School administrators
How do I activate, deactivate or archive a question bank?
Written by the TestFLE team.
In short
The “Available question banks” table on the “Tests” screen gives each bank a state: active, inactive or archived. Four buttons change it, but the default bank can be neither deactivated nor archived.
Who this is for, and what you need first
- Who this is for
- School administrators, who decide which banks are made available to classes.
- What you need first
- At least one bank in the “Available question banks” table.
The steps
- In the sidebar, open “Tests”. Scroll down the page to the “Available question banks” table.
- Find the bank’s row. The “States” column shows “Active”, “Inactive” or “Archived”.
- In the “Actions” column, click “Deactivate”, “Reactivate”, “Archive” or “Unarchive”. Each row only shows the buttons allowed for the bank’s state.
- If you are archiving, confirm in the window that opens. The other actions apply at once, without confirmation.
- Read the green message above the table. It confirms the action and, after “Deactivate” or “Archive”, says how many classes have changed bank.
The three states of a bank
- Active. The bank can be used: it can be assigned to a class, a teacher can choose it for their class and a student can take it.
- Inactive. The bank stays visible in the table, but nobody can use it any more. It is no longer offered in the selection lists.
- Archived. The bank disappears from the table, unless you tick “Also show archived banks”. It cannot be used either.
Being the default bank is not a fourth state. It is a designation made by the school, which applies to one bank at a time and which the table marks with the “Default bank” badge. The default bank is the one taken by students when neither they nor their class have a bank of their own.
What each button does
- “Classes”. For an active bank: opens the assignment to classes. Choosing the bank of a class or a student covers it in detail.
- “Set as default bank”. For an active bank that is not the default bank already.
- “Deactivate”. For an active bank that is not the default bank.
- “Reactivate”. For an inactive bank. It becomes active again.
- “Archive”. For an active or inactive bank that is not the default bank.
- “Unarchive”. For an archived bank. It comes back as active, not as inactive.
The “Standard bank” badge marks the bank shared by all the schools entitled to it. You can assign it to classes or set it as the default bank, but you can neither deactivate nor archive it. Its rows therefore only show “Classes” and, if it is not the default bank already, “Set as default bank”.
Going further
Understanding the settings and special cases
What happens to classes and students?
“Deactivate” and “Archive” have the same effect on whatever was using the bank. Each class it was assigned to switches back to the school’s default bank, and the green message says so: “1 class has switched back to the institution’s default bank.” Pending individual assignments, that is, banks assigned to a student for their next test, are removed (“1 pending individual assignment has been removed.”). The student then goes back to their class’s bank.
Take CE1 Bleuets, whose bank is deactivated. At their next test, Phoque Indigo takes the school’s default bank. A test already started keeps its bank until the end. If that test is cancelled afterwards, the individual assignment it had used up is not given back to the student, since its bank can no longer be used.
The two actions differ in visibility. A deactivated bank stays in the table, whereas an archived bank leaves it. You can archive a bank that is already inactive: there is nothing left to detach.
“Reactivate” and “Unarchive” give nothing back
A reactivated or unarchived bank can be used again, but it gets back neither its classes nor the individual assignments that were removed. It does not become the default bank again either. The message says so: “Bank (bank title) reactivated. It can be assigned again.” After “Unarchive”, it says “Bank (bank title) unarchived: active again.”, then adds that detached classes and assignments are not restored and have to be reassigned by hand.
To give the bank back to a class, use the “Classes” button on its row or the class’s sheet. A teacher can also choose it for their class, since it is active again.
The archiving confirmation window
Archiving is the only action that asks for confirmation. The window is the browser’s own, not a TestFLE window. It says: “Archive this bank? It will become invisible and be detached everywhere it was attached (classes, pending assignments). Nothing is deleted: you will be able to unarchive it, but the attachments will not be restored.”
After the confirmation, the green message says: “Bank (bank title) archived. It now only appears through “Also show archived banks”.”
Finding an archived bank again
Tick “Also show archived banks”, to the left of the “Refresh” button. Archived banks come back into the table, with the “Archived” badge and the “Unarchive” button only. The box is unticked every time the page is opened.
Changing the default bank
Click “Set as default bank” on the row of an active bank. The message “Bank set as the institution’s default bank.” confirms the action, and the “Default bank” badge moves to this bank. The former default bank stays active and keeps its classes.
The change affects the classes and students who have no bank of their own: they take the new bank at their next test. To go back, set the former bank as the default bank. This is also the way to make “Deactivate” and “Archive” available for the former one, since these buttons no longer appear on the default bank.
Who decides what?
The administrator decides what is made available to classes: they import, activate, deactivate and archive banks. The teacher chooses their class’s bank, among the active banks, with “Change the bank…”. Which question bank do my students take describes the teacher’s side. Deactivating or archiving a bank therefore removes it from the teacher’s choices.
The table offers no “Delete” button: a bank is archived, and its data are kept.
If the action is refused
The table does not offer forbidden actions. A refusal only appears if the bank’s state has changed since the table was displayed. The message appears in red above the table.
- The bank is now the default bank, and you want to archive it (“Cannot archive the default bank: set another default first.”).
- The bank is now the default bank, and you want to deactivate it (“Cannot deactivate the default bank: set another default first.”).
- The bank is no longer active, and you want to set it as the default bank (“Cannot set an inactive or archived bank as the default.”).
These messages name the default bank. Click “Refresh” to read the states again, then try again if the action is still allowed.
Related articles
- How do I choose the question bank of a class or a student?A student takes the bank the server picks in this order: the one assigned to the student, their class’s, the school’s. Set it for a class in “Classes” or “Tests”, and for a student in their sheet.
- Which question bank will my students take, and how do I change it?A student takes the bank the administrator has assigned to them for their next test, if there is one; otherwise their class’s bank or, failing that, the school’s default bank. To change a class’s bank, open its menu in “My classes” and click “Change the bank…”.
- How do I deactivate or archive a student, a teacher or a class?Deactivating a student closes tests to them while leaving them their results; archiving a student, a teacher or a class removes them from the lists without deleting anything. “Reactivate” and “Unarchive” take you back, but unarchiving does not restore the attachments.