Online Exam Proctoring System

An end-to-end web platform for secure online examination management, question authoring, student profile administration, and interactive test attempts with automated MCQ grading.

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System Architecture

                               AUTH & RBAC
                                    │
           ┌────────────────────────┼────────────────────────┐
           ▼                        ▼                        ▼
        STUDENT                  FACULTY                   ADMIN
           │                        │                        │
  ┌────────┴────────┐      ┌────────┴────────┐      ┌────────┴────────┐
  ▼                 ▼      ▼                 ▼      ▼                 ▼
Catalog          Attempt  Exam             Student  Student         System
Exams           Interface Creator          Directory Management    Overview

Technology Stack

• Frontend: Next.js 14 (App Router), React 18, TypeScript, Tailwind CSS, Glassmorphic Design System, Lucide Icons, Next.js Edge Middleware.
• Backend: FastAPI, Python 3.10+, Pydantic v2, Async SQLAlchemy 2.0, PyJWT, Passlib (Bcrypt), Asyncpg.
• Database: PostgreSQL 16 (Relational models for Users, Student Profiles, Exams, Questions, Attempts, and Answers).
• Session / Cache: Redis 7 (JWT Refresh Token storage, session tracking, token rotation, and invalidation).

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Core Features Implemented

Phase 1: Authentication & Role-Based Access Control

• JWT Authentication: Short-lived JWT access tokens and Redis-backed refresh token rotation.
• Role-Based Authorization: Three distinct user roles (STUDENT, FACULTY, ADMIN).
• Route Protection: Edge middleware (middleware.ts) enforcing role-based page redirects.

Phase 2: Exam Management & Examination Workflow

• Faculty Exam Creation Wizard: 4-step wizard to configure exam title, duration, negative marking policy (NONE, PER_QUESTION), auto-submit on timer expiration, countdown display, assignment targets (ALL_STUDENTS, SELECTED_STUDENTS), and schedule availability windows.
• Question Authoring & Builder:
  • Multiple Choice Questions (MCQ): 2–6 choices with radio selector for correct answer, customizable points, negative marks, and explanations.
  • Short Answer Questions: Question text prompt, expected reference answer, and custom point allocation.
  • CSV / Excel Bulk Import: Drag-and-drop parser validating required fields before previewing and committing.
• Publishing Rules: Enforces mandatory checks (title, duration, at least one question with valid answer configuration) before publishing.
• Student Examination Test Interface:
  • Pre-exam rules & instructions page.
  • Interactive exam workspace with real-time countdown timer.
  • Sidebar Question Navigator displaying live statuses (Unanswered, Answered, Marked for Review, Current).
  • Answer auto-saving during option selection or navigation.
  • Submission confirmation modal showing summary breakdown.
• Automated Grading Engine: Instant auto-scoring for MCQ questions with negative marking support and Pending Review status for short answers.

Phase 2 Addition: Student Management System

• Student Management Directory (/faculty/students & /admin/students):
  • Accessible by both Faculty and Admin users.
  • Interactive student directory with real-time search (name, email, roll number, department) and department/status filters.
• Manual Student Creation: Form validating name, email, student ID / roll number, and student profile metadata (department, course, semester, section, phone, address).
• CSV / XLSX Bulk Student Import:
  • File parser validating required columns (name, email, student_id), email syntax, and semester ranges.
  • Row-by-row validation error preview showing line numbers without aborting valid imports.
• Account Management & Status Toggling: Activate or deactivate student accounts (Active / Inactive).
• Self-Registration Auto-Provisioning: Automatic linking of StudentProfile when a student self-registers via /register.

