How to Create a Quiz


Quizzes allow you to assess participants' knowledge before or after they complete a simulation. Unlike forms, quizzes have correct answers and provide scores. This guide will walk you through creating your first quiz using our quiz builder.

Getting Started

Understanding Quizzes vs. Forms

Quizzes are designed for assessment and testing:

  • Have correct and incorrect answers
  • Provide scores and grades
  • Only support two question types: single choice (radio buttons) and multiple choice (checkboxes)
  • Show results with correct/incorrect indicators

Forms are designed for information collection:

  • No correct answers
  • Support many question types (text, rating, file upload, etc.)
  • Used for surveys, feedback, and data collection

Accessing the Quiz Builder

Quizzes are created directly within the Simulation editor:

  1. Navigate to Simulations: Click "Library" in the sidebar and select a Simulation, or create a new one
  2. Open the Simulation Editor: Click "Edit" on an existing Simulation or create a new one
  3. Go to Activity steps:
    • Before the simulation: For quizzes that appear before the simulation starts
    • After the simulation: For quizzes that appear in the results report after the simulation
  4. Add a Quiz: Click "Add" in the area you want and select "Quiz"
  5. Quiz Editor Opens: The quiz builder interface will appear with four tabs:
    • Designer: Where you build your quiz
    • Preview: Where you can test how your quiz will look to participants
    • Translations: Where you add other languages
    • Themes: Where you set colors, fonts and styling

Understanding the Quiz Builder Interface

The quiz builder is organized into several key areas:

Unlike forms, quizzes only support two question types:

  • Radio Button Group (Single Choice): For questions with one correct answer
    • Participants select one option
    • You mark one answer as correct

    • Example: "What is the capital of France?" with options A, B, C, D

      Checkbox (Multiple Choice): For questions with multiple correct answers

    • Participants can select multiple options
    • You mark one or more answers as correct
    • Example: "Which of the following are programming languages?" (select all that apply)

Note: All other question types (text, rating, dropdown, etc.) are not available for quizzes, as quizzes are designed specifically for assessment with correct answers.

Center Area: Quiz Canvas

This is where you build your quiz. You'll see:

  • Quiz Title and Description: At the top of the quiz
  • Questions: Each question appears as a card or section
  • Answer Choices: Options for each question appear below the question text

When you select a question, you'll see properties you can configure:

  • Question Title: The question text participants will see
  • Answer Choices: The options participants can select
  • Correct Answer: Mark which answer(s) are correct
  • Score (Points): How much the question weighs in the grade. It starts at 1. Set it to 0 to mark the question without counting it toward the grade
  • Required: Whether participants must answer this question (new quiz questions start as required)
  • Choice order: Control how answer choices are displayed (random, original order, etc.)

Step-by-Step: Creating Your First Quiz

Step 1: Add a Quiz Section or Tab

  1. In the Simulation Editor: Navigate to "Activity steps". Use the Before the simulation area for pre-simulation quizzes, or the After the simulation area for post-simulation quizzes
  2. Click "Add": Click the "Add" button in that area
  3. Select "Quiz": Choose "Quiz" from the menu
  4. Quiz Editor Opens: A new quiz step will be created and the editor will open

Step 2: Set the Quiz Title

  1. Click on the Quiz Title: At the top of the quiz canvas, you'll see a title field
  2. Enter Your Title: Type a descriptive title (e.g., "Pre-Simulation Knowledge Check" or "Post-Simulation Assessment")
  3. Add Description (Optional): You can add a description below the title to provide context
  4. Step Title: The quiz step in Activity steps takes its title from the quiz title

Step 3: Add Your First Question

  1. Click "Add Question": Look for a button or icon to add a new question
  2. Question Type: The question will default to "Radio Button Group" (single choice)
  3. Enter Question Text: Click on the question title field and type your question
  4. Add Answer Choices:
    • You'll see four default options, "Choice 1" to "Choice 4"
    • Click on each option to edit the text
    • Add more options by clicking the + below the choices
    • Remove options by clicking the delete/remove icon

Step 4: Mark the Correct Answer

Important: A new question starts with no correct answer. Set the correct answer for every question. Until you do, the editor shows an issues chip, Issues that affect how this form behaves, that lists each graded question with no correct answer. A question with no correct answer is left out of the grade.

  1. Select the Question: Click on the question you want to configure
  2. Open the Answers Dialog: Click Answers on the question's toolbar to open Set Correct Answer(s), or use Correct Answer at the top of the Properties panel
  3. Mark Correct Answer(s):
    • For Radio Button Questions: Mark exactly one answer as correct
    • For Checkbox Questions: Mark one or more answers as correct
  4. Visual Indicator: Correct answers are highlighted in the designer

Important: New quiz questions are required by default, so participants must answer them before submitting the quiz. You can turn Required off for a question, and participants can then skip it.

