Offline Exams & OMR

Create print-ready question papers, generate OMR answer sheets, scan student responses, and view results -- all without requiring students to be online.

Overview

Offline Exams in Testify bridge the gap between your digital question bank and traditional pen-and-paper testing. You create an exam from an existing question paper, generate printable PDFs for both the question paper and OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) sheet, distribute them to students, then scan the completed OMR sheets to auto-grade. The system supports multiple exam versions, bubble detection, AI-powered ambiguity resolution, and full analytics.

Creating an Offline Exam

1. Navigate to Offline Exams

   • Click "Offline Exams" in the sidebar
   • Click "+ Create Offline Exam"

   

2. Fill in Exam Details

   • Title (required): Name of the exam, e.g., "Physics Mid-Term 2026"
   • Description: Optional additional details
   • Paper: Select an existing question paper from your paper library
   • Exam Date: When the exam will be conducted
   • Exam Time: Start time
   • Duration (minutes): Total time allowed
   • Total Students: Expected number of students (for OMR sheet generation)
   • Organization: Select your organization (auto-filled if you belong to one)

   

3. Configure OMR Settings (optional)

   • OMR Template: Select a pre-configured OMR layout or use the default
   • OMR Config: Advanced settings for bubble layout, number of options per question, etc.

4. Save the Exam

   • Click "Create"
   • The exam is created in Draft status
   • 1 paper credit is deducted from your account

Tip: You can also create an offline exam from an existing online exam by linking it via the online_exam_id field. This reuses the same question set.

Generating the Question Paper PDF

Convert your question paper into a print-ready PDF document.

1. Open the Offline Exam

   • Click on the exam title from the offline exams list

2. Click "Generate Paper PDF"

   • Click the "Generate Paper PDF" button
   • The system creates a formatted PDF with:
     • Exam title and instructions
     • All questions numbered sequentially
     • Options labeled (A, B, C, D) for MCQs
     • Space for subjective answers
     • Page numbers

3. Download the PDF

   • Once generated, click "Download Paper"
   • The file downloads as [Exam Title]-question-paper.pdf
   • Print copies for your students

   

Tip: Generate the paper PDF before the exam date so you have time to review and print enough copies.

Generating OMR Sheets

Create scannable answer sheets that students fill in with pen or pencil.

1. Open the Offline Exam

   • Navigate to the exam detail page

2. Click "Generate OMR Sheet"

   • Click the "Generate OMR Sheet" button
   • Configure options:
     • Include QR Code: Adds a unique QR code for automatic sheet identification
     • Version Code: If you have multiple versions, each gets a distinct OMR layout

3. Download the OMR Sheet

   • Click "Download OMR Sheet"
   • The file downloads as [Exam Title]-omr-sheet.pdf
   • Each sheet includes:
     • Student name and roll number fields
     • Bubbles for each question (A, B, C, D)
     • QR code (if enabled)

   

4. Print and Distribute

   • Print one OMR sheet per student
   • Instruct students to fill bubbles completely with dark pen/pencil

Tip: Use a laser printer for OMR sheets. Inkjet prints can sometimes produce faded bubbles that are harder to scan.

Exam Versions

Create multiple versions of the same exam to prevent copying.

1. Navigate to Versions

   • Open the offline exam and click the "Versions" tab

2. Create a Version

   • Click "+ Add Version"
   • Enter a Version Code (e.g., "A", "B", "SET1", "SET2")
   • The system shuffles question order for each version

3. Generate Version-Specific PDFs

   • Click "Generate PDF" for each version
   • Both the question paper and OMR sheet are generated with the version code printed on them
   • QR codes on OMR sheets identify the version automatically during scanning

Tip: Use at least 2 versions for large exam halls. The system handles answer key mapping automatically per version.

Scanning OMR Sheets

After the exam, scan completed OMR sheets to auto-grade student responses.