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Project Structure

online-exam-proctoring/
│
├── frontend/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── page.tsx
│   │   ├── (auth)/
│   │   │   ├── login/page.tsx
│   │   │   └── register/page.tsx
│   │   ├── student/
│   │   │   ├── dashboard/page.tsx
│   │   │   └── exams/ (catalog, instructions, exam interface, result summary)
│   │   ├── faculty/
│   │   │   ├── dashboard/page.tsx
│   │   │   ├── exams/ (catalog, create wizard, detail, edit, questions, import)
│   │   │   └── students/page.tsx
│   │   └── admin/
│   │       ├── dashboard/page.tsx
│   │       └── students/page.tsx
│   ├── features/
│   │   ├── auth/ (components, hooks, services, types)
│   │   ├── users/ (services, types)
│   │   ├── exams/ (components, hooks, services, types)
│   │   ├── questions/ (components, hooks, services, types)
│   │   ├── attempts/ (components, hooks, services, types)
│   │   └── students/ (components, hooks, services, types)
│   ├── components/
│   │   ├── ui/ (Button, Input, Card, Badge, Select)
│   │   ├── layout/ (DashboardLayout, Sidebar, Header)
│   │   └── shared/ (UserMenu, Loading, EmptyState)
│   ├── lib/ (api.ts fetch client)
│   └── middleware.ts
│
├── backend/
│   ├── app/
│   │   ├── features/
│   │   │   ├── auth/ (router.py, service.py, schemas.py, dependencies.py)
│   │   │   ├── users/ (router.py, service.py, schemas.py, models.py)
│   │   │   ├── exams/ (router.py, service.py, schemas.py, models.py)
│   │   │   ├── questions/ (router.py, service.py, schemas.py, models.py)
│   │   │   ├── attempts/ (router.py, service.py, schemas.py, models.py)
│   │   │   └── students/ (router.py, service.py, schemas.py, models.py)
│   │   ├── core/ (config, database, redis, security, logging)
│   │   └── main.py
│   ├── tests/ (test_auth.py, test_users.py, test_phase2_exams.py, test_students.py)
│   ├── requirements.txt
│   └── init_db_script.py
│
├── README.md
├── .gitignore
└── docker-compose.yml

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API Endpoints Summary

Method	Endpoint	Description	Roles
GET	/health	Server health check	Public
POST	/api/v1/auth/register	User registration	Public
POST	/api/v1/auth/login	Authenticate & issue tokens	Public
POST	/api/v1/auth/refresh	Refresh access token	Public
POST	/api/v1/auth/logout	Revoke session refresh token	Authenticated
GET	/api/v1/auth/me	Current authenticated user	Authenticated
GET	/api/v1/exams	List exams (filtered for Students / Faculty)	Authenticated
POST	/api/v1/exams	Create exam draft	Faculty, Admin
GET	/api/v1/exams/{id}	Get exam details	Authenticated
PUT	/api/v1/exams/{id}	Update exam configuration	Faculty, Admin
DELETE	/api/v1/exams/{id}	Delete exam paper	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/exams/{id}/publish	Publish exam	Faculty, Admin
GET	/api/v1/exams/{id}/questions	List exam questions	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/exams/{id}/questions	Add question (MCQ / Short Answer)	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/exams/{id}/questions/import/preview	Preview CSV/XLSX question import	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/exams/{id}/questions/import	Commit imported questions	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/exams/{id}/attempts	Start or resume exam attempt	Student
GET	/api/v1/attempts/{id}	Get attempt details	Student
POST	/api/v1/attempts/{id}/answers	Save question answer	Student
POST	/api/v1/attempts/{id}/submit	Finalize & score exam attempt	Student
GET	/api/v1/students	Search & filter student directory	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/students	Add student manually	Faculty, Admin
GET	/api/v1/students/{id}	Get student profile details	Faculty, Admin
PUT	/api/v1/students/{id}	Edit student profile	Faculty, Admin
PATCH	/api/v1/students/{id}/status	Activate or deactivate student account	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/students/import/preview	Preview CSV/XLSX student import	Faculty, Admin
POST	/api/v1/students/import	Commit imported student accounts	Faculty, Admin

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Running locally

1. Database & Cache Services

docker-compose up -d

2. Backend Server

cd backend
source .venv/bin/activate
python init_db_script.py
uvicorn app.main:app --reload --port 8000

3. Frontend Application

cd frontend
npm run dev

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Testing

Run the automated backend test suite using pytest:

cd backend
python or python3 -m venv env
source .venv/bin/activate
TESTING=1 pytest