Prexam

What it is

Prexam is an online practice-test platform, which its About page calls "a testing tool for students to check their preparedness". It is a product of Prime Softech Solutions Pvt. Ltd., based in Vasai, Thane, Maharashtra, and the same page says it has been helping students since 2011 on what it describes as a freemium model. It is a learner product built entirely around tests rather than lessons. Government job candidates can practice for bank clerical and PO exams, Staff Selection Commission (SSC) exams, railway recruitment, the IAS Prelims, CTET and the NDA/NA entrance exam, and the same site also covers CA Foundation, CSEET and CS Executive, CAT, JEE Main, NEET, MHT-CET, NATA, NISM certifications, current affairs, and school and commerce degree subjects. The home page lists it among winners of the Manthan Award South West India 2014.

How the tests work

The About page explains the method. Tests are generated by picking questions at random from the database for the subjects and chapters the student selects, so the same selection produces a different paper each time, and a different paper from the one another user gets. Tests are timed, and the student can choose the total marks for a test. Every test is followed by a solution that can be printed or saved, and all tests stay in the account for review. The home page lists the core features: timed tests on chapters of the student's choice, instant evaluation, analysis of the score, an error correction test to work on weak areas, a large question database with detailed explanations, and unlimited practice for unlimited time with the paid version of the app. If a student wants to know how an answer was derived, the FAQ says they can send the question's QUESCODE through the feedback form and the team will email the solution.

The question banks are sizeable for a site of this kind. The home page gives the SSC bank as "over 9000+ Questions with latest updates designed by subject experts", the IAS Prelims bank as over 13,000+ questions and the banking bank as over 5,000+, with 13000+ questions for the NDA/NA entrance exam.

Free trial and packages

Every exam starts with a free package. New users register for free, activate the account by email, and can choose up to two exams for a free trial. Most free test series give 3 chapter-wise tests for 10 days, with solutions, unlimited error correction tests and free analysis of the preparation level, and the home page sums it up as "3 Trial tests for FREE". The SSC, bank clerical, bank PO, railway and IAS Prelims free series all follow that pattern.

The paid packages come in fixed tiers with a stated number of tests, a validity period and a price in rupees. For the bank clerical and bank PO exams, the Grand Course gives 75 chapter-wise tests and 15 mock tests for 300 days at Rs.1470, or Rs.2200 with the Unlimited Practice Series, which adds unlimited practice with a facility to bookmark questions. The Crash Course gives 30 chapter-wise and 5 mock tests for 90 days at Rs.590 (Rs.900 with unlimited practice), the Essential Test Series 10 chapter-wise and 3 mock tests for 30 days at Rs.250, and the Mock Test Series 10 mocks for 30 days at Rs.300. Bank PO past papers from 2009 to 2014 are sold as interactive tests, 100 for 180 days at Rs.590 or 50 for 90 days at Rs.360.

For the IAS Prelims, the Grand Course has 50 chapter-wise and 10 mock tests for 365 days at Rs.3650, or Rs.4260 with unlimited practice. A Standard Course has 35 chapter-wise and 8 mock tests for 180 days at Rs.900 (Rs.1470 with unlimited practice), a Mock Test Series has 20 mocks for 365 days at Rs.1470, and past papers come in a Deluxe set of 100 for 180 days at Rs.900 and a Basic set of 50 for 90 days at Rs.590. The railway Grand Course mirrors the bank one, with 75 chapter-wise and 15 mock tests for 300 days at Rs.1470, and a Crash Course at Rs.590 for 90 days. NDA/NA packages run from an Essential Test Series of 20 chapter-wise and 3 mock tests for 45 days at Rs.250 to a Grand Course of 150 chapter-wise and 35 mock tests for 730 days at Rs.2550, and CTET has crash courses and essential test series for both papers. A Current Affairs 2015-18 Overview package for civil service, SSC, bank and railway candidates gives 20 tests for 90 days at Rs.250, and its description promises to keep updating the questions each month.

Apps, schools and institutes

Prexam has apps for iOS and Android, and the same login works on the web and in the apps. For teachers and institutes with many students, the About page offers bulk logins at a concessional rate, administrative logins so teachers can monitor each student's performance and see where they are weak, and an online test series in which an institute sets its own papers for students to sit online. It also invites marketing partners to join a franchise network. The site shows a weekly toppers list with each student's city, exam and score, for example a Bank Clerical Exam topper from Cuddalore at 88%.

Team and support

The About page names the management team: Payal Doshi, the managing director, a computer science graduate of USC with a specialization in artificial intelligence; Bharat Doshi, a director and practicing chartered accountant whose idea of a test generator drawing random questions from a database came from 30 years in education; and Rashmi Doshi, a director who brings content development experience from publishing books for students. Support runs by email and by phone, Monday to Friday from 9.30am to 5.30pm, and the FAQ says the team will walk a new user through registration over the phone. It recommends Chrome or Firefox for the tests.

Student comments on the home page are short. Abhinav Pandey of Gorakhpur calls the site "Quite useful to the exam prospects who cannot afford for special & costly coaching", and S Nandini Sekar of Mysore praises the "online infinite test series".

Who it suits

Prexam suits a candidate who already studies from books or coaching and wants a large supply of timed chapter-wise tests and mocks at low prices: a bank clerk or PO aspirant, a railway candidate, an IAS Prelims candidate, or an NDA/NA applicant. The random paper generator means a student can retest the same chapters without repeating the same paper, and the error correction tests push them back to their weak areas. Teachers and institutes get monitoring and bulk logins.

The caveats are about scope and age. Prexam teaches nothing beyond worked solutions, so it is a practice tool, not a course. Some packages carry old dates in their names, such as past papers from 2009 to 2014 and a 2015-18 current affairs set, so candidates should use the free trial to check that the questions match the current pattern of their exam before buying.