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Quiz Questions

This article will explain all the various question types that can be used with LearnDash quizzes, how to set up your questions & answers, awarding points, hints, categories, the different options available for each question type, and more.

Access Questions

Every question you use in any quiz across your site is stored in one, central location. While you can use the quiz builder to add questions & configure your entire quiz, you can also modify questions on their own, dedicated page.

  1. Navigate to LEARNDASH LMS > QUESTIONS
  2. Click on any question to open it’s edit page

Filter Questions

LearnDash gives you the ability to filter your questions in a number of ways:

How to filter LearnDash quiz questions

Use the filter bar across the top of the All Questions page:

  1. Choose the filters you want
  2. Click the “Filter” button

Choose Question Type

When creating a new quiz question, one of the first things you’ll want to do is choose your question type. LearnDash offers the following question types:

  • Single choice
  • Multiple choice
  • Free choice
  • Sorting choice
  • Matrix sorting choice
  • Fill in the blank
  • Assessment (survey)
  • Essay (open answer)

To select your question type, look for the Answer type box in the sidebar. Select your type:

Choose LearnDash question type

Question Title & Text

The question title is only for internal use. It is not displayed to the user.

The question text is where you actually type the question you have for the user. This uses the classic WordPress editor, so you can insert images, format your text & use custom HTML.

LearnDash question title & text area

Points to be Awarded

Points are available for all question types. This field is required for all questions and defaults to 1. Points are only awarded when the question is answered correctly.

Points can also be hidden in your quiz display settings.

Choose points to be awarded for a question

To adjust points for a question:

  1. Find the Points box in the sidebar
  2. Update the number of points to be awarded

If you’d like to award a different numbers of points based on the specific answer given:

  1. Check the Different points for each answer box
  2. In the Answers box, where you add your answers, you’ll see a box labeled “Points”
  3. Enter the number of points to be awarded for each specific answer

Question Categories

Question categories are available for all question types. They are completely optional, but you can use them to:

  • better organize all of your quiz questions
  • provide the user with quiz statistics, broken down by category

LearnDash question category selection

To place a question in a category:

  1. Find the Question Category box in the sidebar
  2. Click the dropdown
  3. Choose an existing category, or select “Create new category” and give your new category a name

Update or Delete Categories

To delete a question category, or update its title:

  1. Navigate to LEARNDASH LMS > QUESTIONS
  2. Click on the Settings tab
  3. In the Question Taxonomies section, click the dropdown to “Select a category”
  4. Click the Delete button to delete it, or
  5. Update its title and then click Update

How to update a LearnDash question taxonomy title

At the end of a quiz, you can choose to display to percentage score the user received in each category of questions:

LearnDash quiz category, results display on frontend

Hints

Add hint for LearnDash quiz question

Hints are available for all question types. They are completely optional, but can help direct a user in the right direction when answering a question. When enabled, a button will appear below the question. Clicking that button will reveal a popup with the hint.

To enable a hint for a question:

  1. On the Edit Question screen, scroll down to the Hint box
  2. Check the box to Activate hint for this question?
  3. Enter your hint in the box
    Hints use the classic WordPress editor, so you can include images, lists, formatting & custom HTML.

Quiz Question Types

Single Choice

Single choice means there is only one correct answer. This is the most common question format for standardized tests. You should also use this question type for True or False questions.

  • There is no limit to the number of incorrect answers you provide
  • Choose the correct answer by selecting the radio button for “Correct”
  • Check the “Allow HTML” box if you’d like to use HTML in your answer
  • Add images or other media by clicking the “Add Media” button
  • Delete an answer by clicking the “Delete answer” button
  • Add a new answer by clicking the “Add new answer” button
  • Move answers around by long-pressing the “Move” button and dragging the answer up or down

Setting up a single choice question in the admin area looks like this:

LearnDash single choice question in admin

Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme with the correct answer selected.

