How to create and use your own test

Updated November 05, 2026 16:09

Article 4 of 5 in a series on creating your own tests.

This is the fourth article in a series of five, to help you create your own tests using the TestGorilla platform. The full series is available on the right. Account owners, admins, and recruiters on any plan can create and save their own tests. To add a custom test to an assessment and invite candidates to take it, you need a Plus plan.

Tip: When creating your own test, we recommend outlining it before putting it into the TestGorilla platform. This will help ensure that everything is organized and laid out exactly as you want.

Approx. reading time 7 minutes

See it in action

Click through this interactive demo to see the three steps, from a blank test to a published one. The rest of this article explains each step in detail.

Create a test

You build your test in three steps: Test details, Questions and Settings. The steps are shown at the top of the page, so you can move back and forth between them at any time.

	Go to Library and open the Skills tests tab.
	Click Create new.

Your work is saved as you go. The page header shows Draft saved while the test is a draft, so you can leave and come back later. Your draft is in the Library: open the Skills tests tab and choose My company in the Show tests from filter.

Not on a Plus plan? You can still build, save and publish your test. A banner in each step reminds you that using it in an assessment needs an upgrade, with an Upgrade button. Once you upgrade, the banner disappears and your test is ready to use.

Step 1: Test details

Fill in the basics of your test. Fields marked * are required.

	Test name* (up to 60 characters). This is how you and your coworkers find the test, and candidates see it before the test starts. Example: Accounting (Hiring Co.)
	Language*. The language your test is written in. Your test only shows up in assessments set to the same language. If your language isn't in the list, pick the language of the rest of your assessment.
	Test type. Choose one. You can't change the test type once the test is created, so choose carefully. Standard questions: multiple choice, true or false and short text questions. Coding: Programming languages: a coding task candidates solve in a programming language you allow. Under Programming languages, click Add* and select at least one language. Coding: SQL: a coding task candidates solve in SQL. SQL tests always run against an SQLite3 database.
	Test focus* (standard tests only). Choose up to two categories that describe what the test measures, such as Role-specific skills. Coding tests are always set to Programming skills.
	Instructions for candidates (optional). Candidates see this before the test starts. Use it to explain anything specific to your test, such as the materials they may need.
	Additional details (optional). For you and your team only, candidates don't see these: Difficulty level: Entry-level, Intermediate or Advanced. This test is relevant for: the roles the test suits, for example accountants or doctors. Test summary: a short description of what the test evaluates.

Click Continue to go to the next step.

Step 2: Questions

Your questions are split into two groups:

Practice questions: unscored questions candidates use to get familiar with the format before the test starts. They should look like your real questions without repeating any of them. You can add up to 4 practice questions (1 for coding tests). Practice questions are optional.
Test questions: the questions candidates are scored on.

Click Create new in either group to write a question. You can also add many questions at once with Upload questions (see below).

To find questions in a large test, use Search questions... and the Skill area and Type filters. Each question row lets you:

Edit question: reopen the question in the editor.
Archive question: take it out of the test without deleting it. Archived questions are listed under Archived questions, where you can restore them.
Remove question: delete it from the test.

Tip: Organize your test questions into skill areas: the key skills the role needs. We recommend 3 or 4 skill areas. Skill areas don't need the same number of questions. See Developing an effective screening test for how to define them.

Upload questions in bulk

	Click Upload questions.
	Click Download template.
	Fill in one question per row: its text, a skill area, a type (Multiple choice, Multiple response, True or false or Short text) and its answer options.
	Upload the file. If a row has a problem, the upload tells you which row to fix.

Uploaded questions can be edited or removed like any other question. Bulk upload isn't available for coding tests.

Writing a question

When you click Create new, the question editor opens on the right side of the page.

