Why Tests and Surveys Are Needed
Testing is not just a formality at the end of training; it is the core tool that transforms a course from a collection of materials into an active development process. Tests confirm that an employee has absorbed the material, reinforce knowledge through active recall, help identify weak topics via answer statistics, and record training completion for reporting and certifications. Surveys complement this by gathering student feedback, which helps improve the course. On Evolve, there are three types of tasks for these purposes: Test, Open-Ended Question, and Survey. This manual describes how to add each of them and what settings are available.
1. Adding a Task to a Chapter
All tasks (tests, surveys, and open-ended questions) reside inside course chapters. To add a task:
Open the course for editing and locate the chapter where you want to add the task.
Click Add New Lesson, enter a title, and press Enter.
Click the blue Add button next to the title – this will open the Create Lesson dialog with four options.
Out of the four available options, three relate to testing and surveys:
Task Type | When to Choose |
Test | Knowledge check with correct answers, scores, and completion rules. Suitable for: * certifications, * regulations check, * product knowledge. |
Open-Ended Question | A detailed, free-form response evaluated by AI. Suitable for: * case studies, * reasoning, * practical skills assessment. |
Survey | Collecting feedback and opinions. No correct answers or scores. |
Create Lesson | The fourth option in the "Create Lesson" dialog is a theoretical block containing text, images, and videos. It is not considered a task and is not covered in this guide – see the "Creating Lessons" chapter. |
2. Test
The Test is the most feature-rich task type. After choosing "Create Test," the task appears in the chapter, and its editor displays three tabs: Settings, Questions, and Advanced.
2.1. "Settings" Tab
Basic test properties:
Title – how the test is displayed in the course structure and the student interface.
Description (up to 2000 characters) – a brief explanation before starting: what the test evaluates, how long it will take, and the rules.
Required Question – a toggle. If enabled, the student cannot proceed through the course until they complete the test.
Completion Comment – text displayed after passing the test. Great for summaries, congratulations, or links to the next material.
2.2. "Questions" Tab
Three actions are available on this tab:
Add Category – grouping questions by topic.
Categories are a powerful tool. Their main benefit is creating unique final tests using a random selection. By dividing the entire question pool into categories, you can generate completely different tests for different employees from the same set of questions, simply by adjusting the settings to match the exam goal.
Example.
For certification for a foreman role, you set a rule: the system randomly selects
5 questions from the "Commissioning Engineer Skills" category,
3 questions from the "Team Management" category, and
3 questions from the "Industrial Safety Regulations" category.
For a line engineer, you can set up a different test:
9 questions from "Commissioning Engineer Skills" and
5 questions from "Industrial Safety Regulations"
without using "Team Management."
The system will automatically generate a unique version for each employee from the shared question pool.
If you want to use this tool, don't forget to specify a category when adding questions or importing them from a file.
Add Question – creating a new question manually.
Import Questions – bulk loading a ready-made question database from a file.
Fields of a Single Question
After adding a question, click Expand. A card with the following fields will open:
Title – the text of the question that the student will see.
Question Categories – a dropdown list of the created categories.
Description – additional explanatory text, such as a problem statement.
Add File – attach an image or a document (diagram, screenshot, drawing).
Points for the Whole Question – the total number of points for a correct answer. Used if all correct answers are scored equally.
Hint: Do not assign points at both the question level and individual answer choice level simultaneously – the system will display a warning: "Both question and answer have points." Let's look at the options. * If you specified a value in the "Points for the Whole Question" field, each correct answer chosen by the student will yield exactly that number of points.
If the question has multiple correct answers, the student's final score will be the product of the specified points and the number of correctly selected options.
Please note that in this case, the points in the "Answer Choices" fields must be set to 0 – even for correct answers. The student will then receive the points from the "Points for the Whole Question" field for selecting a correct answer, while selecting an incorrect answer will yield 0 points.
Answer Choices
Each option is a separate row containing the following elements:
Drag-and-drop icon – reorder answers by dragging.
Option text – what the student will see in the list.
Comment icon – feedback displayed to the student when they choose this specific option.
Trash icon – delete the option.
“Points” field – how many points are awarded for selecting this option. This allows you to configure partially correct answers.
"Correct" button – marks the option as correct. You can mark one or multiple options – this toggles between "single correct answer" and "multiple correct answers."
At the bottom of the block: Add Option (adds a new answer row) and General Comment (displayed after the question is answered, regardless of the choice).
2.3. "Advanced" Tab
Here, you define how the test is taken and how results are recorded. Settings are grouped into three blocks.
Completion Rules
Measurement Unit – Percent % or Points.
Passing Score – the minimum value required to pass.
Display of results during the test (choose one of four strategies):
Accept only correct answers – incorrect answers are not accepted; the number of attempts is recorded.
Accept incorrect answers and do not show correct ones – the student proceeds but does not see the correct answer.
Accept incorrect answers and show correct ones – after an incorrect answer, the correct one is highlighted (learning mode).
