How do I use the Multiple choice widget?
How to access the Multiple-choice widget
Widgets are the tools with which course administrators create and build the pages of their courses.
The Multiple choice widget can be used to set up questions where the user can choose from a number of different answers.
Steps to access the Multiple choice widget.
Step 1
Go to the page in your course where you'd like to add this widget.
Step 2
Select Edit mode.
Step 3
In the lefthand widget menu, click on the grey container with the word Core and toggle it to Quiz.
Step 4
Click on the Multiple-choice widget icon (or you can hold and drag it wherever you'd like on the page).
Please note that if there isn't a quiz widget on the page, adding a new quiz widget will automatically create a quiz section for you. For more information on how to use the quiz section, please refer to the article How do I use a Quiz Section?
How to set up the Multiple-choice widget
After adding the Multiple-choice widget to your page, you can set it up by following the instructions below:
- Click on the Setup tab at the top of the widget.
- Edit the widget settings.
Question text: You can enter your question here. If you'd like to use formatted text or images, you can use the Text widget instead and leave this box empty.
Number of choices to select: Here you can choose whether to allow learners to select only one correct answer (single selection) or multiple correct answers (multiple selection).
Evaluating choices: To create a correct or incorrect answer-based evaluation, choose the Choices are either correct/incorrect radio button. If the response-based scoring is preferred, you can use the Choices add up to a score option to assign different scores to each available choice. This is useful when a question has multiple correct answers but at different levels of correctness. Refer to the Response-based scoring for Single Selection or Response-based scoring for Multiple Selection section below for more information on how to use this feature.
Choices: This section is where you set up the choices that learners will pick from. The choice field now features a rich text editor, offering enhanced input options for a more versatile and dynamic response experience. Replace the default text with your own options. Click the grey Add answer box to add more choices if required. Click the circle or radio button on the left of the Choice you would like to be marked as the correct answer.
For each choice, you can also add:
- Feedback (optional): Give feedback if the learner selects the choice. It will only be shown after the learner attempts the quiz.
- Image (optional): The image relevant to that specific choice, if required.
Randomise the order of choices: Ticking this box will randomise the order of choices for each learner.
Status Section
Show correct/incorrect status: Ticking this box will allow display text to appear letting learners know if they have selected the correct or incorrect choice(s).
When the response is correct: You can customise the message to be displayed when the learner has selected the correct choice. The default message is "Correct!".
When the response is incorrect: You can customise the message to be displayed when the learner has selected an incorrect choice. The default message is "Incorrect! Try again."
Hide correct/incorrect status: Ticking this box will allow you to customise the message to be displayed when the learner has selected the choice, regardless of whether it’s correct or incorrect.
Feedback Section
Show feedback (optional): Ticking this box will allow you to customise the feedback message when the learner has selected the correct or incorrect choice for that particular question.
Completion settings
Completing activities on a page is how learners make progress and receive their certificates or complete the course.
As the course administrator, you can modify how each Quiz Section tracks this progress.
The completion settings tab in each widget gives the option to include the quiz as part of the quiz section’s progress and completion tracking. By unchecking the option, you are excluding this specific quiz block from being part of the quiz section’s progress. Any interactions with this excluded quiz block will not affect the completion status of the quiz section.
For the multiple-choice widget, there's an additional setting under the Completion Settings tab that lets you define a minimum required score for completion. This option may be automatically enabled or disabled based on the settings you choose in the Completion Tracking section of the Quiz Section (Refer to the How do I use the Quiz Section article on how to set the completion tracking in the Quiz Section).
Minimum required score for completion is disabled
There are 2 scenarios where the Minimum required score for completion is disabled:
1. Completion tracking in the Quiz section is set to No completion tracking
The field to add the minimum required score will be disabled, as learners will still receive page progress completion regardless of whether their answers meet the required score.
2. Completion tracking in the Quiz section is set to Completed when an attempt is made
The field to add the minimum required score will be disabled, as there is no completion tracking.