	Question: write your question, using the toolbar to format it. Include everything a candidate needs to answer it.
	Answer type: choose one. You can use a different type for each question. Multiple choice (Single select): candidates pick one answer. Select the correct answer, or turn on Distribute points across answers to give partial credit (give the best answer 5 points). Multiple choice (Multi select): candidates pick every answer that applies. Select all correct answers. True or false: select whether the statement is true or false. Short text: candidates type their answer, and it's checked against the correct answers you add. Answers aren't case-sensitive. Add every variation you accept.
	Skill area (test questions only): select a skill area, or type a name to create a new one.
	Answers: add between 2 and 10 answer options for multiple choice questions. Shuffle answers is on by default; turn it off if your options have a logical order.
	Click Create.

For help choosing and writing each type, see Choosing a question type.

Coding tests: candidates complete only one question in a coding test, even if you add several. The editor has its own steps for initial code, test cases and verification code. See Creating a custom coding test.

Final checks

Before you publish, check your test against this list:

Do your questions cover the skill areas appropriately and fully? Is every question in the right skill area?
Are the questions varied enough? Asking the same thing twice has very limited use.
Is every question and answer option clear? You don't want to confuse your candidates.
Is all the information relevant to the answer? Proofread and fact-check your questions.
Are pictures, audio and video clear and relevant? Are graphs and diagrams labeled correctly?
Did you check grammar and spelling in every question, in whatever language you wrote it?

Step 3: Settings and publishing

Settings save automatically as you change them.

	Questions: tick Show all questions to candidates, or set the Number of questions each candidate gets. If you show only some questions, we balance them across skill areas. If one skill area has fewer questions, we show more from the others. Writing more questions than you show lets each assessment use a different set, which makes your test harder to leak.
	Duration: set the Test duration in minutes. Allow at least 15 seconds per question. For guidance, see Choosing a length for your custom test.
	Order: with Shuffle questions for each assessment on, each assessment gets its own question order, and all candidates in that assessment see the same order. To show questions in a fixed order, turn shuffling off. A fixed order needs Show all questions to candidates.
	When you're ready, click Finalize. Your test is published, and you can add it to assessments.

Adding your test to an assessment

Create a new assessment or edit an existing one. Our Guide to creating an assessment walks you through it.

When you add tests, choose My company in the Show tests from filter to see your own tests. Add your test the same way you would a test from the TestGorilla library.

Note: Your test only appears when its language matches the language of the assessment. Adding a custom test to an assessment needs a Plus plan; on other plans, you'll be asked to upgrade.

Editing your test

Open your test from the Library (Skills tests tab, Show tests from: My company). What you can change depends on whether the test is published:

Drafts: change anything, then click Finalize to publish.
Published tests: you can fix wording, such as a typo in a question or an answer. Questions, answers and scoring are locked, so results stay comparable for candidates who already took the test. Your fixes save straight away, and the header shows Saved.

To make bigger changes to a published test, such as adding questions or changing answers, open the test's menu in the Library and choose Enable edits. This creates a new draft version of the test. Assessments that already use the test keep the version they have. Make your changes, then click Finalize to publish the new version.

Common questions

Can I create a custom test on any plan?
Yes. Everyone can create, save and publish their own tests. To add a custom test to an assessment and invite candidates to take it, you need a Plus plan, like other premium features.

Why can't I click Finalize?
Check that:

You've set the number of questions (or ticked Show all questions to candidates) and the test duration.
The duration allows at least 15 seconds per question.
For coding tests: every question's verification code has run without errors. Questions that still need it show Setup incomplete.

If everything is set and you still can't publish, contact our support team.

Do all skill areas need the same number of questions?
No. If you show only some of your questions, we balance them across skill areas and fill any gap with questions from the other areas.

Can I change the test type after I've started?
No. The test type is locked once the test is created. To use a different type, create a new test.

Do I have to add practice questions?
No, they're optional. They help candidates get used to the format, so we recommend adding at least one.

Next steps

This is the fourth article in a series of five, to help you create your own tests using the TestGorilla platform. The full series includes: