Fair test shuffling: how to make several versions of one exam
When candidates sit close together, one paper for everyone invites copying. The simplest fix is to hand out several versions of the same test, with the questions and answer options in a different order. Done well, every version is equally hard and marking stays easy. Done badly, you get broken questions and arguments about fairness. Here is how to do it well.
What shuffling changes, and what it should not
Shuffling reorders questions and answer options but keeps the content the same, so all versions have the same difficulty. That is different from drawing different questions for each candidate from a question bank, which gives stronger protection but needs a careful test structure (so many questions per topic and level) to keep the versions comparable. ExamQR supports both for online exams.
Write questions that survive shuffling
Before you shuffle, scan your test for items that depend on position:
- "All of the above", "none of the above", "both A and B". These break as soon as the options move. Rewrite them or avoid them.
- References to other questions such as "using your answer to question 4". Questions that depend on each other should not be shuffled apart.
- Options that refer to each other ("the first option", "the option above").
Make versions with the free ExamQR tool
ExamQR has a free test shuffling tool. It takes a Word test and produces shuffled versions:
- Prepare the file. Download the sample file from the tool and put your questions in that layout. If your test is in another format, or a PDF, the tool can convert it first with the AI converter, which uses credits.
- Upload it and choose the number of versions. You can make up to 100 versions at a time.
- Set the exam codes. Choose the code length and prefix, or let the tool create random codes. Each version carries its own code.
- Fill in the header and layout. Add the organization, exam, subject and duration, choose how questions are numbered (and whether numbering restarts at each section), the spacing between questions and answers, and whether answers go in a table.
- Choose the output. Get one file per version, or merge everything into a single document. The answer keys are produced as well.
Before you print
- Open two or three versions and read them. A shuffle that looks right in the settings can still produce an awkward page break.
- Keep the answer key for every code together with the printed set.
- Hand versions out so that neighbours, in front, behind and beside, hold different codes. Mark the code on the attendance sheet if you need to match papers to people later.
When you run the exam on ExamQR instead of paper
You do not need to make versions at all for an online exam: each candidate gets their own shuffled paper automatically. On the offline exam server, the seating step assigns exam codes so that the neighbours around each seat get different codes as far as possible. And if you have just mixed a test with the free tool, you can turn it into an online exam from there.
After the exam, check the questions
Shuffling protects the exam; item statistics improve it. After an online exam, ExamQR shows how hard each question was and how well it separated stronger from weaker candidates. A question that nearly everyone got right, or that strong candidates missed more often than weak ones, is worth fixing before it is reused.
Try the free tool, or read more about test shuffling and online exams.