Prepare the academic record first. Map the import file second.
A CSV can reduce repetitive question entry, but it cannot decide whether a question is accurate, authorised, clearly written, fairly marked, or appropriate for the intended blueprint. Use this worksheet as the controlled source reviewed by authors and academic approvers. Create the actual upload only after a canonical current template or product instruction defines the required headers, values, and option mapping.
Keep each question in one controlled row so authors, reviewers, and corrections point to the same working record.
Review the human-readable answer and marks before translating them into current importer values.
Record who reviewed the answer key and preserve source or permission evidence outside the public test.
Start with a clean, blank CSV.
The file contains 11 planning fields, one preparation-only safety marker, and no example question that could accidentally enter a live bank. Open it in your spreadsheet editor, keep the original untouched, and create a dated working copy for each review cycle.
What each planning column is for
These columns create a reviewable academic record. Every content heading is prefixed with planning_, and the first column is an explicit preparation-only marker so a detached copy cannot easily be mistaken for a production upload schema. The fields describe question concepts that Edugenie supports—such as question text, options, topics, difficulty, answers, marks, and explanations—but none of these names should be assumed to match the importer.
| Planning column | Purpose | Review before mapping |
|---|---|---|
planning_only_not_an_import_schema | A safety marker that keeps detached copies visibly labelled as preparation-only. | Leave the heading unchanged. This column is not a production importer field. |
planning_question_text | The complete learner-facing question or prompt. | Check meaning, punctuation, symbols, line breaks, and quoted text after export. |
planning_question_type | Your human-readable planning label for one of the five supported platform formats. | Confirm the current importer code before upload; this worksheet does not define accepted enum values. |
planning_topic | The syllabus topic or chapter associated with the question. | Match the institute's approved topic taxonomy. |
planning_difficulty | An authoring label such as easy, moderate, or difficult. | Treat it as a review aid, not a psychometric claim. |
planning_options_in_order | A reviewer-readable record of the ordered answer choices when the format uses options. | Do not assume the planning notation or option count matches the current importer mapping. |
planning_correct_choice_or_choices | A reviewer-readable record of the intended correct option or options. | Do not assume this planning notation is the accepted upload notation. |
planning_accepted_text_answer | The intended accepted response for a supported user-input question. | Review spelling, whitespace, number formats, units, and alternative valid responses. |
planning_explanation | The solution or reasoning that may be shown during result review. | Ensure it supports the recorded answer and does not introduce a conflicting method or value. |
planning_positive_marks | The marks intended for a fully correct supported answer. | Use a valid decimal and reconcile it with the approved blueprint. |
planning_negative_marks | The deduction intended for an incorrect answer when the test design requires it. | Use a consistent convention and verify it against a hand-calculated scoring example. |
planning_review_notes | Internal notes for authorship, permission, corrections, academic reviewer, and approval state. | Keep formal evidence outside the CSV where appropriate; this is not a rights or approval system. |
Use a simple notation for human review only
These examples make a working row readable to authors and reviewers; they do not define the Edugenie importer format.
planning_options_in_order: A) first choice | B) second choice | C) third choiceplanning_correct_choice_or_choices: A for one intended choice or A + C for more than one.planning_accepted_text_answer: record the intended response; place material alternatives inplanning_review_notes.
This notation is not an upload format. Map it to the current importer only after its accepted headers, option structure, and answer syntax have been confirmed.
Do not rename the planning columns to guessed API or database fields. Public product documentation has not yet verified the production CSV header contract.
Prepare the five supported question formats without inventing upload codes
Edugenie's assessment engine currently supports five formats. The labels below describe the academic intent; they are not promised CSV enum values. Keep the working notation understandable to reviewers, then translate it only with the current import instructions in front of you.
True / false
Write one unambiguous statement and record the intended Boolean answer in reviewer-readable language.
Review: Do not add plausible-looking option text that changes the meaning of the statement.Single correct
Record the choices in a clear, stable order and identify exactly one intended correct choice.
Review: Confirm that only one option is defensibly correct and that distractors are not accidentally equivalent.Multiple correct
Record every intended correct choice and decide how learners will be told that more than one may apply.
Review: Verify that the complete answer set—not only one choice—matches the explanation.Partial correct
Document the full answer set and a separate worked scoring example for partial selections.
Review: Confirm the current product rule and test instructions before assuming a partial-credit formula.User input
Record the intended accepted text or number and list material variations that require review.
Review: Test spaces, case, decimal formats, units, signs, and alternative valid expressions in the actual workflow.Keep options, answers, marks, and explanations internally consistent
Most damaging import errors are not syntax errors: the row may import successfully while the academic meaning is wrong. Review each row as a complete scoring unit. The question, options, intended answer, positive marks, negative marks, partial-credit rule, and explanation must agree.
Options and answer key
- Keep the choices in a stable, reviewer-readable order.
- Remove duplicate or near-duplicate choices unless academically necessary.
- Record all correct choices for multiple-answer questions.
- Have a second qualified reviewer solve the question without seeing the key.
Positive and negative marks
- Use decimals consistently and reconcile row marks with section totals.
- Do not add negative marking simply because the target exam usually uses it.
- Work through correct, incorrect, skipped, and partial-answer examples.
- Check the configured result after import using controlled sample attempts.