Step 5: Add More Questions

  1. Repeat Steps 3-4: Add additional questions following the same process
  2. Mix Question Types: You can use both single choice and multiple choice questions in the same quiz
  3. Organize Questions: Questions appear in the order you add them (you can reorder them if needed)

Step 6: Preview Your Quiz

  1. Switch to Preview Tab: Click the "Preview" tab at the top of the editor
  2. Test the Quiz:
    • Try answering questions as a participant would
    • Check that correct answers are marked properly
    • Verify the quiz looks and works as expected
  3. Switch Back to Designer: Click the "Designer" tab to make any adjustments

Step 7: Configure Answer Order (Optional)

You can randomize the order of answer choices for each question to prevent answer sharing:

  1. Select a Question: Click on the question you want to configure
  2. Find Choice Order Setting: In the question properties panel, look for "Choice order"
  3. Choose Order Mode:
    • None: Answer choices appear in the order you created them (default)
    • Random: Answer choices are shuffled randomly for each participant
    • Ascending/Descending: For text-based answers, you can sort alphabetically
  4. Per Question: Set this on each question you want shuffled

Why Randomize?: Randomizing answer order helps prevent participants from sharing answers (e.g., "the answer is always B") and ensures fair assessment.

Step 8: Configure Quiz Display Settings

  1. Find Display Mode Settings: Below the quiz editor, look for "Quiz Summary Display Mode" (the default is Grade + Correct/Incorrect)
  2. Choose Display Mode:
    • Thank You Only: Shows only a thank you message after completion
    • Grade Only: Shows only the percentage score
    • Grade + Correct/Incorrect: Shows score and which questions were correct/incorrect
    • Full Details: Shows score, correct/incorrect status, the participant's answers, and the correct answer for each question they got wrong
  3. Select Your Preference: Choose how much detail participants should see

Step 9: Save Your Quiz

  1. Save the Simulation: Click "Save" in the Simulation editor
  2. Quiz is Saved: The quiz is saved as part of the Simulation
  3. Quiz ID Created: The system will create a quiz ID and link it to your Simulation

Quiz Best Practices

Writing Good Questions

  • Be Clear and Specific: Questions should be unambiguous
  • Avoid Trick Questions: Focus on assessing knowledge, not confusing participants
  • Use Appropriate Difficulty: Match question difficulty to your learning objectives
  • Keep Questions Focused: One concept per question

Creating Good Answer Choices

  • Make All Options Plausible: Incorrect answers should be reasonable, not obviously wrong
  • Avoid "All of the Above" or "None of the Above": These can be confusing
  • Keep Options Similar in Length: Very different lengths can hint at the correct answer
  • Use 3-5 Options: Too few options make guessing easier; too many can be overwhelming

Organizing Your Quiz

  • Start with Easier Questions: Build confidence with simpler questions first
  • Group Related Questions: Keep questions on similar topics together
  • End with Summary: Consider a final question that ties concepts together

Common Question Types

Single Choice Questions (Radio Buttons)

Best for:

  • Questions with one clearly correct answer
  • Testing factual knowledge
  • Yes/No or True/False style questions

Example:

  • Question: "What is the primary purpose of a firewall?"
  • Options:
    • A. To speed up internet connections
    • B. To protect networks from unauthorized access ✓ (correct)
    • C. To store website data
    • D. To manage email accounts

Multiple Choice Questions (Checkboxes)

Best for:

  • Questions with multiple correct answers
  • "Select all that apply" scenarios
  • Testing understanding of multiple concepts

Example:

  • Question: "Which of the following are secure password practices?"
  • Options:
    • Use a mix of letters, numbers, and symbols ✓ (correct)
    • Share passwords with trusted colleagues
    • Change passwords regularly ✓ (correct)
    • Use the same password for all accounts
    • Make passwords at least 12 characters long ✓ (correct)

Advanced Quiz Features

Required Questions

  • Required by Default: New quiz questions are set as required
  • Participants Cannot Skip: Participants must answer every required question before they can submit the quiz
  • Why Required?: This ensures complete assessment and prevents participants from avoiding difficult questions
  • Visual Indicator: Required questions are typically marked with an asterisk (*) or "Required" label

