School administrators
How do I choose the question bank of a class or a student?
Written by the TestFLE team.
In short
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.
Who this is for, and what you need first
- Who this is for
- School administrators. A teacher can also change the bank of their classes.
- What you need first
- At least one active bank on the “Tests” screen.
- A class, or a student, whose bank you want to set.
The steps for a class
- In the sidebar, open “Classes”.
- Click the class’s row. The “Class details” sheet opens.
- In the “Question bank in use” list, choose an active bank. To take away the class’s own bank, choose “Use the institution’s default bank”.
- Click “Validate”. The sheet closes, and the message “The changes to class”, followed by the class name then “have been saved.”, confirms the change.
Under the list, the note “Effective bank:” names the bank the class will really take, whether it is its own or the school’s. It says “no bank available” when no bank can be used.
Another way: from the bank
The “Tests” screen offers the same setting the other way round, bank by bank.
- In the sidebar, open “Tests”. On the row of an active bank, click “Classes”.
- Tick the classes that must use this bank. Untick those that must no longer use it.
- Click “Save”. A message that begins with “Class assignment saved” appears, followed by the number of classes assigned and of those that have switched back to the default bank.
A ticked class takes this bank, even if it was using another one. The window points this out next to its name (“uses another bank (no.” followed by the bank’s number, then “)”). An unticked class that was using this bank switches back to the school’s default bank. Classes that use another bank and stay unticked do not move.
It is the same setting as “Question bank in use” in the class’s sheet. Both screens always show the same state.
For a single student
An individual assignment chooses the bank of a student’s next test, without changing their class’s bank.
- In the sidebar, open “Students”, then click the student’s row. The “Student details” sheet opens.
- Find the “Individual bank (single use)” block, under “Effective question bank”.
- In the “Pick a bank…” list, choose an active bank.
- Click “Assign for the next test”.
The “Effective question bank” block then shows “Individual bank:” followed by the bank chosen. To cancel before the test, click “Remove the assignment”. This button only appears when an assignment is pending.
Going further
Understanding the settings and special cases
In what order does the server choose the bank?
The server decides, when the student starts their test. The browser sends no bank. The server applies three levels, in this order, and only keeps a level if its bank is active.
- The bank assigned to the student for their next test, if one is pending.
- Their class’s bank.
- The school’s default bank.
An inactive or archived bank is ignored: the server moves on to the next level. A student without a class goes straight from the first level to the third. Classes that have no bank of their own follow the default bank. If the school changes it, these classes follow it at their next test.
Reading which bank a student will take
The student’s sheet, in the “Effective question bank” block, gives the server’s answer. “Bank in use” names the bank, “Effective bank ID” gives its number, and “Reason” says where it comes from.
- “The student’s own bank”: an individual assignment is pending.
- “The class’s own bank”: the class has its own bank. The “Bank assigned to the class” line names it.
- “The institution’s default bank”: neither the student nor their class has a bank of their own.
- “No bank configured”: no level provides an active bank.
In the last case, the sheet says “No question bank configured for this student.” and the student cannot start their test. Activate a bank, or set one as the default bank, as described in activating, deactivating or archiving a bank.
An individual assignment is used once
The assignment is for a single use. It is used up when the student starts their test, then they go back to their class’s bank with nothing else to do. If the test is cancelled, the assignment is given back and applies to the next test, as long as the bank stays active. A student has only one pending assignment at a time: choosing a new one replaces the previous one.
The assignment only sets the bank. The day and time of the test are scheduled in the “Calendar”: scheduling and managing a class session describes the steps.
Deactivating or archiving the bank of a pending assignment removes that assignment. Activating, deactivating or archiving a bank covers these effects in detail.
The teacher also chooses the bank of their classes
Choosing a class’s bank is not reserved for the administrator. You make active banks available to classes; the teacher chooses, among them, the bank of their classes, with “Change the bank…” in the class’s menu. Both screens write the same setting, and the last one saved applies. Which question bank do my students take describes the teacher’s screen.
A teacher only sets the classes they teach, and only among the active banks. You can set any class in the school.
If a class uses a bank that can no longer be used
The class’s sheet flags an inactive, archived or unavailable bank: the list shows “Bank no.” followed by its number and “(inactive, archived or unavailable)”, with the warning “This class uses an inactive or archived bank. Select an active bank so this assignment is not kept.” In the meantime, the server ignores this bank and the class takes the school’s. Choose an active bank in the list to sort this out.
If the school has no default bank, choosing “Use the institution’s default bank” also shows “No default bank is configured for the institution.” The class then has no bank to take until you set one.
If the choice is refused
The lists only offer active banks. A refusal only happens if the bank has changed state in the meantime.
- For a class (“Cannot assign an inactive or archived bank to a class.”).
- For a student (“Cannot assign an inactive or archived bank to a student.”).
Reopen the screen to read the states again, then choose an active bank.
Related articles
- How do I activate, deactivate or archive a question bank?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.
- 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 create a class and choose its teachers?In “Classes”, “Add class” creates a class for which you tick one or more teachers. The class starts out locked and with no students: they are attached to it from their own sheet, and test access is scheduled afterwards.