Step 1
Define what one no-repeat round means
A round might be one lesson, one week of presentations, or one complete pass through the current attendance list. Write that boundary down before picking. Without it, resetting after a convenient name or carrying removals into an unrelated activity can make participation less predictable rather than more equitable.
Decide whether a student who passes remains eligible later in the same round. A consistent policy is easier to explain than a decision made while the selected student is waiting.
Step 2
Separate the master roster from today's attendance
Keep the complete class roster as the reusable source, then enter today's absences in the session field. The picker excludes exact labels using case-insensitive matching while leaving the saved master list unchanged. Check spelling because the tool does not infer that Liz and Elizabeth are the same person.
Use stable identifiers for duplicate names. If two rows share the exact same label, they begin as separate chances; after that label is selected in removal mode, case-equivalent duplicates may all become ineligible for the rest of the round. Distinguishing them avoids that collision.
Check before continuing
- Count the master roster.
- Mark current absences.
- Resolve identical labels.
- Confirm at least one eligible student remains.
Step 3
Use removal as a visible state, not a hidden memory trick
Enable remove-after-selection before the first pick. Each accepted result then joins the current round's excluded set, while the saved roster remains intact. The visible eligible count should fall by one identifiable row at a time.
If removal is disabled, every pick starts from the same attendance-filtered pool and repeats are possible. That can suit frequent formative questions, but it is not a no-repeat round even if the last few results happened to be different.
Step 4
Decide how late arrivals and roster corrections enter the round
A late arrival can join the remaining pool immediately or wait for the next round. Either rule can work; announce it before adding the row. When correcting a misspelling, preserve the student's selection status instead of accidentally creating a fresh eligible identity.
If an absence was entered by mistake, remove it from the absence field and check whether that student had already been picked. Do not restart the entire round unless the same restart rule would apply regardless of who was selected.
Step 5
Pair random calling with an accessible participation plan
Random calling can widen participation, but surprise can also create barriers. Give thinking time before revealing a name, let students consult notes, and establish a non-punitive pass or partner-response option. The picker chooses from eligible labels; it cannot know an individualized learning or safeguarding need.
Announce the result in text and speech rather than relying on color or animation. A student who cannot respond in the planned format can still be counted as selected while using the agreed alternative.
Step 6
End the round deliberately
When no eligible rows remain, close the round and explain whether the next activity starts a new one. Review the source roster, absences, and visible results for obvious omissions. A surprising order is not itself evidence of bias; an inaccurate roster is a concrete problem that should be corrected.
The browser record is useful for continuity but is not an official attendance record. Store required educational records in the approved school system, not in a randomizer's local history.
Use the right surface
Tools mentioned in this guide
Common questions
Questions about no-repeat student selection
Can a student repeat within a no-repeat round?
Not when remove-after-selection is enabled and the same stable label is used. A reset, renamed duplicate, or disabled removal starts different eligibility behavior.
Is the absence list saved?
The reusable main list may be stored locally, while the absence field is session state. Recheck attendance each time rather than assuming yesterday's exclusions still apply.
What happens if every student is absent or already selected?
There is no eligible result. End or reset the round only after confirming the roster and the rule you announced.
Can I exclude a student temporarily without deleting the roster row?
Yes. Use the absence or session exclusion field so the master roster remains available for a later round.
Does no-repeat guarantee equal speaking time?
No. It controls how often a row is selected, not response length, question difficulty, accommodations, or opportunities created outside the picker.