Canvas Quizzes

Canvas Quizzes

This guide will walk you through the various facets of Canvas Quizzes including creating a Canvas quiz; adding questions to quizzes and groups; creating quiz banks; and moderating quizzes for AEC (Accessible Education Center) accommodations. It will also cover grading quizzes using SpeedGrader and regrading quiz questions.

Jump To:

 

Related Topics: Canvas Quizzes

Creating a Canvas Quiz

In Canvas select the Quizzes link [1] in the left-hand navigation menu and then select the +Quiz button [2] to create a quiz.

canvas create a new quiz

Add a descriptive quiz title [3] to make it clear to your students what the quiz is for and then add instructions for the quiz in the main text box [4]. Your instructions might include information about:

  • How the exam is organized
  • How long the exam will take
  • What materials students can or cannot use

You could also consider including a short video using Panopto if you'd like to include more in-depth instructions or guidance for the quiz.

 

assign quiz name and add instructions

Continue setting-up the quiz by selecting the Quiz Type and Assignment Group [1] (if using).

Next, complete the following Options:

Shuffle Answers [2]. Check the Shuffle Answers box to ensure that no two students see the exact same answer choices for multiple choice and multiple answer question types.

  • Note: you will need to adjust wording for “all of the above” answers when using this setting since it will not always be the last choice. Consider using large question banks and randomizing the question delivery using question groups. See the "Adding Questions to Quizzes and Groups" section below.

Check the Time Limit [3] box to limit the total amount of time (in minutes) a student has to complete a quiz between the Available From and Until dates. 

  • Canvas will auto-submit the quiz once the time limit is up or the Until date passes (whichever is sooner). Students will receive a 5-minute warning before the quiz auto-submits.
    • The time limit begins once students start the quiz and the timer does not stop if students navigate away from the Canvas screen for any reason.
      • When opting for a time limit, consider students who may have AEC accommodations for additional quiz time. The section below "Moderating Quizzes for AEC Accommodation" gives more detail on how to moderate or adjust quiz time limits.

Allow Multiple Attempts [4]. There may be times when you'd like students to have more than 1 attempt at the quiz. When you select this option, you will have 2 other options to select:

  • Quiz Score to Keep. You can keep the highest score, the lowest score, or the average of all attempts.
  • Indicate how many allowed attempts you'd like students to have.

Let Students See Their Quiz Responses [5]. Selecting this option will open 2 additional options:​​​​​​

  • Only once after each attempt
  • Let students see the correct answers. Selecting this option allows you to indicate when students should be shown the correct answers.
canvas quiz settings annotated

Show one question at a time [6]Selecting this option allows students time to focus on each question before moving to the next one.​​​​​​ This can be helpful for lengthy quizzes. Once checked, you can also lock questions after answering to prevent students going back to alter previous answers.

Quiz Restrictions [7]. Do not Require an access code (this is used for proctored exams) and do not Filter IP Addresses.

Assign to [8]. Here is where you'll assign the quiz to the entire class, to specific sections, or to individual students. To assign to specific groups, or students, begin typing the group or student name in the Assign to box.

Due [9]. The due date and time is when the quiz must be submitted to count as an on-time submission. A "Due Date" is NOT the same as the "Until" setting.

  • Due Dates allow for late submissions. Due Dates do not trigger automatic quiz submissions at the due day and time.
  • Until is a hard stop and prevents students from accessing or continuing a quiz after the Until Date. Quizzes with an Until Date set will automatically submit a student's quiz responses at that day and time.

Available From / Until [10]. If you'd like to set a specific date and time period for all students to take a quiz, the best way is to use the Available From and Until fields.

  • Available From is the date and time a published quiz becomes available and students can access and begin the quiz.
  • Until date is an optional grace period that allows students to submit after the Due date. Submissions made after the Due date but before the Until date are marked as late. If used, this date is a hard stop. Students can no longer start or continue the quiz after this date and time.
    • Like the time limit option, setting the Available From and Until fields sets the quiz to auto-submit with a 10-second warning to the student.
    • If you want to mark quizzes as late, you must also set the Due date.

 

Important Quiz Considerations

If you are going to set a time limit, be careful about how you set-up your Available From and Until dates as this can cause issues for students.

For example, if you want students to have 120 minutes to complete a quiz, do not set the Available From and Until dates to be that 120 minutes. In the example at right, students who start the quiz at 2:15pm on March 17th will not be given the full 120 minutes to complete the exam as it will be automatically submitted at the hard stop Until time of 4:00pm.

Canvas quiz time limit set with until date also set

In this case, it would be better to set the 120 minute time limit (see #3 above) with a Due date. If you want to prevent students for accessing the quiz at a certain time, make sure that time is well past the 120 minute time limit.

See the section Moderating Quizzes for AEC Accommodations for those cases where you must use Available From and Until.

Now you are ready to add questions to your quiz.

 

Quiz Scenarios for Time Limits and Availability Windows

There may be times when you need to set a time limit on a quiz in Canvas or you want the quiz available from and until a specified date or time. The scenarios here outline best practices for accomplishing these goals and include details on making modifications for students with AEC accommodations.

