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Run CBT offline with the desktop app

Updated 4 October 2026

The Schola Desktop app lets you run a CBT exam without internet in the exam hall. You download the exam onto one Windows computer, students join it from their own phones or laptops over the school Wi‑Fi, and you upload the results once you're back online.

Only admins can set this up. The internet is needed for just two moments: downloading the exam beforehand, and uploading the results afterwards.

What you need

  • A Windows computer to act as the exam server. It stays on and running for the whole exam.
  • A Wi‑Fi network that the computer and the students' devices are all connected to. It does not need internet access. A router with no internet is fine.
  • A published exam on the platform. Set it up first (see Set up and deliver CBT exams): questions, classes, schedule and settings, then Publish exam.

One-time setup

  1. On the platform, go to CBT in the sidebar and click Download offline desktop (top right, admins only).
  2. Install and open Schola Desktop.
  3. Sign in with your school admin email and password. This step needs internet.
  4. Click Sync at the top. This pulls your school's student list so the app can recognise student IDs. Sync again whenever you add new students.

Before exam day: download the exam

  1. In the desktop app, open Exams and switch to the Online tab. It lists your published exams.
  2. Click Download next to the exam. If you change the exam on the platform later, click Re-download.
  3. The exam now appears under the Downloaded tab, and works with no internet.

Exams that have already closed are hidden. Click Show ended to see them.

On exam day: let students in

  1. Connect the computer to the exam Wi‑Fi and open Schola Desktop. The exam server starts automatically. There is no start button.
  2. Look at the bar at the top that says Students join at. It shows an address like http://192.168.1.20:4000. Students type this into their browser, or scan the QR code. Use the copy button to share the address.
  3. Each student opens the address, types their student ID, and picks their exam from the list.
  4. Open the exam in the Downloaded tab to watch the Attempts list live. It shows who is writing, who has submitted and their score.

The exam only opens inside its Opens at / Closes at window. Outside it, students see "This exam is not open right now."

If a student's phone can't open the address

  • Make sure the phone is on the same Wi‑Fi as the computer. Some routers have "client isolation" or "AP isolation" turned on, which blocks this. Turn it off.
  • On the desktop app, click Devices can't connect? Allow through firewall (it appears at the right of the address bar) and accept the Windows prompt.
  • If that still fails, click QR to see a command you can run in an Administrator PowerShell.
  • If the bar says No network, connect the computer to the exam Wi‑Fi first.

If a student sees "Nothing to write right now"

  • The student ID may not be in the app's list. Sync (needs internet) to refresh the list, then have them try again.
  • The student's class may not be assigned to that exam, or the exam may be outside its time window.
  • You may have unticked the student under Roster on the exam page.

While students write

  • Answers save to the computer automatically every 10 seconds. If a student's browser refreshes or the Wi‑Fi blips, they sign in again with their ID and continue where they stopped.
  • The timer counts down on the server, and the exam submits itself when time is up.
  • Leaving the exam tab or window gives the student a warning, and the app counts it.
  • Void next to an attempt lets that student sit the exam again. You can't void an attempt once it has been uploaded.
  • Roster on the exam page lets you untick students to keep them out of this copy, for example when only a few students are sitting a resit. Click Save roster. This does not change who is assigned on the platform.

Keep the computer plugged in, awake and in the app until everyone has submitted. Students can only reach the exam while the app is running.

After the exam: upload results

Once you have internet again:

  1. Open the exam in the Downloaded tab and click Upload submissions. The desktop Overview page also shows an Upload now button when submitted attempts are waiting.
  2. When all submissions show as uploaded, click Finalize & purge. This uploads anything left, then deletes the questions and answer key from the computer and closes the exam.
  3. Any student still writing when you finalize is marked absent, so wait until everyone has submitted.

If a submission is rejected, Finalize holds and shows the reason against that student. Fix the problem on the platform, then upload again.

Use Discard download if you downloaded the wrong exam. It deletes the questions and answer key from the computer without uploading.

Then mark and push scores

Uploaded attempts show up under CBT → Monitor on the platform, just like online attempts. Mark any theory questions there, then use Push to results to send scores to the score sheet (see Set up and deliver CBT exams).

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Run CBT offline with the desktop app — Schola Help