Questions FAQ

How can questions be shared between courses?

See How to let teachers share questions between courses.

If I change a question in the question bank, will it be changed in all the quizzes it appears?

Yes. See Tim Hunt's forum post https://moodle.org/mod/forum/discuss.php?d=234011&parent=1016542#p1016558

Is there a way to set the default for essay questions on our site to allow uploading of one attachment?

The only way to change this at the moment is by editing the code.

In question/type/essay/edit_essay_form.php, find where it sets the default for 'attachments' to 0, and change that to 1.

Note that, after changing the data in the DB, you will need to go to admin -> plugins -> caching and purge the Question definitions cache. Or just purge all caches.

Why do some students correctly guess the answers for questions with images in them?

Example where top image gives the answer (amyloidosis), bottom image has non-descriptive title (img1)

When you insert an image in a question, make sure that the image title doesn't give away the answer, as it is displayed when mousing over the image.

How do I create system-wide question categories?

1. As an administrator or user with system permissions, go to Question bank > Categories in any course.
2. Using the "Add category form" at the bottom of the page, set the parent of the new category to be the system context.

How can students upload images to an Essay question?

When creating the question, in the section Response format, choose "HTML editor + uploaded files."

Is there a way to auto-grade answers to Essay questions?

Have a look at the following additional plugins:

• Pattern-match question type
• Regular Expression Short-Answer question type
• Essay (auto-grade) question type
• Preg question type

Can I use questions (from the question bank) anywhere else besides a quiz?

Yes. See the Embed questions filter - A Moodle text filter plugin that displays questions from the question bank embedded in the page

Is it possible to make Third-party question types work in the Mobile app?

See How to make third party question types work in Mobile documentation for developers.

See also

• Quiz FAQ
• Show content and questions on same page forum discussion
• Advice for managing a large question bank? (3000+)
• Constructing Written Test Questions For the Basic and Clinical Sciences - The manual is intended to guide educators of healthcare professions in writing high-quality, multiple-choice questions (MCQs) related to the foundational and clinical sciences. It covers the development of MCQs, common flaws related to item (question) development, and the basics of item analysis. Also, special attention is given to rules for writing one-best-answer questions in the clinical vignette format.

Any further questions?

Please post in the Quiz forum on moodle.org.