Test Pools — A Different Paper for Each Candidate
When candidates sit side by side, giving all of them the same paper invites the obvious problem. A pool is a set of tests; point an event at the pool instead of at one test and each candidate is allocated a paper automatically.
Creating a pool
From the Testing Center, choose Test pools → New pool. Give it a name, then pick the tests that belong in it. A pool of 40–50 papers is a comfortable size for a school running regular sittings; the pool can be any size you like.
All tests in a pool should be interchangeable — same test type, same difficulty intention. The system will warn you if you mix things that are not comparable, because a candidate who happens to draw the odd one out is not being tested on the same thing as everyone else.
Using a pool on an event
When you create the event, choose Draw from a pool instead of a single test, then pick the pool and an allocation strategy:
| Strategy | What it does | When to use it |
|---|---|---|
| Fixed | One paper for everyone | Not a pool — this is the single-test option |
| Random | Each candidate gets a paper at random | Small sittings where an even spread doesn't matter |
| Balanced | Papers are spread evenly across the pool | The usual choice — every paper gets used about the same number of times |
Balanced is recommended. With a pool of 45 papers and 450 candidates, each paper is used about ten times, rather than one paper landing forty times by chance.
Allocation is stable
Once a candidate is allocated a paper, it is theirs. If their browser crashes, if they pause and resume, if an invigilator restarts their machine — they come back to the same paper. Nobody ever gets handed a second, different test halfway through.
The candidate's record shows exactly which paper they sat, so a result is always traceable to the questions that produced it.
Editing a pool is safe
Adding or removing a test creates a new version of the pool. Sittings that are already running keep drawing from the version they started with.
So if you add three papers on Tuesday morning, a sitting that opened on Monday carries on exactly as it was. New events created after the change use the new version. You never have to worry that editing a pool will disturb a sitting in progress.
What candidates see
Nothing about the pool. They see their test. The paper they were given, the pool it came from and the version of that pool are recorded on their candidate record for you.