window. The test may still be visible on screen. |
| Window focused | The student clicked back into the browser window with the test. |
| Tab blurred | The test page became hidden. For example, the student switched to another browser tab, minimised the browser, switched apps on a phone or tablet, or their device's screen locked. |
| Tab focused | The test page became visible again. |
These events usually come in pairs: a blurred event when the student leaves, and a focused event when they return. The time between the two tells you how long they were away. Switching to another tab typically shows up as both Window blurred and Tab blurred at the same moment, while switching to another app with the test still visible behind it only shows Window blurred.
The first time a student leaves the test window, Examplary also shows them a message asking them to return to the test.
Other events
| Event | What it means |
|---|---|
| Page load | The test page was opened. You'll see one at the start, and another one each time the student reloaded the page. |
| Page unload | The test page was closed or reloaded, or the student navigated away from it. |
| Answer started | The student started answering a question. |
| Answer submitted | The student finished answering a question. |
| Right click | The student right-clicked on the test page. |
| Clipboard paste | The student pasted text into the test. |
| Test completed | The student handed in the test. |
You might occasionally see a few more technical events, such as the browser window being resized or the student entering or leaving full screen.
Interpreting what you see
A blurred event tells you the student's attention left the test page, but not why. There are plenty of innocent reasons: a notification popping up, a click on a second monitor, a system update dialog, or a laptop going to sleep. A single short blur is rarely meaningful on its own.
Patterns are more telling. A few things worth looking at:
- Long gaps between a blurred event and the matching focused event.
- Repeated switching during one or two specific questions.
- A paste or a submitted answer right after the student returns to the test.
If something stands out, use the timeline as a starting point for a conversation with the student, rather than as proof on its own. If you keep seeing students leave the test, that's a good moment to start using one of the secure exam apps above.
A permanent record
Leaving the test window or tab, leaving full screen and pasting text are also recorded in your organization's audit log, together with students starting and handing in tests. The audit log can't be edited, so there's a reliable record to fall back on if a result is ever disputed.
Frequently asked questions
The timeline is only available for students who took the test online in Examplary. Results that were scanned from paper or added manually don't have one.
To keep the timeline readable, events that happen very close together are combined into a single dot. Hover over it to see everything that happened at that moment.
Times are shown in your own time zone, based on the settings of the device you're using.
Not necessarily. It means the test wasn't the active window or tab for a moment, which can happen for many reasons. Look at how long the student was away and what they did right after coming back, and talk to the student if something seems off.
Safe Exam Browser needs an Examplary Pro or Examplary for organizations plan. If your organization has connected Schoolyear or Muute, those options are shown instead.