Canvas Quiz Settings Explained: What Students Need to Know (2026)

Before taking a Canvas quiz, understanding the settings your professor configured can give you a significant advantage. Here's everything students should know about Canvas quiz settings in 2026.

Classic Quizzes vs New Quizzes

Canvas has two quiz engines: Classic Quizzes (the original) and New Quizzes (the newer system). Your school may use either or both. The settings are similar but the interfaces differ. New Quizzes offers more question types and a modernized interface, while Classic Quizzes is still widely used.

Time Limits

Professors can set a time limit for each quiz. Once you start, a countdown timer appears. When time runs out, Canvas auto-submits your answers — even if you haven't finished.

Student tip: If your quiz has a time limit, use a tool that works instantly. Switching tabs to Google or ChatGPT wastes precious seconds. An in-page tool like QuizAce gives you answers in 3 seconds without leaving the page.

Attempt Limits

Some quizzes allow multiple attempts. Canvas can be configured to keep your highest score, latest score, or average score across attempts. If multiple attempts are allowed, use the first attempt to identify which questions are tricky, then ace subsequent attempts.

Question Shuffling

Professors can shuffle both the question order and the answer choices. This means your quiz may look different from your classmate's. This is why sharing "answer keys" by position (e.g., A, B, C, D) doesn't work — the positions change for each student.

Why AI is better: Tools like QuizAce read the actual question and answer text, not positions. Shuffling doesn't affect accuracy because AI analyzes the content, not the order.

One Question at a Time

Some quizzes display only one question per page and may prevent you from going back to previous questions. This forces you to commit to each answer before moving on. It also means you can't preview all questions first.

Show Correct Answers

Professors can choose whether to show correct answers after submission. Some show answers immediately, some after the due date, and some never. If answers are shown, use them to study for future quizzes — patterns often repeat.

Quiz Access Codes

Some in-person quizzes require an access code that the professor displays in class. This ensures you're physically present to take the quiz. The code is entered once before the quiz begins and doesn't affect how extensions work.

IP Address Filtering

Rarely, professors restrict quizzes to specific IP ranges (e.g., campus WiFi only). This means you must be on the school network. A VPN can sometimes bypass this, but it's uncommon for online courses.

Quiz Logs and Activity Monitoring

Canvas records quiz activity including when you started, when you submitted, time per question (Classic Quizzes), and tab-switching events. However, Canvas cannot detect Chrome extensions. For more details, read our guide on what Canvas can and cannot detect.

How These Settings Affect Quiz Solver Extensions

The good news: none of these quiz settings block or detect Chrome extensions. Time limits, shuffling, one-question-at-a-time, and access codes all work normally with in-page quiz solvers. The key is using a tool that works within the page — no tab switching, no copy-pasting.

Try QuizAce free — 5 questions per day on Canvas, no credit card required.