Canvas Quiz Settings for Time:

  • Time Limit: this is the amount of time a student has to take a quiz once they begin it.
  • Due date: this is when the quiz is due.
    • Note: this is a “soft” deadline. Students can continue to complete the quiz or can access the quiz after this time but it will be marked as Late.
  • Available From: this is when the quiz is first available for students to access.
  • Available Until: this is when the quiz will be closed.
    • Note: this is a “hard” deadline. If students are taking the quiz when this deadline nears, they will receive the "Time's Up! Submitting results in..." 10 second countdown warning before the deadline. At the deadline, the quiz will be automatically submitted and closed. Students will not be able to access the quiz after this deadline.

For detailed information on quiz settings for AEC accommodations, please refer to the Modifying Quizzes for AEC Accommodations section.

Scenario 1: I want my students to have 90 minutes to complete a quiz in Canvas. They can take it any time up to the due date. (Click to expand)

Quiz Time Settings:

  • Time Limit = 90 minutes
  • Availability Window = always open

Canvas Set-up:

  1. Set Time Limit to 90 minutes
  2. Set a Due date and time
  3. Do not set an Available From or Until time

Modifications for students with documented AEC accommodations who need additional quiz time:

  • For individual students who have documented AEC accommodations requiring additional quiz time use the Moderate This Quiz function to assign the additional time (i.e., 30 additional minutes) for the student(s).
Scenario 2: I want my students to have 60 minutes to complete a quiz in Canvas. They can only take it during a window of time, e.g., a 24-hour time period beginning at 8:00am on Monday and closing at 8:00am on Tuesday. (Click to expand)

Quiz Time Settings:

  • Time Limit = 60 minutes
  • Availability Window = 8:00am Monday to 8:00am Tuesday

Canvas Set-up:

  1. Set Time Limit to 60 minutes
  2. Set Available From to Monday 8:00am
  3. Set Until time OR set Due date and time (do not use both)
  • Set Until to Tuesday 8:00am. The test will automatically close and submit Tuesday at 8:00am even if students have not finished taking it. Students will not be able to access the quiz after this 8:00am deadline.

OR

  • Set Due date for Tuesday 8:00am. The quiz will not automatically submit and close Tuesday at 8:00am but will mark any submissions after 8:00am as late.

Modifications for students with documented AEC accommodations who need additional quiz time:

  • For individual students who have documented AEC accommodations requiring additional quiz time, use the Moderate This Quiz function to assign the additional time (i.e., 30 additional minutes) for the student(s).
  • Note: if using Available Until be sure the availability window does not conflict with necessary additional time adjustments and allows all students to have the full 60 minutes required to complete the quiz.
Scenario 3: I want my students to have 60 minutes to complete a quiz in Canvas, during a specific one hour timeframe (the same as normal class meeting time). (Click to expand)

Quiz Time Settings:

  • Time Limit = 60 minutes
  • Availability Window = 10:00am Monday to 11:00am Monday

Canvas Set-up:

  1. Set Time Limit to 60 minutes
  2. Set Available From to Monday 10:00am
  3. Set Until time OR set Due date and time (do not use both)
  • Set Until to Monday 11:00am. The test will automatically close and submit Monday at 11:00am even it students have not finished taking it. Students will not be able to access the quiz after this 11:00am deadline.

OR

  • Set Due date for Monday 11:00am. The quiz will not automatically submit and close Monday at 11:00am but will mark any submissions after 11:00am as late.

Modifications for students with documented AEC accommodations who need additional quiz time:

  • For individual students who have documented AEC accommodations requiring additional quiz time, use the Moderate This Quiz function to assign the additional time (i.e., 30 additional minutes) for the student(s).
  • Note: If using Available Until, be sure the availability window does not conflict with necessary additional time adjustments and allows all students to have the full time required to complete the quiz.
    • In this specific scenario, if a student needs an additional 30 minutes of time (90 min total) you need to adjust the Available Until time to accommodate for this.
  • Also note that for students taking tests with a defined availability window at the Testing Center, consider adding an additional 30 minutes to the Due / Available From/Until time for all students to account for check-in delays when the Testing Center is busy.
Scenario 4: I want students to take a quiz sometime during the week. There is no time limit and the quiz does not automatically open or close. (Click to expand)

Quiz Time Settings:

  • Time Limit = None
  • Availability Window = None

Canvas Set-up:

  • Create the quiz with no time limit or availability window. There should be no need for modifications for students with AEC accommodations.

 

Adding Questions to Quizzes

Now to get the questions into the quiz you are creating.  To make the exam random for each student we will use question groups. Canvas will display however many questions you set in a random order for each quiz when you use question groups.

To add questions click the Questions tab. You can add questions using the Find Questions button. 

Details Find Questions path

 

This will load all of your question banks. You will select the bank from the left side of the window and it will display the questions on the right side. You can select all the questions or just some of them.

Find Quiz Question

 

After selecting your questions you will add them to a new group, determine how many questions you want displayed (picked) and how many points each question is worth. 