Explanation and source
- Make the explanation support the recorded answer and notation.
- Check equations, units, symbols, and cited rule editions.
- Record authorship or permission evidence in the institute's controlled records.
- Do not publish internal review notes to learners by accident.
Checking the complete result? Use the negative-marking, rank, and percentile guide for worked scoring examples, tie handling, and cohort definitions.
Run these 10 checks before every import
Validate the worksheet before translating it into the production schema. Then use the importer validation as a second control—not as a replacement for academic review.
- 01Identify every row
Find blank question text and likely duplicate questions before reviewing content.
- 02Complete required content
Check that every row has question text, a planning type, marks, and the answer information required by that format.
- 03Use controlled labels
Standardise topics, difficulty labels, question-format labels, and other repeated values.
- 04Review option structure
Find missing choices in the intended sequence, duplicates, accidental answer clues, and inconsistent ordering.
- 05Verify the answer key independently
Ask a qualified reviewer who did not author the question to solve it and compare the result.
- 06Calculate marks by hand
Test correct, incorrect, skipped, and partial-answer examples before trusting the configured result.
- 07Inspect CSV-sensitive text
Reopen the exported file and check commas, double quotes, line breaks, symbols, equations, and non-English text.
- 08Remove private data
Do not place learner names, phone numbers, emails, attempt data, or unrelated personal information in a question-bank file.
- 09Split the working set
Prepare files of no more than 100 question rows for the current Edugenie import limit.
- 10Resolve every importer error
Use the current validation, option mapping, and row-error feedback; spot-check successful rows before assembling a live test.
CSV text needs a final export check
Common CSV conventions require fields containing commas, double quotes, or line breaks to be enclosed in double quotes, with embedded double quotes repeated. Spreadsheet software normally handles this during export, but reopen the exported file to verify long questions and explanations before import.
Never repair an export by deleting punctuation from the academic content. Correct the quoting or mapping instead.
Spreadsheet safety: Do not open an untrusted CSV file. Spreadsheet applications may interpret cells beginning with =, +, -, or @ as formulas. Keep formulas and macros out of question content, and confirm any escaping with the current importer because there is no universal sanitisation that is safe for every spreadsheet application and downstream CSV consumer.
Use the live importer as the source of truth for upload structure.
Edugenie currently supports question CSV import with validation, option mapping, row-level error feedback, and a maximum of 100 question rows per file. The approved public brief does not specify production header names, accepted question-type codes, answer separators, encoding requirements, or whether every supported question format follows the same CSV path. Those details must be verified in the current importer before an upload file is created.
- 01
Review the worksheet. Approve content, answer key, marks, explanation, and source evidence before mapping.
- 02
Obtain the current format. Use a canonical template, current importer instruction, or known-good file supplied by the product team.
- 03
Map a small pilot. Start with representative rows for each required question format instead of converting the full bank immediately.
- 04
Resolve row errors. Correct the source record, import again, and document the final mapping decision.
- 05
Verify inside a test. Inspect questions, options, answers, marks, explanations, and sample result calculations before publication.
Not included: unlimited or background migration, reusable custom mappings, automatic rights review, AI question generation, advanced item analysis, or a guarantee that a syntactically valid row is academically correct.
References and review basis
The CSV syntax note follows the common text/csv format described by the IETF, and the spreadsheet-safety warning follows OWASP guidance on formula injection. Academic answer-key review follows the quality-control principle published by the National Testing Agency. None of these sources defines Edugenie's production import schema or endorses the product.
- IETF RFC 4180: Common Format and MIME Type for CSV Files — quoting, embedded double quotes, records, and fields.
- OWASP: CSV Injection — spreadsheet formula interpretation and why sanitisation depends on the consuming application.
- National Testing Agency: development of tests — blueprinting, independent answer-key verification, and post-test review principles.
Last reviewed: .
Prepare confidently—without guessing the importer contract.
Straight answers about the worksheet, supported question formats, row limits, marks, and validation errors.
Is this worksheet ready to upload directly into Edugenie?
No. It is a pre-import planning and academic-review worksheet. The approved product brief does not define the current production headers, accepted type codes, answer notation, separators, or every required field. Confirm the live import format before mapping reviewed rows into an upload file.
Can Edugenie import questions from CSV?
Yes. The current question importer supports validation, option mapping, row-level error feedback, and up to 100 question rows per file. It should not be treated as an unlimited or background migration service.
Which question formats does Edugenie support?
The assessment engine currently supports true/false, single-correct, multiple-correct, partial-correct, and user-input questions. Confirm which formats and fields are accepted by the current CSV path before preparing an upload.
How should multiple correct answers be written in the CSV?
Use the worksheet to record the complete intended answer set for academic review, but do not invent an upload separator or option code. Confirm the notation shown by the current importer or an approved sample generated from it.
Can positive and negative marks use decimals?
Edugenie supports decimal positive and negative marks for supported question and section rules. Keep one consistent convention in the preparation sheet and verify sample scores after import.
What if the importer reports a row error?
Correct the source row instead of bypassing the warning. Record the row reference, error, change, reviewer, and final result so the same problem is not reintroduced in a later file.
Can the template prove that a question is original or unbiased?
No. The difficulty and review-note fields are governance prompts. They do not establish copyright ownership, psychometric quality, fairness, or legal compliance.