Step 1: Plan the blueprint
Before you open the builder, decide what the test is for: a topic check, a sectional or a full-length mock. Write down the number of questions, sections, duration, marking scheme and topic weights, copied from the exam's official notification. A blueprint keeps the test close to the real paper and makes later tests consistent. See how to structure a test series for a three-layer plan.
Step 2: Register and get approved
Institutes register on TestMint and are reviewed before they can publish tests. While approval is pending you can start building your question bank, so the wait is not wasted. Register your institute to begin.
Step 3: Build or import questions
Add questions one at a time with images and rich formatting, or import many at once from a CSV or Excel file, previewing and fixing errors before you confirm. Each question has a type and its own marks and negative marks:
| Type | Use it for |
|---|---|
| Single choice | Standard multiple-choice questions with one correct option |
| Multiple select | Questions where more than one option can be correct |
| True or false | Quick concept checks |
| Numerical | Questions answered with a number, with an optional tolerance for rounding |
Organise questions by exam, subject, chapter and topic so that you can assemble tests from them later. See how to build a question bank.
Step 4: Write explanations
An explanation is what a student learns from. Use the answer, method, trap and next-step template from how to write good MCQ explanations. You can control whether students see explanations after the test.
Step 5: Assemble the test and set the rules
- Sections with their own instructions, as in the real exam.
- Duration and total and passing marks.
- Negative marking, matched to the exam.
- Navigation and mark-for-review, on or off as the real exam does.
- Randomisation of questions and options, if you want it.
- Attempt limits and when results and explanations become visible.
- Leaderboard, if you want students to see rankings.
Step 6: Choose the test type
A practice test can be started any time. A scheduled test must be started within a window you set. A live test starts at the same moment for every student; live tests depend on your subscription plan, so check the pricing page. For when to use each, see live tests and scheduled tests.
Step 7: Preview, publish and price
Preview the test as a student sees it, and take it yourself once. Then publish it free or paid. Free tests cost nothing to publish. For paid tests, read how institutes should price mock tests and how selling works. A free first test lets students judge quality before they pay.
Step 8: Learn from the results
After students attempt the test, look at attempts, average scores and the questions most students missed. Use them to fix flawed questions and to plan teaching: see how teachers can use test analytics.
A quality checklist before you publish
- The pattern matches the official notification.
- A second teacher has solved a sample and checked the key.
- Every question has an explanation.
- Instructions are clear and the duration fits the question count.
- Time-sensitive facts are checked and dated.
Students find published tests through the mock test directory and the marketplace.