Uploading Scanned Images

1. Open the Offline Exam

   • Navigate to the exam detail page

2. Click "Scan OMR"

   • Click the "Scan OMR" tab or "Upload Scan" button

   

3. Upload the Scanned Image

   • Drag and drop or click to select files
   • Supported formats: JPEG, PNG, PDF
   • Maximum file size: 10 MB per file
   • You can upload individual images or a multi-page PDF with all scanned sheets

4. Automatic Processing

   • The system runs bubble detection on each sheet
   • For each question, it identifies which bubble(s) are filled
   • If a QR code is present, the student and version are identified automatically

Reviewing Scan Results

1. View Detected Responses

   • After processing, each sheet shows:
     • Student identification (from QR code or manual entry)
     • Detected answers per question
     • Confidence level for each detection
     • Flagged ambiguities (partial fills, multiple marks, etc.)

   

2. Resolve Ambiguities

   • Questions with uncertain bubble detections are flagged
   • Click on a flagged question to see the scanned bubble image
   • Select the correct response manually, or use "AI Resolve" to let the AI ambiguity resolution service decide

3. Verify and Confirm

   • Review all detected responses
   • Click "Verify" to finalize the sheet
   • Status changes from "Scanned" to "Verified"

Auto-Grading

Once a sheet is verified, the system automatically:

• Compares responses against the answer key
• Calculates score, percentage, correct count, and wrong count
• Awards Rank Booster points based on performance
• Updates the student's leaderboard score

Viewing Offline Exam Results

1. Open the Results Tab

   • Navigate to the offline exam and click the "Results" tab

2. View the Summary

   • Scanned Sheets: Total OMR sheets processed
   • Average Score: Class average percentage
   • Top Score: Highest individual score
   • Student-by-student breakdown with scores and rankings

   

3. Generate Analytics

   • Click "Generate Analytics" to produce detailed reports:
     • Question-wise analysis (which questions were most missed)
     • Score distribution histogram
     • Section-wise performance breakdown

4. Export Results

   • Download results as CSV or PDF for offline record-keeping

Assigning Offline Exams

You can formally assign offline exams to classes, sections, or individual students.

1. Open the Offline Exam

   • Navigate to the exam detail page

2. Click "Assign"

   • Click the "Assign Exam" button

3. Select Recipients

   • Individual Students: Search and select specific students
   • Sections: Select one or more sections (all students in those sections are assigned)
   • Classes: Select one or more classes (all students in those classes are assigned)

4. Set Due Date (optional)

   • Pick a deadline for completion

5. Confirm Assignment

   • Click "Assign"
   • Students are notified and can see the assignment in their dashboard

Tip: Assignment tracking shows status (assigned, in_progress, completed, overdue) for each student, helping you follow up on missing submissions.

Managing Offline Exams

Listing Exams

• The offline exams list shows:
  • Exam title and linked paper name
  • Creator name
  • Exam date and status (draft, active, completed)
  • Number of scanned sheets
  • Dominant subject, chapter, and topic (auto-detected from questions)

Filtering

• Filter by Status (draft, active, completed)
• Filter by Organization

Deleting an Exam

1. Open the exam detail page
2. Click "Delete"
3. Confirm the deletion

Best Practices

Before the Exam

• Generate and review the question paper PDF at least one day before
• Print OMR sheets on white paper with clear alignment marks
• Brief students on how to fill bubbles correctly

During Scanning

• Scan at 150 DPI or higher for reliable bubble detection
• Keep scanned images straight (avoid skewed angles)
• Process one sheet at a time if automatic student identification fails

After Grading

• Review flagged ambiguities carefully before verifying
• Generate analytics to identify knowledge gaps
• Share results with students promptly

Common Issues

OMR Sheet Not Detected Properly

• Ensure the scan is high quality (no shadows, creases, or stains)
• Check that students filled bubbles completely
• Re-scan at higher DPI if detection is unreliable

"Insufficient credits" Error

• Creating an offline exam costs 1 paper credit
• Purchase credits from the Billing page or upgrade your plan

PDF Conversion Failed

• The system uses pdftoppm for PDF-to-image conversion
• Ensure the uploaded PDF is not password-protected
• Try re-scanning as individual JPEG/PNG images

Next Steps

• Classroom Management - Set up classes before assigning exams
• Certificates - Generate certificates for top performers
• Analytics - Deep dive into exam performance data

Need Help?

Contact support at support@edukali.ai