In addition to Assignments which allows students to submit objects for evaluation, Canvas also has a quizzing feature you can use to assess student competency. They call it Quizzes, but the name is slightly misleading. The Quizzes' tool can actually be used for everything from a simple ungraded survey to a full-on summative exam. Even if you don't normally use graded quizzes or tests in your courses, you might find this tool handy for low-stakes formative assessment or gathering information from your students, so we think it's worth a look no matter what you teach. This page will introduce you to the variety of ways you can use the Quizzes tool and will also introduce you to the concept of banks; helpful for those who work with a lot of different quiz questions!

How do I create a Quiz, and what quiz options do I have?

Key Concepts:

To create a quiz, navigate to the 'Quizzes' area of the course and select on the top right. If prompted, select 'Classic Quizzes', though you may not see this option. You can set quiz settings on the 'Details' tab and add questions on the 'Questions' tab at the top of the quiz edit screen (see full guide).
There are four types of Quizzes you can create:
1. Graded Quiz - This is your standard quiz with right and wrong answers. A graded quiz will have a corresponding entry created in the Grades area of the course with the point total equaling the total value of the questions you add to the quiz.
2. Practice Quiz - Like a Graded Quiz, this type of quiz has right and wrong answers. However, a Practice Quiz has no corresponding entry in the Grades area of the course. This quiz type is helpful for low-stakes recall practice.
3. Graded Survey - Like a Graded Quiz, this type will have an entry in the Grades area. However, there are no right or wrong answers. Students receive full points for simply completing the survey. Ideal for collecting information from students, with the points acting as an incentive for completion.
4. Ungraded Survey - Like a Graded Survey, except that there is no corresponding entry in the Grades area. No points are awarded at all but you can view the results.
Once a Quiz has been created, you can also add the Quiz to a Module so students know where it fits into the recommended sequence of learning.

How do I create and add questions to my Quiz?

Key Concepts:

If you need to make a quick quiz and don't intend to use the quiz questions you create elsewhere, you can edit a Quiz, select the 'Questions' tab at the top of the edit screen, and then select at the bottom. Select a question type, type in your question stem, and enter possible answer choices (see full guide).
However, if you will be using Quizzes regularly, a more sustainable method of creating and organizing quiz questions is to first create a Question Bank and then create your questions within (see full guide). A common method of bank organization is to create a single bank for each quiz.
Once you have created a question bank, you can edit a quiz, select the 'Questions' tab, and then select to pull questions from a question bank (see full guide).
As an optional feature, you can also set up a Question Group and then link that group to a Question Bank, which allows you to quickly adjust the point value for all questions or pull a specific number of questions randomly from a larger question bank (see full guide).

Using the content above as a reference, we recommend that you complete the following tasks in your sandbox course for practice:

Create a new Quiz.
Add two questions of different types (e.g. multiple choice and essay) to the quiz.
Create a Question Bank and add a question to it.
Add the question from your bank to your Quiz.
Add the Quiz to a Module.

Next Steps

If you would like feedback on the items you create in your course, you are welcome to send your instructors a message in the Canvas Inbox, or post in the Canvas Q&A Discussion. Once you feel comfortable with creating a Quiz, creating and adding questions, and creating Question Banks, select 'Next' to move on to the next module item.