You’ll find our calculators on many state, national, and international assessments. You can practice with free calculators configured to match what students will see on test day at any time in our Test Mode app (which is available on Chromebooks, Android devices, iOS devices) or on our Testing page.
If you’re curious about how to use testing calculators on in-class assessments, learn more about your options based on the devices available in your classroom:
Test Mode on School-Managed Devices
School and district-level testing options tend to offer benefits like offline practice and the ability to lock student devices into a specific calculator, but they often require setup from administrators.
Chromebooks
Desmos currently offers a Desmos Test Mode app that allows for offline practice and testing using the built-in Kiosk Mode feature, which is available through the Google Education bundle for schools that use 1:1 Chromebook setups. This app does not work on Chrome browsers or non-Chromebook devices.
Google is in the process of deprecating all Chrome apps, but they have assured us that our current app will continue to work on school-managed devices through the 2025-2026 school year. While we’re working toward a longer-term solution with Google, a school's or district's Google Administrator can still add or re-enable the app on Chromebooks across all school-managed devices. If you run into any issues with the app this year, please don’t hesitate to reach out at assessments@desmos.com.
First-Time Setup for Google Administrators
Follow these steps to add the default Test Mode app to all school-managed devices:
- Sign into your Google Admin console and navigate to the Kiosks tab.
- Hover over the plus icon and choose Add Chrome app or extension by ID.
- Enter the app ID ppkkplnhefiifjmgokbhhjebbddhiipf.
- Click Save to add the app to Kiosks.
If you’d prefer to use a unique app ID for your school so that students only have access to a specific calculator, please reach out to us at assessments@desmos.com and we’ll get back to you.
Re-enabling Apps in Kiosk Mode
In the summer of 2025, Google rolled out Chrome OS v138. Part of the v138 update disabled all Chrome apps by default, but Google Admins can re-enable the app for the 2025-2026 school year by following these steps:
- Sign into your Google Admin console and find the Chrome Apps allowed for kiosk mode setting.
- Set Configuration to Keep using Chrome apps in kiosk sessions for a limited time.
For increased stability, Google recommends opting for Long-term Support (LTS) on Chrome OS rather than automatic updates.
Third-Party Secure Browsers & MDMs
Many secure browsers and mobile device managers (MDMs) allow testing proctors to include URLs in their secure testing environments. You can find the links to our testing calculators on our Testing page.
If you have any questions about setting up our calculators in your selected browser or MDM, reach out to us at assessments@desmos.com with the name of the product you’re using, and we’ll do our best to help.
Test Mode on Student Devices
If school-managed device options aren’t available in your classroom, you can also have students use the free Desmos Test Mode apps on their iPhones, iPads, and Android devices for testing or practice.
These apps rely on the security features of the devices themselves. However, you can double-check that your students are working in Test Mode by confirming that the banner at the top of the screen matches the correct color: green for Graphing, purple for Scientific, and blue for Four-Function. A badge will also appear next to the Desmos logo.
iPhone and iPad Test Mode App
Our iPad and iPhone Desmos Test Mode app allows for offline practice. If you use the app in Test Mode, it will turn on Apple’s self-lock feature to prevent students from leaving the app while the calculator is in use.
To use the Apple Test Mode app on an assessment, have your students complete the following steps:
- Open the app and get started with one of the default calculators. Or, select Choose Assessment and then find your calculator.
- Select Start Test.
- Select Yes on the Confirm Apple Self-Lock pop-up.
- Select I’m Done to complete the test. Doing so will show a pop-up that includes how long the student was continuously in the app, as well as the start time.
- Select I’m Done again to confirm you’d like to end the test. Otherwise, select Continue Session to resume.
If you need help exiting the app after it’s been locked, learn how to restart the device from Apple Support, or contact us at support@desmos.com.
Android Test Mode App
Our Android Test Mode app allows for offline practice. If you use the app in Test Mode, it will rely on Android’s pinning feature.
To use the Android Test Mode app on an assessment, have your students complete the following steps:
- Open your device settings.
- Disable WiFi on your device.
- Turn on Airplane Mode.
- Open the Test Mode app and get started with one of the default calculators. Or, select Choose Assessment and then find your calculator.
- Select Start Test.
- The app will automatically pin itself, and you’ll see directions for how to unpin it. Read more about pinning apps on Android Help.
- Select I’m Done to end the test. Doing so will show a pop-up that includes how long the student was continuously in the app, as well as the start time.
- Select I’m Done to confirm. Otherwise, select Continue Session to resume.
- Unpin the app.
Other Devices
If you use another device or platform or have any questions about the options we’ve listed, send us a note at assessments@desmos.com so we can learn more about your situation and see if we can help.