Overview
Note: SmarterProctoring's Readiness Check now lets students practice the onboarding experience on their own, so a full practice exam isn't required just for that purpose. Practice exams are still worth setting up if you want students to also get exposure to the actual exam delivery platform (e.g., Pearson MyMathLab, or the LMS's built-in system) before a real testing session.
Practice exams are free, and take only a few minutes to set up.
A practice exam is created exactly the same as a real exam in SmarterProctoring, but to identify it as a free practice exam you will add "[Practice]" to the beginning of the exam name (e.g., [Practice] Proctored Quiz).
Best Practices with Practice Exams
Make it required.
Require every student in the course to complete the practice exam. This guarantees the whole class understands the proctoring process before facing a graded exam.
Time it about a week out.
Schedule the practice exam roughly one week before the first proctored exam. Too far in advance and students forget the steps; one week gives enough buffer to resolve any technical issues that come up.
Close the window before the real exam opens.
End the practice exam's availability window before the first proctored exam begins. This prevents students from mistakenly starting practice-exam onboarding when they meant to start the actual exam.
Match the delivery system.
Build the practice exam in the same system the real exam will use. If the actual exam runs through Pearson MyMathLab, set up the practice there too, not in the LMS's built-in exam tool. Same logic applies in reverse. The goal is for students to rehearse the exact experience they'll have on exam day.
Keep it short.
One question is enough. The practice exam only needs to confirm that students can access the exam, submit it, and complete proctoring.