Category vs. Custom Practice

Maggie Matwiej

Dec 26, 2023

618

Custom and Category Practice are the two question-taking experiences available to learners in the Practice section of a course. Category Practice allows learners to practice questions by category or subcategory, while Custom Practice allows learners to design their own practice session using specific parameters (number of questions, question difficulty, etc.). A course can offer both Custom and Category Practice, and learners can switch between the two modes as desired.

Custom and Category Practice use a shared question pool - a question already answered via Category Practice will not appear in the pool of available, unanswered questions while setting up a custom practice session. Likewise, a question answered during a custom practice session will only be available in Category Practice after being reset.

Both modes offer unique advantages to learners. The following table demonstrates what features are available in Custom and Category Practice:

Custom Practice	Custom Practice	Category Practice
Filter questions by category	✔	✔
Filter questions by subcategory	✔	✔
Attempt questions within different categories during the same practice session	✔
Control how many questions the learner attempts in one practice session	✔	✔
Show learners how much time they spend in a single practice session	✔	✔
Add a time limit to the practice session	✔
Show learners the difficulty level of each question	✔	✔
Control the difficulty level of the questions the learner attempts	✔
Reset and retake questions	✔	✔
ONLY attempt questions the learner previously answered incorrectly	✔
Randomize practice questions order	✔	✔
Use highlights, notes, bookmarks, Confidence Levels, a calculator, and other tools to answer questions	✔	✔
Skip questions		✔
Available on mobile devices and via native mobile apps	✔	✔
Compatible with Structured and Adaptive Study Plans	✔	✔

Note: The feature "Randomize Practice Questions Order" must be ON in order to enable randomization for both Custom and Category Practice. Learners cannot toggle randomization on/off within their courses. More information about the feature access can be found here.

Category Practice

Category Practice is the BenchPrep platform’s default question-taking experience. In this mode, learners attempt questions within one category (or subcategory) at a time. This is the main variable learners control–in Category Practice, learners cannot add a time limit to their practice session or control the difficulty level of the questions they attempt. Learners access Category Practice via the Practice section of their course(s). Category Practice is enabled by default and controllable at the tenant and course levels. Learn how to manage the Category Practice feature here.

Custom Practice Session Feature

Custom Practice is an alternative question-taking experience that allows learners to design practice sessions that cover exactly–and only–what they want to practice.

Using Custom Practice, a Learner Can Control:

How many questions they’ll attempt within one session
How much time they’ll have to answer these questions
Which question category or categories they’ll practice
How difficult the questions they attempt will be
Whether they attempt new questions or re-attempt questions they previously answered incorrectly

Learner Experience

Requirements/ Recommendations

How To Configure

Learners access Custom Practice via the Practice section of their course(s). You can enable Custom Practice alongside the default question-taking experience in the BenchPrep platform (called Category Practice), or enable Custom Practice instead of Category Practice.

When enabled, learners can create a customized set of practice questions to attempt in the Practice section with unique parameters.

In the Practice section, learners may choose between this and practicing by category.

If a set of practice questions is a Study Task in the course’s Structured Study Plan, learners will use Custom Practice to complete the question set.

The course must have at least one practice question. However, we recommend that your course has a wide pool of practice questions.

Custom Practice is especially useful for learners preparing for a high-stakes exam.

The ability to design personalized practice question sets allows learners to practice more precisely, improving their performance while also reducing the amount of time they need to spend studying.

This can contribute to higher test attendance, pass rates, and product satisfaction.

To enable Custom Practice, you need to turn it on at the tenant level, the Individual Course Level and Institution/Branch levels.

Console:

Console > Settings > Feature Access > Enable Custom Practice Session Feature > Toggle ON.

Course Level

BluePrint > Courses > Click the name of the course you wish to enable it for > Configuration > Enable Custom Practice Session Feature > Toggle ON.

Branch level:

Console > Click on the Branch Name > Settings > Feature Access > Enable Custom Practice Session Feature > Toggle ON.

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