[New Quizzes] Create Option for Extra Credit Question in Quiz

Users should be able to mark a question to be used for extra credit in a quiz in Canvas.  This question should only provide credit to the student if it is correct.  It should NOT take away from the student's overall score on the quiz if they get it wrong or do not answer it.
 

  Comments from Instructure

2022-07-12 -- After reviewing this long-existing idea, the Community Team has determined that this request will remain Open. While it was authored when only Classic Quizzes existed, the idea can be applied to New Quizzes as well. Ultimately, this will reduce the number of duplicated Idea requests and allow the conversation and collaboration to exist in a single space. 

70 Comments
ccarnes
Community Explorer

This would allow flexibility in scoring quizzes and for profs desires.

fordfar
Community Member

I don't see any arguments as to why this feature shouldn't be implemented, the workaround is tedious (especially for large classes), and the practice is common in traditional classroom quizzes and tests. Let's get going on this suggestion!

It need not complicate the interface either. Consider adding a checkbox to "Mark as extra credit" then the number entered into the field that was for points possible can become the number for points extra if answered correctly. Example:

Extra Credit CheckboxExtra Credit Checkbox

 

 

vparpura
Community Novice

I would like to submit a request to the Canvas design team to create a way that allows us to designate questions within a quiz/test as bonus questions or to set the point value to be different from the total point value of the questions. At present we have to go back and regrade or separate bonus points into separate test and this is a lot of extra work/ time potentially leading to grading error. 

rlk03
Community Explorer

I agree. I am an instructional designer, and our office frequently has instructors asking about how to set questions for bonus points on quizzes/exams. 

DeborahKleiner
Community Member

As an instructor, I found a problem with the way Canvas calculated the average of class exams.

I often build in a curve into my exam, so that the highest grade possible is above 100, e.g., 105. Nonetheless, I view a grade of 100 as a perfect score. The grade appearing on Canvas "Grades" is reported as out of 105. Thus, a 100 on the exam is treated as 95.2% rather than 100. 

As a further example: Let's assume I give three exams, 1 worth 100 points, the second worth a possible 105 points, and the third a possible 110 points. And let's assume a student's grades are respectively as follows:  82, 97, and 73. I would calculate that student's cumulative average on exams as 84%. However, Canvas calculates it as 252 (82+97+73) divided by 315 (100+105+110) and reports the average as 80%. 

While I understand the rationale behind the Canvas calculation, that is not the result I want. Yet, Canvas does not offer a work-around - except by manually calculating the average for each student and inputting the adjusted average for each student into the gradebook. 

There must be an easier way! 

ScottCargile
Community Member

Please add the option to allow bonus questions on the quiz maker.

rboerner
Community Explorer

We're now finishing year 6 of aggrieved faculty users pleading and begging Instructure to finally add extra credit support for quiz questions in Canvas, which is standard functionality in LMS and trivial to implement.

The collective time loss we have suffered from having to employ tedious workarounds for missing standard LMS functionality is incalculable.

Question to Instructure: Are you EVER going to add support for extra credit?

erizzi
Community Member

    I would like to recommend the following, which seems silly to me that it is not an ability already.

    

      There should be a way to make a "Bonus Questions" on quizzes that don't need to be graded manually. Currently, the method to make a bonus quiz question is to make a question worth 0 points, and then faculty or TAs go in and manually add the points for correct answers to that question. This is so time consuming for something that can be quite trivial.

 

  I am sure and would think the canvas team has the ability to make at least multiple choice bonus questions on quizzes autograded. Instructors with 200 - 400 students would thank you.

 

~ E.R.

timothy_maw
Community Champion

This is extremely helpful. I have a frustrated instructor wanting to be able to do this and they do not like having to manually add points later as bonus questions.

KrystalNR
Community Member

We have many instructors who would love to see this implemented so there is a quicker, easier way to provide extra credit points to students.