How Does Quiz Scoring Work?

As we discuss in our Create a Quiz Tutorial, there are two ways to score quizzes: Pass/Fail and Tally. In this tutorial we will go into detail about how each scoring method works.

Quiz Score Passing Message

Supported Question Types

Below are the question types that are available for scoring. We'll cover how each question type is scored within Pass/Fail scoring and Tally scoring.

Both pass/fail and tally quiz score actions require answer options in order to be scored. This means that piped questions are not supported in the quiz score action. This does not mean that you have to limit your survey to the below question types. You can include open text and essay fields in the survey; they will just be skipped in the scoring portion of the quiz score action

How the Pass/Fail Quiz Score Works

When using a Pass/Fail Quiz score, the respondent's response must match exactly what you specify in the answer key in order to receive a point for that question.

For example, below is the Pass/Fail answer key for a checkbox question.

Pass/Fail Answer Key for Checkbox Question


The following response would receive a point for this question.

Correct Response for Checkbox Question = 1 Point in Pass/Fail Scoring


The following response would not receive a point for this question as all the answers specified for a correct answer were not selected.

Incorrect Response for Checkbox Question = 0 Points in Pass/Fail Scoring


Pass/Fail Scoring with N/A Options

When setting up your Pass/Fail Quiz, you have the option to not score a question if an N/A option is selected as the answer. The N/A option must be using the Not Applicable Answer Option Special Setting.

If you want to exclude N/A options from being scored, you can set this up in your Quiz Score Action.

  1. On the Quiz Primary Setup tab, locate the Scoring Options section.
  2. Check the Don't score N/A options checkbox.

With this setting checked, any questions where a N/A answer is selected are excluded from being scored. For example, if you have a two question quiz where the respondent selects the correct answer for question 1 and N/A for question 2, they would receive a score of 100%.

If the Don't score N/A options setting was not checked, the above scenario would result in a score of 50% (assuming that N/A is not the correct answer to question 2).

How the Tally Quiz Score Works

When using a Tally Quiz Score you will assign points to each answer option. Ultimately all possible points will be tallied for total possible score. Tally Quiz Scores allow for a lot more nuance and variation in the scores respondents receive.

It is also worth noting that any unanswered or unseen questions will not be scored so there is not an option to score only questions that have been displayed to the respondent as there is in a Pass/Fail quiz score.

Below is an example Tally answer key for a checkbox question. Note, assigning negative points for incorrect answers is an optional implementation of the tally quiz score.

As you can see, one of the advantages of a Tally Quiz Score is that respondents can receive points for a partially correct answer!

Tally Answer Key for Checkbox Question
Tally Answer Key for Checkbox Question


The following response would receive 3 points for this question.

Correct Response for Checkbox Question = 3 Points in Tally Scoring


The following response would receive 2 points for this question as 2 of 3 correct answers were selected.

Partially Correct Response for Checkbox Question = 2 Points in Tally Scoring
Partially Correct Response for Checkbox Question = 2 Points in Tally Scoring


The following response would also receive 2 points (3 correct - 1 incorrect) for this question.

Another Partially Correct Response for Checkbox Question = 2 Points in Tally Scoring


The following response would receive -3 points for this question as all 3 incorrect options were selected.

Worst Possible Score for this Checkbox Question = -3 Points in Tally Scoring


How Various Question Types Are Scored

Single Questions (Including Radio Button, Checkboxes, Dropdown Menu, Rating, Image Select) in Pass/Fail Quiz Scores

In order to score a single question in a Pass/Fail Quiz Score, simply select the correct answer(s).

Select the Correct Answer for Single Questions

As we learned above, for multi-select questions (Checkbox, Multi Dropdown Menu and Multi Image Select) when using a Pass/Fail Quiz score, the respondent's response much match exactly what you specify in the answer key in order to receive a point for that question.

Single Questions (Including Radio Button, Checkboxes, Dropdown Menu, Rating, Image Select) in Tally Quiz Scores

In order to score a single question within a Tally Quiz Score, assign points to each answer option. Note: Negative values and blanks are OK. All possible points will be tallied for total possible score.

As we discussed above, Tally Quiz Scores allow for a lot more nuance and variation in the scores respondents receive, including partially correct answers!

Grid Questions (including Radio Button Grid, Checkbox Grid and Dropdown Menu List)

The rows of each Grid question will be available for scoring. The process of scoring rows is the same as scoring a single question. See the checkbox grid image below.

Min/Max Value Allowed for the Tally Quiz Score

The limits for the total tally quiz score are -99,999-99,999.

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