Multiple Versions of a Test With Answer Keys, Forms A to D

Two students sitting side by side with the same test will, sooner or later, glance at each other's bubbles. The usual fix is a second form of the test, and the usual cost is a second key and a note about who got which.

The answer sheet generator does that bookkeeping. Below is what the Shuffled versions setting does, what it deliberately leaves alone, and how the forms spread across a class.

What shuffling does, and what it leaves alone

Shuffling moves the correct answer. On version A the answer to question 1 might be C; on version B it sits on another letter, and the B key records where.

The questions themselves stay put. Question 12 is question 12 on every form, which keeps the test readable when you go over it with the class and keeps the item numbers in your gradebook meaning the same thing.

Each shift follows a fixed pattern rather than a random one. The same key with the same settings always produces the same forms, so a reprint next week matches the copies you handed out today.

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How do you make multiple versions of a test with answer keys?

Paste the key for your original test, then set Shuffled versions to the number of forms you want. The generator builds the rest.

1. Set the question count and the options per row in the free answer sheet generator.
2. Paste the correct answers into the Answer key box. This is version A.
3. Open Grading & scanning and set Shuffled versions. The choices are one form, or 2, 3 or 4 forms, each with its own key.
4. Page through the preview. Each form is its own sheet with a Test Version strip, and each has its own key page.
5. Download. Print the answer key on its own if you grade with an overlay, one per version.

The whole thing previews free, so you can see all four forms and all four keys before deciding whether to buy. Only the download of the extra forms is a Classroom feature.

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Where the version letter appears

Every sheet prints a Test Version strip: the words "Test Version B", say, beside a row of lettered bubbles with the B bubble filled. A student can see which form they have, and so can you when the stack comes back.

Each form's key page is titled with its version letter, so the B key is never mistaken for the A key. In a class pack, the teacher's roster page at the end lists every student, their ID and their form.

When the stack comes back, sort it by the version strip first and grade each pile against its own key. With an overlay that is one key per form; with a camera app it is one key entered per form.

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How do the forms spread across a class?

In a class pack, the Forms setting decides who gets which version, and the pack prints the sheets in roster order so the pattern happens by itself. There are three settings.

Forms setting	Who gets which form	Neighbours share a pattern	On a reprint
One form	Everyone gets A	Yes	Same sheet
Alternate A / B down the seating order	A, B, A, B in roster order	No, if you hand out in order	Same form for the same student
Shuffle forms across the class	Forms mixed through the roster	Possible	Same form for the same student

Reprints are deterministic. An absentee who needs a sheet next week gets the same form they would have had on the day, because assignment is worked out from the roster rather than reshuffled. There is more on how packs work in class pack answer sheets with names already printed.

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What is free, and where Classroom starts

One form with its key is free at any count up to 50 questions, with one small credit line in the footer. Forms B, C and D are part of Classroom, $19 for the school year, and are also in the $2.99 day pass if you only need them once.

The preview holds nothing back. You can set four forms, page through every sheet and every key, and only at the download does the unlock bar name shuffled versions as the feature that made the sheet a Classroom download.

Multiple forms are one piece of a fair testing setup rather than the whole of it. Edutopia's teacher-written articles on assessment are a good place for the rest.

If you need the question paper too, the quiz maker prints a multiple-choice quiz with its own key, and the matching worksheet maker makes a vocabulary check with a shuffled answer column. Neither reorders options to match a bubble sheet form, so that arranging stays yours to do.

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Frequently Asked Questions

How do I make multiple versions of a test with answer keys?

Paste your key into the answer sheet generator, then set Shuffled versions to 2, 3 or 4 forms. Each form prints with its version letter on the sheet and its own answer key page. Version A is your original.

Does shuffling change the order of the questions?

No. Question 1 stays question 1 on every form. What changes is which bubble is correct: on forms B, C and D the correct answers sit on different letters, and the key for that form shows the new positions.

How do students know which version they have?

Each sheet prints a Test Version strip with the letter written out and the matching bubble filled. In a class pack the teacher's roster page at the end also lists every student and the form they were given.

Are shuffled versions free?

One form with its key is free at any question count up to 50. The extra forms B, C and D are part of Classroom, $19 a year, and are also included in the $2.99 day pass.