Accept incorrect answers and show results – only a "correct/incorrect" indicator is displayed, without revealing the actual correct option.
Display of results at the end of the test (six final screen modes):
Exam Mode – does not display scores or answers. Best for certifications.
Practice Mode – only the final result (pass/fail).
Show Mode – final score, answers for each question, and correctness indicators.
Leaderboard Mode – final score and a leaderboard of other students (for gamification).
Review Mode – only the final score and correct answers (without individual question grading).
Report Mode – a detailed summary based on the testing results.
Visibility and Time
Display Questions on Page – all on one page or one by one (classic step-by-step layout).
Enable Timer (min) – time limit in minutes. Empty = no timer.
Question Order – Random, Alphabetical, or Fixed order.
Answer Choices Order – Shuffle or Do not shuffle.
Test Content – the pool from which questions are pulled at startup:
All Questions – a fixed, complete list.
Random Questions on any topic – a random selection from all questions within the test.
Random Questions by category – a random selection respecting the created categories.
Random Questions from the course – pulling questions from other tests in the same course.
Attempts
Number of Attempts – how many attempts are allowed. Empty = unlimited.
Save Results – which result is stored in the user's data: all attempts / last attempt / best attempt.
Write to Report – which attempts are logged in admin reports: all attempts / last / best.
Block Opening a Second Window – if a student opens another tab during the test, the attempt pauses and a warning is displayed. Used for integrity control during exams.
3. Open-Ended Question
A detailed, free-form response. The editor contains two tabs: Task and Settings.
3.1. "Task" Tab
Title – task name.
Main Message Text (up to 2000 characters) – the core task: scenario, case, or question.
Required Task – toggle: the student cannot proceed without completing this.
Add File – supplementary materials.
3.2. "Settings" Tab
"AI Review" Section:
AI Grading – the key toggle. If enabled, the system automatically analyzes answers, provides feedback to the student, and generates a summary for the administrator.
"Answer" Section:
Answer Title – the label above the student's text input field.
Sample Answer – the benchmark. The AI uses it for grading, and administrators can refer to it during manual grading.
| Tip. The more detailed the "Sample Answer" is, the more accurately the AI grades students' detailed responses. |
4. Survey
Feedback collection without correct answers or points. The editor contains two tabs: Survey and Content.
4.1. "Survey" Tab
Title – survey name.
Main Message Text (up to 2000 characters) – explanation before starting the survey.
Required Task – toggle: the student cannot proceed without answering.
Add File – supplementary materials.
4.2. "Content" Tab
This is where survey questions are created. For each question:
Title – question text.
Maximum Number of Answers – how many options the student can select. 1 = single choice (radio), more than 1 = multiple choice (checkbox). The platform suggests the range ("From 1 to N").
Free-Form Response – toggle. If enabled, an open text field is added to the choices.
Choices (Option 1, Option 2, ...) – added using the "+ Add Option" button.
Below the question list is the "Answer" block with a general title and sample answer, if the survey concludes with a detailed comments field.
5. Which Task Type to Choose
Parameter | Test | Open-Ended Question | Survey |
Correct Answer | Yes, marked with the "Correct" button | Benchmark via "Sample Answer", AI grading | No |
Points | Per question or per each option | Via AI evaluation | No |
Multiple Questions | Yes, with categories and import | One open-ended question | Yes, a sequence of questions |
Free-form Text | No | Yes, core format | Yes, "Free-Form Response" toggle |
Timer and Attempts | Yes | No | No |
Student Feedback | Comments on options and general | Detailed AI feedback | Not provided |
When to Choose | Checking facts, regulations, certification | Case studies, reasoning, skills | Gathering opinions, reviews, feedback |
6. Saving and Previewing
At the bottom of each editor are "Save" and "Cancel" buttons. Many fields auto-save, but when editing a test or a question, you must explicitly click "Save" – otherwise, navigating to another page will trigger an "Unsaved Changes" warning.
| Tip. If the "Save" button doesn't work and the task keeps the "Unsaved changes" status, it means mandatory fields are missing: the test or question title, or there is not a single answer choice. Fill them in and try again. |
In the top-right corner of the task editor, the following are available:
Preview – opens the task exactly as the student will see it. A mandatory step before publishing.
Delete – permanently removes the task from the chapter (this action is irreversible).
7. Practical Recommendations
Use Tests to check concrete knowledge (regulations, facts, products). Use Open-Ended Questions to evaluate thinking and practical application. Use Surveys to gather feedback.
For certifications, enable Exam Mode and Block Opening a Second Window. For learning courses, use Show Mode with correct answers highlighted.
In tests designed to be retaken, enable question and choice shuffling – this reduces the "memorizing options by position" effect.
Always fill in the "Sample Answer" for open-ended questions – AI grading is less accurate without it.
Keep surveys short (3–7 questions). Students rarely complete long ones.
After creation, always run the task through Preview from the student's perspective – it is the best way to find typos and logical errors.