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.
Table of Contents [show]1 Access Questions2 Filter Questions3 Choose Question Type4 Question Title & Text5 Points to be Awarded6 Question Categories6.1 Update or Delete Categories7 Hints8 Quiz Question Types8.1 Single Choice8.2 Multiple Choice8.3 Free Choice8.4 Sorting Choice8.5 Matrix Sorting Choice (Matching)8.6 Fill in the Blank8.7 Assessment (Survey)8.8 Essay / Open Answer8.8.1 Course Progression9 Quiz Scores and Answers9.1 Was this article helpful to you?
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.
Navigate to LEARNDASH LMS > QUESTIONS
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:
by question type
by question category
by the quiz it is assigned to (you can also view questions that are unassigned)
Use the filter bar across the top of the All Questions page:
Choose the filters you want
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:
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.
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.
To adjust points for a question:
Find the Points box in the sidebar
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:
Check the Different points for each answer box
In the Answers box, where you add your answers, you’ll see a box labeled “Points”
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
To place a question in a category:
Find the Question Category box in the sidebar
Click the dropdown
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:
Navigate to LEARNDASH LMS > QUESTIONS
Click on the Settings tab
In the Question Taxonomies section, click the dropdown to “Select a category”
Click the Delete button to delete it, or
Update its title and then click Update
At the end of a quiz, you can choose to display to percentage score the user received in each category of questions:
Hints
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:
On the Edit Question screen, scroll down to the Hint box
Check the box to Activate hint for this question?
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:
Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme with the correct answer selected.
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:
Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme with the correct answers selected.
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.
In the Points box, enable the option for “Different points for each answer”
Provide a number of points (only positive numbers are supported) for the incorrect answer
This value will then be subtracted from the question’s total points
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:
Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme with the correct answers selected.
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:
Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme.
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):
Here’s an example of what the user will see. This uses the LearnDash 3.0 theme.
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
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:
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.
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:
less true { [1] [2] [3] [4] [5] } more true
{ [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:
Here’s what the user sees:
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