What's the difference between a test and examination?

What is a test?

With a test you can test the knowledge level of the students. Mostly this is done with a series of questions. The questions can differ in form or format, but in the end you want your students to asnwer questions so you can grade them and see what result they get. 

A good teacher adjusts it's course material according the results of the tests he gives. So he can improve. The results can point the educator to part of his course material which aren't clear. Or where it's class needs some extra attention so it will pass the final exam.

What is an examination?

As with a test you test the knowledge of your students with an exam. The exam consists of a series of questions. They can both multiple choice or free text questions, or a different format. In the end you want to grade the answers and assign a score to every student.

The end result makes a student pass or fail this exam.  Read more about what an examination is.

So, what's the difference between a test and examination?

The big difference between a test and an exam is that an exam is more formal then a test. But, that said, the are used as synonyms troughout schools and courses. But, we think the serve a different purpose:

1. The test is a tool to meassure the knowledge level of your students and adjust the learning material accordingly. With the purpose to have your students learn. 

2. An exam or the examination is more formal and it tells you if a students passed or failed a class or course. In most cases you have to study again and re-take the exam. Or start the course or class all over again. 

How can our exam builder help?

With our exam builder you can both create tests and exams for educational purposes. To make the exam more formal you can use our online certification tool to assign certificates to everybody who passes. And, if you want a test which is a knowledge test you can use the exam builder. But, do you want to make a different kind of test to stimulate learning you can also create a gamified quiz with our online quiz creator. Read more about the types of exams and tests.

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Frequently asked questions

✔️ What is a test?
With a test you can test the knowledge level of the students.

✔️ What is an examination?
As with a test you test the knowledge of your students with an exam.

✔️ What's the difference between a test and examination?
The test is a tool to meassure the knowledge level of your students and adjust the learning material accordingly. An exam or the examination is more formal and it tells you if a students passed or failed a class or course.