Every year I went hunting for the homework questions I'd written before, because there was nowhere to keep them.
So I built the platform I wished I'd had when I was teaching my Stage 6 subjects. Add questions to a Question Bank as you teach, and a practice paper builds itself from it, weighted toward what you are currently teaching. The same system handles the subjects most tools skip: the new English Extension online HSC, its elective variants matched exactly; Software Engineering and Enterprise Computing, with a real Python editor, database, spreadsheet and drawing canvas; and Science Extension. And it works just as well for a Year 7 homework quiz as a Year 12 HSC trial.
Why it's different
Most tools make you keep rebuilding the same revision set from scratch. OnlineExams assembles it from your Question Bank instead, on roughly a 70 / 30 split: about 70% on what you are teaching now, the rest pulled back from earlier topics on a widening schedule so students meet them again just before they would forget. That is retrieval practice and spacing, the two study techniques with the strongest evidence behind them, built into a paper you did not have to write again.
- Build a practice paper from your Question Bank in one click, weighted toward this week's topic and spaced back through the rest
- Set exams that match the elective and variant structure of the new English Extension online HSC
- RAP-style item analysis for every exam: how hard each question proved, and how well it sorted the class
- Handles the technical subjects too: a live SQL sandbox, a Python editor, drag-and-drop schemas and diagrams
- Keep a question private, or share it with your faculty. The bank grows either way.
Usage scenarios
The same system every year, from a Year 7 homework quiz to a Year 12 HSC trial.
Practise the real HSC environment
Students rehearse in an environment that closely matches the real online HSC, including the new English Extension format, so nothing feels unfamiliar on the day.
Prepare in English and TAS
Run the Stage 5 subjects that feed Stage 6 in the same environment, so the format is familiar and exam nerves are lower before they matter.
Everyday online homework, or a real exam
Low-stakes practice and homework, auto-marked, with retrieval built in so revision is not starting from scratch each time. Or a locked-down summative exam when it needs to count, at any year level.
What the results tell you
Most of what you set here is practice. When a task has to count, you run it as a locked-down exam in the same place. Finish marking and the analysis is already waiting: how much of the class got each question right, whether it sorted strong answers from weak, and the topics worth another look before you set them again.
A small business wants to move its customer records from local spreadsheets to a web application. Which of the following is the main benefit of using a server-side database instead of local spreadsheets?
| Item | Type | Marks | Responses | Mean | Facility | Discrimination | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Q13a ▸ | MCQ | 1 | 23 | 0.52 | 52.2% | 0.87 | Hardest |
| Option | Correct | Responses | % | Mean score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Multiple staff can access the same up-to-date data at once. | ✓ | 12 | 52.2% | 29.60 |
| Spreadsheets cannot store customer names. | 0 | 0.0% | 0.00 | |
| Web applications do not require an internet connection. | 7 | 30.4% | 4.67 | |
| Server-side databases remove the need for backups. | 4 | 17.4% | 13.00 |
Key features
Practice papers build themselves
Weighted toward this week's topic and spaced back through the rest: the revision habit, without the extra work.
Answers survive a dropped connection
Responses keep saving and recover automatically if the wifi cuts out, the one thing everyone actually worries about on the day.
Australian data, by default
All student data is stored in Australia under the Australian Privacy Principles, including APP 11.
Locked down, verified before the sitting starts
Delivered through Safe Exam Browser, so there is no wondering whether a student's device is set up right. Secure enough for a real exam at any year level, not just the HSC.
Real technical answers, not just ticks
The SQL sandbox, Python editor and diagram tools run the student's actual work against the syllabus outcome, where a subject needs it.
Launches from your school's LMS
LTI 1.3 support means students open OnlineExams straight from Canvas, Moodle and similar, with no separate login to manage.
Built for the online HSC. Ready for everything else.
These are the subjects where the exam format is matched exactly: the new English Extension variants, audio prompts for Languages and Music listening tasks, a working Python editor and database for the technical courses.
Every other subject already works, from Year 7 through Year 12: essay, short-answer and multiple-choice questions cover a five-minute homework quiz just as well as a full trial exam.
Let's get your school on
Ready to roll this out school-wide? Tell me who you are and what you teach, and I will get back to you personally to help get your school set up.
Your details are used only to contact you about OnlineExams. We never share or sell your information. All data is stored in Australia under the Australian Privacy Principles.