Minimum required score for completion is enabled
When completion tracking in the Quiz section is set to Completion requires correct answers or minimum scores, you'll be able to change the minimum required score for completion.
Note that the minimum required score for completion cannot exceed the maximum achievable score. If a higher value is entered, an error message will appear, as shown in the screenshot below.
Number of choices to select: Single selection vs Multiple selection and Evaluating choices: Choices are either correct/incorrect vs Choices add up to a score
1. Standard multiple-choice question
To create a standard multiple-choice question, choose the Single Selection or Multiple Selection type and use the Correct/Incorrect method as the evaluation option.
2. Response-based scoring for Single Selection
You can use the Choices add up to a score option with the single-selection type question if you want to assign different scores to each available answer. This is useful when a question has multiple correct answers but at different levels of correctness.
For example, the question: “What is the capital city of Malaysia?”. In this case, you have provided three answer choices, but learners can only select one:
- Kuala Lumpur – 1 score
- KL – 0.5 score
- Petaling Jaya – 0 score
The maximum possible score for this question is 1, determined by the highest score assigned to any choice. This value is automatically reflected in the Completion Settings tab. For example, while “KL” is technically correct as an abbreviation, it earns only 0.5 marks. “Kuala Lumpur,” being the full and most accurate answer, receives the full 1 mark. “Putrajaya” is incorrect and earns 0 marks.
This scoring method enables more nuanced grading, allowing partial credit for responses that are partially correct.
3. Response-based scoring for Multiple Selection
For multiple-selection MCQs, the Choices add up to a score option allows you to assign different scores to each answer choice. This is useful when learners must select multiple correct answers to achieve the full score, or when correct answers carry different levels of accuracy or importance.
For example, the question: “Select the choices that are considered animals.” In this case, learners can choose from six answer options.
Each correct animal choice is assigned a score of 2, while “Television” receives 0. The maximum achievable score value is automatically calculated as the total of all positive scores—in this case, 10. If you wish to lower the minimum score, you can manually set a different value, as long as it does not exceed the total positive score.
Example of multiple-selection MCQ with response-based scoring
Example 1
Question 1 includes five answer choices, each assigned a specific response score:
- Choice A: -1 point
- Choice B: +1 point
- Choice C: +1 point
- Choice D: +1 point
- Choice E: +2 points
The setting in the MCQ widget setup tab:
- The maximum possible score is 5 (1 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 5). Therefore, the maximum achievable score is set at 5.
- The minimum score required for progress is 2 (configured in the MCQ’s completion settings tab).
- This question contributes 1 point to the overall quiz report score.
Achieving Progress (Minimum Required Score: 2)
To meet the progress requirement, the learner must score at least 2 response score. Possible ways to achieve this include:
✔ Selecting only Choice E (+2 points).
✔ Selecting Choice B (+1) and Choice C (+1) for a total of 2 points.
✔ Selecting Choice B, C, D, and E for a total of 5 points (exceeding the minimum requirement).
✖ If the learner selects Choice B (+1) and Choice A (-1), their total score will be 0, meaning they fail to meet the progress requirement.
Achieving the Full Score in the Quiz Report
To obtain the maximum score in the quiz report (1/1), the learner must score 5 points (based on the maximum achievable score), which can be done by selecting:
✔ Choice B, C, D, and E → Total 5 points (maximum achievable score reached). Therefore, the quiz report score will be 1/1.
✖ If the learner selects only Choice B (+1) and Choice C (+1): the total score will be 2 points. Therefore, the quiz report score will be 0.4/1.
Where can I find the Submit Button
If there isn't a quiz widget on the page, adding a new quiz widget will automatically create a quiz section. At the end of a quiz section, a submit button will be added automatically. Therefore, you don’t need to add a submit button manually anymore.
For more information on the quiz section, please refer to the article How do I use a Quiz Section?