CuraCourseAt a glance
Exams are in beta. An exam is a course page built for a timed, secure assessment. Students start from a landing page, work in an exam shell, and submit. You author questions with the same activity blocks you use in lessons, then control the timer, navigation, and integrity settings from Exam Settings.
Because this is beta, try a practice exam before a high-stakes sitting and tell us what is missing. Profile icon → Get support or Give feedback.
Prerequisites
- Instructor access to the course.
- Exams are included with Pro. On Core, enable the Exams add-on (+$5 per learner per term). Starter does not include exams. See Course Billing.
Create an exam
- Open the course Table of Contents. See Course dashboard basics.
- Click Add Content → Add Lesson (or Add lesson on a module).
- Choose Exam (“Timed, secure exam with activity questions”).
- Give it a title. Add questions with Add Question at the bottom of the editor, or type
/and pick an activity. Instant Feedback is not available on exams. - Open Exam Settings in the right sidebar.
- Set Access Policy (visibility, lock, password, grade release) and Score Policy (attempt limits). New exams default to 1 submission.
- Make the exam visible when you are ready. Preview with View as a learner.
Exam Settings
These apply to the published exam. The editor always shows every question.
| Setting | What it does |
|---|---|
| Automatic full-screen | Expands the browser to full-screen when the student begins. |
| Track tab leaving | Records when a student leaves the exam tab or exits full-screen. Alerts show in Exam Alerts. |
| Paginated questions | Shows one question at a time for students. |
| One-way movement | Students can only move forward. Requires pagination. Going back is disabled after a one-time warning. |
| Timer | Shows a countdown. It turns red under 10% time remaining. Set duration in minutes. |
| Disable right-click | Hides the right-click menu on the exam page. Students can still use browser or computer shortcuts. |
| Disable shortcuts | Blocks common page shortcuts such as print and view source. This is best-effort in the browser; OS and browser-chrome shortcuts cannot be blocked. |
Visibility, locks, passwords, and grade release live in Access Policy. Submission attempt limits live in Score Policy.
What students see
- If you set a password, they enter it before they can begin.
- The landing page has Begin Exam. If they are on their last remaining attempt, they get a warning first.
- During the exam they use Submit Exam (not Mark as Done).
- After they submit, review and grade release follow the Access Policy and Score Policy you set.
Common gotchas
- This feature is in beta. Behavior and settings may still change.
- Instant Feedback cannot be added to an exam.
- CuraAI for Learners is not available on exams.
- One-way movement only appears after Paginated questions is on.
- Right-click and shortcut blocking cannot stop a student from switching apps, using another device, or using OS-level shortcuts.
- New exams default to one submission. Raise the limit in Score Policy if you want retakes.