Comparison

NCTest vs Desmos Test Mode

Price, ratings, monetisation and update history for both apps, side by side — with what reviewers say about each.

Head to head
About

NCTest

This application allows for the administration of online assessments for students in North Carolina, covering grades K-12. It is designed to facilitate educational testing and evaluation processes for the state.

Highlights
  • Online assessment administration
  • Supports K-12 grades
  • State-specific testing
  • Educational evaluation tool
Features
Read full description

Application for administering online assessments for the State of North Carolina, grades K-12.

About

Desmos Test Mode

This app provides restricted versions of graphing and scientific calculators designed to meet exam requirements. It allows users to practice for specific state or national assessments by selecting the appropriate test mode. Full, unrestricted calculator features are available in separate applications.

Highlights
  • Exam-compliant calculator modes
  • Graphing capabilities
  • Scientific calculator functions
  • Data tables and statistics
  • Interactive sliders
  • Points of interest on graphs
Read full description

** These are restricted versions of the Desmos Calculators that comply with exam requirements. To prepare for specific state or national assessments, select the corresponding test from the menu in the app. Find out whether Desmos is used for your test at www.desmos.com/testing. If you’d like to use full, unrestricted versions of the calculators, download the Scientific or Graphing Calculator apps or visit www.desmos.com. ** At Desmos, we imagine a world of universal math literacy where math is accessible and enjoyable for all students. To that end, we’ve built simple yet powerful calculators. They’re intuitive, beautiful, and completely free. - - - Graphing Calculator Features: Graphing: Plot polar, Cartesian, and parametric graphs. There’s no limit to how many expressions you can graph at one time—and you don’t even need to enter expressions in y= form! Sliders: Adjust values interactively to build intuition, or animate any parameter to visualize its effect on the graph. Tables: Input and plot data, or create an input-output table for any function. Statistics: Use regressions to find the lines (or other curves!) that best fit your data. Zooming: Scale the axes independently or at the same time with the pinch of two fingers, or edit the window size manually to get the perfect view of your graph. Points of Interest: Touch a curve to show its maximum and minimum values, intercepts, and points of intersection with other curves. Tap any of these points of interest to see their coordinates. Hold and drag along a curve to see the coordinates change under your finger as you trace. - - - Scientific Calculator Features: Variables: Assign values to variables that you can use in other expressions. Since all of your work is held in the expressions list, you can compute a value once and use it in many places simultaneously. Take advantage of the “ans” key, which always stores the value of the previous expression. Arithmetic: Beyond the four basic operations, the scientific calculator also supports exponentiation, radicals, absolute value, logarithms, rounding, and percentages. Trigonometry: Evaluate the fundamental trigonometric functions and their inverses using either radians or degrees for angle measure. Statistics: Compute the mean and standard deviation (sample or population) of a list of data. Combinatorics: Count combinations and permutations and calculate factorials. - - - Four-Function Calculator Features: Simple and Beautiful: Just the basics done right. Add, subtract, multiply, divide, and take square roots. Multiple Expressions: Unlike many four-function calculators, all of your previous work remains visible on the screen. The special “ans” key always holds the value of the previous computation (and updates automatically!), so you never have to remember or copy a result.

Screenshots

Desmos Test Mode4 screens

Verdict

The call

The clearest difference is rating: NCTest at 3.7 against Desmos Test Mode's 1.6. Desmos Test Mode's advantage is ratings volume (369 vs 3) and review sentiment (17% vs 0%). On price, update cadence, ads and in-app purchases there is nothing between them.

Scored on Price · Rating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings · Update frequency · Ads · In-app purchases · Monetization · Best chart rank · Devices · Requires iOS

CostPrice · In-app purchases · Ads · Monetization

Both are free to download. Neither carries in-app purchases, so what you see is what you pay.

ReceptionRating · Positive reviews · Number of ratings

NCTest holds the better App Store score, 3.7 against 1.6. That said, the two scores are not equally well evidenced: Desmos Test Mode has 369 ratings behind it against 3, so its average is the more settled of the two. Written reviews complicate that: 0% of NCTest's written reviews are positive against 17% of Desmos Test Mode's, so the app with the better star average is not the one people write more warmly about.

UpkeepUpdate frequency

NCTest ships an update every 2 months, Desmos Test Mode every 4 months. The most recent releases landed on October 7, 2026 and October 14, 2026 respectively.

Scorecard3 real differences · 7 level
NCTest versus Desmos Test Mode: the parameters behind the verdict, then further details
ParameterNCTestDesmos Test Mode
PriceFreeFree
Rating3.7 (3 ratings) — better1.6 (369 ratings)
Positive reviews0.0% of reviews16.5% of reviews — better
Number of ratings3369 — better
Update frequencyEvery 2 months — betterEvery 4 months
AdsNoNo
In-app purchasesNoNo
MonetizationFreeFree
DevicesiPadiPhone, iPad — better
Requires iOS15.0 — better16.0
Further details — not scored
Size0 MB6 MB
Age rating4+4+
DeveloperNorth Carolina State University - CUACSDesmos

Customer experience

NCTest

All ratings3 ratings
Positive66.7%
Neutral0.0%
Negative33.3%
Written reviews1 reviews
Positive0.0%
Neutral0.0%
Negative100.0%

Desmos Test Mode

All ratings369 ratings
Positive14.4%
Neutral2.4%
Negative83.2%
Written reviews139 reviews
Positive16.5%
Neutral5.0%
Negative78.4%

Bugs and requests

NCTest

Not enough reviews yet to summarise bugs or requests.

Desmos Test Mode

Reported bugs

3 issues
  • App crashes and freezes during use
  • Unexpected phone behavior and lockouts
  • Compatibility issues across different devices and OS versions

Requested features

3 requests
  • Add customization options for the calculator interface
  • Improve compatibility with older devices
  • Provide more flexible calculator modes during tests

In-app purchases

None

NCTest

No in-app purchases

None

Desmos Test Mode

No in-app purchases

Questions

Is NCTest free?
NCTest is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Is Desmos Test Mode free?
Desmos Test Mode is free to download, with no in-app purchases.
Which has better reviews, NCTest or Desmos Test Mode?
NCTest is rated higher. NCTest averages 3.7 out of 5 from 3 ratings, while Desmos Test Mode averages 1.6 from 369 ratings.
Do NCTest or Desmos Test Mode have ads?
Neither NCTest nor Desmos Test Mode shows ads.
Which is updated more often, NCTest or Desmos Test Mode?
NCTest ships an update every 2 months, and Desmos Test Mode every 4 months. Most recently, NCTest was updated on October 7, 2026 and Desmos Test Mode on October 14, 2026.

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