Answer Order Randomization

  • Randomize Choices: You can set answer choices to appear in random order for each participant
  • Prevents Answer Sharing: Randomization makes it harder for participants to share answers (e.g., "the answer is always option B")
  • Per-Question Setting: You randomize choices question by question
  • How to Enable: Set "Choice order" to "Random" in the question properties panel

Progress Bar

  • Visual Progress: A progress bar shows participants how many questions they've completed
  • Motivation: Helps participants understand how much of the quiz remains
  • Location: The progress bar appears at the bottom of the quiz unless you change it in the quiz's survey settings

Automatic Scoring

  • Instant Calculation: Scores are calculated automatically based on correct answers
  • Percentage Grade: Participants receive a percentage score (e.g., 85%): the points they earned out of the points available. Each question weighs its Score (Points). A question with no score set counts 1, so a quiz where nobody changed the scores counts every question equally. A question with a score of 0 weighs nothing. On a multiple-choice question, the participant must select all the correct answers and no others
  • Points on the Result Screen: When any question in the quiz has a score other than 1, the participant's result screen also shows the points, for example "Points: 7 of 10"
  • Question-Level Feedback: Results show which questions were answered correctly or incorrectly
  • No Manual Grading: The system handles all scoring automatically

Which questions count toward the grade

  • Questions inside panels: A quiz created through the API or imported as JSON can group questions inside a panel. Those questions are graded and counted like any other
  • Questions without a correct answer: A question with no correct answer set is left out of the grade
  • Hidden questions: A question that is hidden, or sits inside a hidden panel or page, is never graded
  • Conditional questions: A question that appears only under a condition counts only when the participant answered it, so a skipped conditional question never counts against them

Note: The quiz editor does not build panels, but it keeps them. You can open a quiz that contains panels in the quiz editor and save it: the panels and their questions stay.

Working with Required Questions

  • Required by Default: Remember that participants cannot skip a required question
  • Clear Instructions: Make sure your quiz instructions explain which questions must be answered
  • Test the Flow: Use Preview mode to verify that participants cannot proceed without answering
  • Visual Feedback: Required questions are typically marked, so participants know they must answer

Using Answer Randomization

  • When to Use: Enable randomization for high-stakes assessments or when preventing cheating is important
  • Test Randomization: Preview your quiz multiple times to see how randomization affects the display
  • Consistent Correct Answers: Remember that correct answers are based on the answer itself, not its position, so randomization won't affect scoring
  • Per-Question Control: You can enable randomization for specific questions while keeping others in original order

Editing Existing Questions

  • Click to Select: Click on any question to edit it
  • Modify Properties: Use the properties panel on the right to change question text, answers, or correct answers
  • Delete Questions: Remove questions you no longer need
  • Update Settings: Remember to update answer order or other settings if you modify questions

Reordering Questions

  • Drag and Drop: Drag questions to reorder them
  • Question Randomization: The quiz's survey settings include "Question order", which can shuffle the questions for each participant

Multilingual Quizzes

  • Translation Support: Quiz titles, questions, and answers can support multiple languages
  • Set Language: The quiz is shown in the language of the participant's run
  • Test All Languages: Preview your quiz in different languages to ensure translations are correct
  • Answer Randomization: Randomization works consistently across all languages

Troubleshooting

Can't Find Quiz Option

  • Check Simulation Type: Make sure you're editing a Simulation (not a form or other content type)
  • Look in the "Add" Menu: The quiz option is labeled "Quiz" in the "Add" menu of Activity steps
  • Check Permissions: Ensure you have permission to edit Simulations, and that your account belongs to an organization

Can't Mark Correct Answers

  • Select the Question First: Make sure you've clicked on the question to select it
  • Check Question Type: Verify the question is a radio button or checkbox type
  • Use the Answers Button: Click Answers on the question's toolbar

Questions Not Saving

  • Save the Simulation: Remember to save the entire Simulation, not just the quiz
  • Check for Errors: Look for error messages that might indicate what's wrong
  • Verify Required Fields: Make sure all required fields (like quiz title) are filled

Preview Not Working

  • Switch Tabs: Make sure you're on the Preview tab, not the Designer tab
  • Check Browser: Try refreshing the page or using a different browser
  • Verify Quiz Has Content: Make sure you've added at least one question

Next Steps

After creating your quiz:

  1. Test It Thoroughly: Use the Preview tab to test the quiz as a participant would
  2. Review Correct Answers: Double-check that all correct answers are properly marked
  3. Save Your Simulation: Don't forget to save the Simulation to keep your quiz
  4. Use in Simulations: Your quiz will be available when participants run the Simulation

For information on using quizzes in Simulations, see How to Use Quizzes in Simulations.

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