LearnDash single choice question frontend example

Multiple Choice

Multiple choice questions support multiple correct answers. In order for the question to be marked correct, users must select ALL of the correct answers. If they only select some correct answers, then the question is marked incorrect.

  • There is no limit to the number of correct or incorrect answers you provide
  • The rest of the setup options are the same as single choice questions

Setting up a multiple-choice question in the admin area looks like this:

LearnDash multiple choice question, admin setup

Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme with the correct answers selected.

LearnDash multiple choice question, frontend example

Subtract Points for Incorrect Answer
You can choose to subtract points when the user selects an incorrect answer. Note that negative scoring is calculated on a per-question basis.

  1. In the Points box, enable the option for “Different points for each answer”
  2. Provide a number of points (only  positive numbers are supported) for the incorrect answer
  3. This value will then be subtracted from the question’s total points

Negative Scoring Setting

 

Free Choice

Free choice questions give the user an input field where they must type the correct answer.

  • You can choose to accept only one answer, or multiple possible answers
  • Answers may be one word or multiple words
  • Capitalization does not matter. BLUE, Blue and blue are all scored the same.

Example: If you ask “What color is the sun?”, you can choose to accept yellow, orange or white. If the user enters any one of these answers, the question is marked correct.

Setting up a free choice question in the admin area looks like this:

LearnDash free choice question, admin setup

Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme with the correct answers selected.

LearnDash free choice question, frontend example

Sorting Choice

Sorting choice questions ask the user to place a series of answers in the correct order. When creating the question, the order of the answers in the backend will be considered the correct order.

Setting up a sorting choice question in the admin area looks like this:

LearnDash sorting choice question, admin setup

Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme.

LearnDash sorting choice question, frontend example

Matrix Sorting Choice (Matching)

Matrix sorting questions should be used when you want the user to match two items together. There are two parts to a matrix sorting question:

  • Criterion: These are static & cannot be moved.
  • Sort elements: These are what users will drag & drop to the correct criterion.

Each sort element must be unique, and only one-to-one associations are supported.

Your answer area will be set up like a table, with the criterion on the left, and an open area to drag & drop sort elements on the right. You have the option to set a percentage width for the criterion column.

Setting up a matrix sorting choice question in the admin area looks like this (the example uses images for the criterion):

LearnDash matrix sorting question, admin setup

Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme.

LearnDash matrix sorting choice question, frontend example

Fill in the Blank

Fill in the Blank questions allow you to insert a blank line(s) in the middle of a sentence or paragraph. Users then type the correct answer into this empty field.

  • If more than one blank exists, all blanks must be answered correctly for the entire question to be marked correct.
  • Capitalization does not matter. PLAY, Play and play are all scored the same.
  • Blank spaces are created by providing the correct answer inside of curly braces { and }.

Example Format

  • Admin Setup: I {play} soccer.
  • User Sees: I ____ soccer.

The correct answer is “play”.

Multiple Possible Answers

To allow for multiple possible answers, enclose each possible answer with square brackets [ and ]. You still use { and } to create the blank space.

I {[play][love][hate]} soccer.

In this example, the user can enter “play,” “love” or “hate,” and they would all be accepted as correct.

Different Points Per Answer

Different points for each answer

To edit this and other questions settings:

  1. Navigate to LEARNDASH LMS > Questions
  2. Select the question that you want to update the settings
  3. Click “Edit”

From here, you will be able to see all the question settings on the right-hand side, including the option for “Different points for each answer”.

If the “Different points for each answer” option is selected, you can assign points to each possible answer. Otherwise, 1 point will be awarded for each correct answer. To assign points to an answer, enter the pipe character | immediately following the answer, and then enter the number of points.

I {play} soccer, with a {ball|3}.

In this example, the answer “play” is awarded 1 point, and “ball” is awarded 3 points.

