How to Build a Schoology Question Bank: From Scattered Docs to a Reusable Collection
You have questions in a dozen places — old PDFs, a Word syllabus, an Excel you typed last semester. You want them in one place in Schoology that you can reuse across courses. The good news: a Schoology question bank is a Collection inside Resources, and you don't build it by typing items one by one. You import a Blackboard (ZIP) — that's what Schoology literally calls the format on its import screen — and the items land as a reusable bank.
Why a Collection beats inline quizzes
- Reusable across courses — draw the same questions into multiple assessments without re-typing.
- One source of truth — fix a typo once in your master document, re-export, re-import.
- Version-friendly — keep the editable source (an
.xlsxor the original doc) outside Schoology; the Collection is just the compiled result.
Step-by-step: docs → a Schoology Collection
Gather your sources
Collect the PDFs, Word files, and spreadsheets that already hold your questions. No need to normalize them by hand yet.
Convert to a Blackboard (ZIP) via ExamParser
ExamParser reads each source, extracts the question, options, and answer, and exports the Blackboard (ZIP) Schoology expects. It accepts an .xlsx source with fixed column fields and handles PDF/Word too.
Open Resources and start the import
In Schoology go to Resources › Import. The import dialog is where the format is named.
Select Blackboard (ZIP)
Choose Select Blackboard (ZIP) as the import type — this is Schoology's label for the QTI import path.
Pick or create the Collection
Point the import at an existing Collection (your question bank) or create a new one. The items become a reusable bank.
The fixed-column and one-URL rules, applied to a bank
Even though Schoology imports a ZIP, the underlying questions must respect two rules that break imports when ignored:
- Column fields must be fixed — when your source is a spreadsheet, the question, each option, the correct answer, and the optional single image URL each sit in their own column, so the converter maps every row cleanly.
- Image = one URL — Schoology (via QTI) allows only one image per question, and it must be a URL. A diagram from a PDF is hosted and referenced by link; embedded or extra images are dropped.
Meet the tool built for this
ExamParser converts exam content from Excel, Word, and PDF into the Blackboard (ZIP) that Schoology imports — no manual QTI editing. Its .xlsx source uses fixed column fields, keeps each question to one image URL, and the same source can also feed Canvas, Moodle, and other platforms. Build the bank once, reuse it everywhere.
Browse more import guides at examparser.com/blog/en.
Frequently asked questions
Where do question banks live in Schoology?
In Schoology a question bank is a Collection inside Resources. You don't build it by typing items one by one in a quiz editor; you import a Blackboard (ZIP) into Resources > Import > Select Blackboard (ZIP) > Collection, and Schoology registers the items as a reusable bank.
Can I start a Schoology question bank from an Excel file?
Yes. ExamParser accepts an .xlsx source with fixed column fields and converts it into the Blackboard (ZIP) that Schoology imports. Your spreadsheet stays the editable master, and Schoology keeps the reusable Collection.
Why use a Collection instead of building quizzes inline?
A Collection is reusable across courses and assessments. Build it once from your existing documents, then draw questions into any quiz. It saves re-typing and keeps a single source of truth.
Does Schoology accept PDF or Word files directly for a question bank?
No. Schoology only imports QTI / Blackboard (ZIP), not PDF or Word. Convert the source document to the Blackboard (ZIP) format first; ExamParser handles the PDF-to-QTI / doc-to-QTI bridge so only the ZIP reaches Schoology.
Ready to build your bank?
Gather your PDFs, Word files, and spreadsheets, and download a Schoology-ready Blackboard (ZIP) — fixed columns, one image URL per question.
Try ExamParser →