If you only need the upload steps, the page on turning a PDF into a lesson has them. What follows is narrower. A PDF is a container that can hold clean text, a photograph of a page, or something in between, and the quiz can only be as good as the words ClassSense can pull out of it.
Which kind of PDF is it?
| Kind | How to tell | What to expect |
|---|---|---|
| Exported from Word, Docs or Slides | You can click into it and select a single word | Best case. Text comes out cleanly |
| Scanned or photographed | Clicking selects the whole page as one block, or nothing | ClassSense tries text recognition, but errors creep in, especially on photocopies and small print |
| Worksheet or form | Lots of lines, blanks, boxes | The instructions and any printed text are read; the blanks carry nothing |
| A file that will not open normally | Asks for a password or refuses to copy | Do not try to get round it; use the original document |
The thirty-second test is to try selecting a sentence. If it works, carry on. If your only copy is a scan and you wrote the original, find the Word file. It is nearly always worth the search.
Layout problems that quietly damage questions
- Two-column pages. Text can be read straight across both columns, producing sentences that are half from one paragraph and half from another.
- Running headers and footers. "Unit 3 | Page 14" repeated on every page can end up in the middle of a paragraph. Harmless to most skills, but occasionally one lands in a question.
- Tables. Cells can flatten into a line of values with their column headings lost, which matters for any quiz about data.
- Equations and diagrams. If they are pictures they are gone, and a question that depends on them will not appear.
None of this means do not upload. It means skim the first skill pack with the PDF open beside it.
Which quiz do you want?
In-app practice. Every skill pack made from the PDF has roughly a dozen multiple choice questions, easy to hard, each with hints and feedback, and wrong options tied to a named misconception. Students answer in the app, mastery updates per skill, and you see who is stuck on the dashboard. It never closes: it is for ongoing practice rather than a sealed test.
A printable assessment. In the course, go to Create Content, choose Assessment, and pick a published skill pack. The Word file has points per question, a mix of multiple choice, short answer, true/false, fill-in-the-blank and matching, a scoring guide, a grading scale, and a teacher-only answer key at the end. By default it holds fifteen questions. It is written from the skill's topic and learning objective, not by re-reading your PDF, so it matches the skill but not necessarily your exact wording. Edit the document before you print.
Marking is still yours. Multiple choice in the app is graded automatically. Short answers on the printed assessment are not; the scoring guide helps you, and the grade goes into your own gradebook by hand.
Steps
- Check what kind of PDF you have using the selection test.
- Upload it under Materials. If it is long, split it into parts first.
- Read two or three skill packs, comparing the questions with the PDF.
- Publish what is right. For paper, build an Assessment from a published pack.
- Before students touch it, read the answer key line by line.
Where it does not fit
This is not a locked-down test engine. There is no timer, no question pool to randomise and no scheduling of assignments. Teachers who want a one-off, sealed, ten-minute quiz on a single reading are usually better served by the printable route. Teachers who want a student to meet the same skill five times over three weeks are better served by the in-app one. The page on formative assessment says more about which to pick.
Common questions
Can I get a quiz without the whole lesson being built?
The skill packs are always made first, because both kinds of quiz come from them. You can then ignore the lesson parts and use only the practice questions or the printed assessment.
How many questions will I get?
Each skill pack holds roughly a dozen multiple choice questions. A printed assessment defaults to fifteen questions across the types.
Does the assessment come with an answer key?
Yes, a teacher-only key is at the end of the Word file. Check it carefully, since generated keys can be wrong.
Does it grade short answers?
No. Multiple choice in the app is graded automatically. Short-answer questions on a printed assessment are yours to grade.