How to choose an exam timer for your school: ten questions to ask

An exam timer is simple until the day something goes wrong. These are the questions worth asking before your school picks one, whichever product you are looking at.

1. How many papers can it show at once?

What to look for. Venues often run two or three subjects in one hall. Check that each paper gets its own countdown and finish time on one screen.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer shows up to three papers side by side, each with its own countdown and finish time.

2. How does it handle extra time?

What to look for. Concession groups are where mistakes happen. Look for one that works out each group's finish time for you and shows the result, instead of leaving you the arithmetic.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer gives every concession group its own row and finish time at +10, +15 or +20 minutes per hour. See the extra time table.

3. What happens if the internet drops?

What to look for. A countdown that needs the network is a risk in a school hall. Ask whether a running paper carries on without it.

How Exam Timer answers. A paper that is already running keeps counting down, and a PC that has opened Exam Timer before can start it again with no connection.

4. What happens if the PC restarts or the browser closes?

What to look for. Accidents happen mid-paper. A good timer brings the times back without retyping them.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer keeps the venue's settings and today's papers, so a timer closed by accident reopens with its times intact.

5. Does it deal with the matric bathroom rule?

What to look for. If your school applies a bathroom rule, a timer that tracks it saves an argument at the door.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer's matric mode shows bathroom status: locked for the first hour and the last 30 minutes, available in between.

6. Can you add or remove time during a disruption?

What to look for. Fire drills and power cuts need a quick fix that moves every finish time at once.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer adds or removes five minutes with one click and every finish time moves with it.

7. Is there an alert you can hear and see?

What to look for. Look for a clear warning before time is up, on screen and by sound.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer plays a gentle chime at each change and shows a five-minute warning on screen.

8. What does it need installed?

What to look for. Installing software on a venue PC can mean asking for admin rights. A timer that runs in the browser avoids that.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer runs in Chrome, Edge and other modern browsers, with no installs and no admin rights.

9. Does it store learner data?

What to look for. A timer has no reason to hold learner names or numbers. Ask what it keeps.

How Exam Timer answers. Exam Timer only checks your school's subscription. Papers, times and settings stay on the PC that uses them.

10. What does it cost, and for how many PCs?

What to look for. Check whether the price covers every PC and every venue, and whether it is per school or per machine.

How Exam Timer answers. R150 per month per school, VAT included, on a 12-month subscription (R1,800 a year). It covers every PC and every exam venue at the school.

Related: the exam venue checklist, the extra time table and the full list of what Exam Timer does.