Setting up a fill in the blank question in the admin area looks like this:

LearnDash fill in the blank question, admin setup

Here’s an example of a fill in the blank question used for math equations, where there is only one possible correct answer for each blank.

LearnDash fill in the blank question, frontend example

Assessment (Survey)

Assessment questions allow for the use of a Likert scale. This question type is perfect for surveys, or any time you’re asking a user to rate something on a scale.

  • Only one answer may be selected
  • You can add text/images before and/or after the scale
  • There is no limit to the number of options available in the assessment
  • Enclose the entire assessment with curly braces { and }
  • Enclose each individual answer with square brackets [ and ]
  • The maximum possible score is equal to the total number of options

Examples:

  1. less true { [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] } more true
  2. { [disagree] [not sure] [agree] }

Example 1: 1 is the least true; it’s worth 1 point. 5 is the most true; it’s worth 5 points.

Example 2: disagree is worth 1 point. not sure is worth 2 points. agree is worth 3 points.

TIP
This type of question is great for pre-course or end-of-course surveys.

Setting up an assessment question in the admin area looks like this:

LearnDash assessment question, admin setup

Here’s what the user sees:

LearnDash assessment question, frontend example

Essay / Open Answer

Essay questions allow the user to enter a free-form answer. You can choose between two types of essay questions:

  • Text Box: Displays a <textarea> form field for the user to enter any text they’d like.
  • Upload: Displays an upload button that allows the user to upload a file.

2 types of LearnDash essay questions

Essays come with 3 options for how they are graded after the quiz is submitted:

  • Not Graded, No Points Awarded: The essay question is submitted and awaiting a grade. The final quiz grade will be displayed as “Pending” to the user.
  • Not Graded, Full Points Awarded: Awards full points for the essay submission, but its status remains “Not Graded.” An admin can grade the essay at a later date, and adjust the awarded points.
  • Graded, Full Points Awarded: Automatically mark the essay as “Graded” and award full points.

LearnDash grading options for essay questions

Options for showing messages for correct or incorrect answers should not be filled in for Essay/Open questions since it is user submitted and cannot be graded at the time of submission.

Course Progression

A user can only progress if the following two things are true:

  • The essay is marked as “Graded,” and
  • The user has enough quiz points to move on (configured in the quiz’s settings)

IMPORTANT
If no points are immediately awarded for the essay, this (temporarily) counts against the final score. If the total points obtained from the other quiz questions meets the passing threshold, the user can continue with the course. However, if they do not earn enough points to meet the passing threshold, they will not be able to continue.

Here’s an example of a “Text Box” essay:

LearnDash essay questions, text box type, frontend example

Here’s an example of an “Upload” essay:

LearnDash essay questions, upload type, frontend example

For more on essay management & grading, please see our full documentation on essays →

Quiz Scores and Answers

Administrators can view overall quiz scores for students with the built-in LearnDash reporting and with ProPanel. Individual answers to questions can be viewed on the Quiz Statistics page.

NOTE
The Quiz Statistics option must be turned ON in order for data to be gathered.

If the Quiz Statistics option is turned on in the Quiz settings, your users will be able to view their previous answers in two ways:

  • Immediately after taking the quiz: Immediately after taking the quiz and the user wants to review their answers, click on the “View Questions” button.
  • Via the user’s profile page: If the user wants to view their previous quizzes’ responses and answers, including essays, they need to go to their “Profile” or “My Account” page and click on the paper icon under the “Statistics” column.

Quiz statistics icons on the profile page

If you have turned off the Quiz Statistics setting on your quiz, all the data captured during the time the setting was turned off will not be captured nor attributed to a specific user. Also, even if that option is turned on after the quiz is taken, the setting is not retroactive. Meaning, the data will still not be attributed to a user in the Quiz Statistics

Conversely, if the Quiz Statistics setting is initially on, and you turn it off, your users will still be able to view their logged answers for that particular quiz. And the data is still retained in the Quiz Statistics

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