Add a new question group

 

Click Create Group and then Add Questions,

Now you will have a Questions tab that looks similar to this one.

You can have as many groups of questions as you need or single questions that everyone answers. When you are done adding questions Save and preview it to make sure it is displaying as you anticipated.

We highly recommend creating those groups with the Find Question option shown here in case you need to Re-Grade any question.

Quiz show question details

 

Creating Question Banks

The following section goes over how to create Question Banks. Question Banks are a structure for organizing pools of questions. Assigning descriptive names to Question Banks will help you quickly locate questions at a later time. Keep in mind that you will be able to choose questions from Question Banks in other courses where you’re the instructor as well as the course where you’re creating the quiz—so good naming conventions are essential. 

Click More Options [︙] next to + Quiz and select Manage Question Banks.

Quiz manage question banks

 

After opening the Question Bank, you can:

  1. Add a Question
  2. Edit Question Bank Details
  3. Move Multiple Questions  
  4. Delete Question Bank
  5. Verify Question Bank Bookmark (by default new Question Banks are bookmarked automatically)
  6. Align Outcomes
screenshot of Canvas Question Bank options

 

Consider adding a separate Question Bank for each Chapter or topic.

Click + Add Question Bank [1].

Give your new bank a name [2] and press the enter key.

Course Question Banks

 

Click on the question bank title and add questions to the bank.

Click  + Add a Question [1] to add a question

Select the question type [2].

Tip: Limit each bank to 50 so you can see the Question Details.

Quiz add question to question bank

 

Moderating Quizzes for AEC Accommodations

Timed quizzes (i.e. midterms and finals) have drawbacks for students who have test-taking anxiety and other barriers. For more information on designing assessments that are not time-based, see Designing for Academic Integrity. If a timed quiz is required, Canvas provides two tools to control the time available for students to complete a quiz: by setting a time limit (i.e. 120 minutes), or by using a limited availability window. Please Note: To avoid confusion please rely on only one tool to control quiz time. See section "Important Quiz Considerations" for additional details.

You can ensure AEC accommodations for extended time in one of two ways:

  • Moderate Quiz. If your quiz is available for multiple days with a set time limit to complete once begun (i.e. 120 minutes), you will use the Moderate Quiz function.
  • Assign To. If your quiz does not have a set time limit, but rather uses a limited availability window (i.e., 8:00am - 10:00am), you will use the Assign To function to assign additional time to students with accommodations for extended time (i.e., 8:00am – 11:00am).

After you create and publish your quiz you will see the Moderate This Quiz option (depending on your Canvas window size, it may be on the right of the page or on the bottom).

Canvas Moderate This Quiz Option

 

On the Moderate Quiz page select the student(s) that need an additional attempt or additional time on the quiz. To edit students individually, click the pencil icon [1].

If you have two or more students who need the same time accommodation, select each student [2] and scroll to the bottom of the student list to select the Change Extensions for xx Selected Students option [3].

 

 

Canvas Moderate This Quiz for Multiple Students

 

The Student Extensions window will open giving you a box to enter the number of Extra Attempts and a box to enter the Extra time on every attempt [1]. Click Save [2] once you've set the additional minutes.

Canvas Moderate Quiz Student Extensions

If your quiz uses a limited availability window (i.e., 8:00am - 10:00am), you will use the Assign To function to assign additional time to students with accommodations for extended time (i.e., 8:00am – 11:00am).

Set the Available from and Until time for the entire class [1] when creating your quiz.

Select +Add [2] to designate additional times for individual students.

Canvas add student to give additional quiz time

Select the Student in the additional Assign to [3] area and indicate their custom Due and Until time [4].

Save the quiz to have your changes take effect.

 

NOTE: Remember that a Due Date is NOT the same as the Until setting. See the section on Due and Available dates for detailed information on these settings.

Canvas assign additional time to 1 student

 

Regrading Quiz Questions

Follow these steps to regrade Multiple Choice, True / False, and Multiple Select question types. You cannot regrade questions that are linked to a New Question Group bank since questions may be used for more than one quiz.

1. Go to the Quiz in Canvas. If students have already taken the quiz or are in the middle of taking the quiz, you will see a warning box at the top of the quiz:

Canvas quiz students have taken quiz alert when editing

 

 

2. Find the question on the quiz that you want to regrade and select the pencil icon to edit the question.

3. Select the correct answer and then select Update Question.

Canvas quiz edit quiz question pencil icon

4. When you do this the Regrade Options window will appear where you can indicate how regrading the quiz should impact students' scores.

 

Quiz Regrade Options

5. After making your choice, you will see that indicated on the updated correct answer option.

6. Select Update Question to have this change take effect and then select Save to updated the quiz.

regrade option displayed on updated quiz question answer

It will take Canvas a few minutes to regrade all exams and update points for everyone that is effected by the update.

In the instructor view of Speedgrader, a banner at the top of the quiz question that has been regraded will be displayed.

Instructor view of regraded quiz question in Speedgrader

Students will also see a banner that notifies them that the quiz has been regraded and their regrade score on the updated question.

regraded question alert in speedgrader student view