Google Forms Quiz Settings: How Teachers Set Them Up (2026)

A Google Forms quiz is an ordinary form with Make this a quiz turned on in Settings. That one switch adds an answer key, point values and automatic grading; everything else you experience as a student (signing in, one response only, shuffled questions, a close date, locked mode on a Chromebook) comes from a handful of other settings in the Responses, Presentation and Quizzes panels. This guide explains each setting your teacher can choose, where it lives, and what it changes for you.

Last verified: October 12, 2026 against the official documentation linked below.

Google Forms "Quiz Mode"

According to Google's help article Create & grade quizzes with Google Forms, a teacher opens a form, clicks Settings and turns on Make this a quiz. Google also offers a shortcut, g.co/createaquiz, that opens a new form with quiz mode already on. Without quiz mode, a form is a survey: it collects answers but does not score them.

With quiz mode on, three things become available on each question:

• Answer key. The teacher marks the correct option(s). Google lists the question types that support an answer key: short answer, multiple choice, checkboxes, dropdown, multiple choice grid and checkbox grid.
• Point value. Set in the top right of each question. Points can be assigned on every question type, including paragraph questions that have no answer key and must be graded by hand.
• Answer feedback. A written explanation or a YouTube video attached to correct or incorrect answers, shown to you if the teacher releases it.

A useful detail for students: short answer questions are auto-graded against the exact text the teacher typed into the key. A correct answer with different wording or a typo can be marked wrong, and the teacher has to fix it by hand. If your score looks wrong on a short answer question, that is the most likely reason, and it is worth asking politely.

Question types and how each is graded

Because only some question types accept an answer key, the type of question tells you how your answer will be scored:

If a quiz contains any question without an answer key but with points, the teacher must grade it in the Responses tab, either per student (Individual) or per question (Question), where they can mark answers correct, incorrect or give partial points. That is why many quizzes with a written question release grades only after manual review.

Before you start: a quick checklist

• Are you signed in to the right Google account (usually your school one)?
• Does the form say your email is being recorded? Then your response is tied to you.
• Is there a deadline or close date in the instructions? Submit early.
• Are there several sections? Check the progress through the Next buttons before you plan your time.
• Is it a Classroom quiz with locked mode? Then you need a school-managed Chromebook.

Response Settings

The Responses panel in Settings controls who can answer and how many times. Google documents these options in Publish & share your form with responders and View & manage form responses:

Two points from the help pages often surprise students. Grading individual responses (adding points and feedback per student) requires the teacher to collect email addresses, so most graded quizzes do. And if a form says "You need permission" or asks you to switch accounts, it is restricted to your school domain: open it while signed in to your school Google account.

Answer Feedback Settings

Two separate settings control what you see after submitting. Under Release grades, the teacher chooses Immediately after each submission or Later, after manual review; Google notes that by default grades release immediately. Under Respondent settings, the teacher decides whether you can see missed questions, correct answers and point values, each independently.

So a teacher can show your score immediately but hide which answers were correct, or hold everything until a paragraph question has been graded and then email results. If your results page shows a score but no answers, nothing is broken; that is the configuration. The full walk-through of what appears after submission, and what to do when an automatic grade looks wrong, is in our companion guide to Google Forms quiz answers and results.

Presentation, sections and required questions

The Presentation panel and the form editor shape how the quiz looks while you take it. Google's Edit your form and publishing articles describe the options:

• Sections. Long quizzes are split into sections (up to 75 per form), each on its own page with Next and Back buttons. Teachers can also send you to a different section depending on an answer.
• Required questions. A red asterisk means you cannot submit or move to the next section until you answer it.
• Confirmation message. The text you see after submitting, which teachers sometimes use for instructions ("check your email for results on Friday").
• View results summary. If on, you get a link to charts of everyone's responses. Google warns teachers that summaries are visible to anyone who can respond, which is why it is usually off on graded quizzes.

Question Shuffling

Google Forms has two kinds of shuffling. Shuffle question order is in Settings, under Presentation > Form presentation, and randomises the order of questions. Shuffle option order is set per question (from the question's More menu) and randomises the answer choices of multiple choice, checkbox and dropdown questions.

Google adds a detail most people miss: questions and answers are shuffled only once per email address. In practice, shuffling works best when respondents are signed in, and your order stays the same if you reopen the form. Since your classmates likely see a different order, comparing "what did you put for number 5" is meaningless; talk about concepts instead.

Autosave, close dates and response limits

Two newer behaviours change how quiz day works.

Autosave. Google's Autosave your response progress article explains that when you are signed in, your progress is saved as a draft for 30 days from your last edit, so you can close the tab or switch devices and pick up where you left off in the same Google Account. Autosave does not work offline, and the form owner can disable it (you will see "Saving disabled" at the top). If a teacher deletes a question, your draft answer to it is removed.

Close date and response limit. In January 2026, Google announced that form owners can close a form automatically at a set date and time, or after a set number of responses, for Workspace and personal accounts alike. Before that, a teacher had to switch off Accepting responses by hand. Once a form is closed, you see "The form is no longer accepting responses" or a custom message, and you cannot submit, even with a draft in progress. If your quiz has a deadline, submit well before it.

Forms also now distinguish between published and unpublished forms: Google states that responders with the link cannot access an unpublished form. If a link your teacher shared opens an error, the form may simply not be published yet.

Locked Mode (Chromebook Only)

Locked mode is Google's exam setting for Google Forms quizzes assigned through Google Classroom. Google's Classroom help article Create a quiz assignment describes how it works:

• The teacher turns on Locked mode on Chromebooks when creating the quiz assignment in Classroom, and it requires a Google Workspace for Education account.
• It works only on Chromebooks managed by the school. Google states that unmanaged devices cannot access the Forms quiz when locked mode is on. In other words, on a personal laptop, Windows PC or Mac, you cannot open a locked quiz at all.
• While locked, students cannot open other browser tabs. Accessibility features stay available: ChromeVox, high-contrast mode, and the full-screen and docked magnifiers.
• The teacher receives an email if a student exits the quiz and then reopens it.

This corrects a common misunderstanding (which an earlier version of this article repeated): locked mode does not "have no effect" on other devices. It restricts the quiz to managed Chromebooks. If you need to take a locked quiz and do not have a school Chromebook, tell your teacher before the quiz.

Google Classroom quiz assignments and grade importing

Many teachers create the quiz from Classroom (Create > Quiz assignment) rather than from Forms. Besides locked mode, this adds Grade importing, which copies Forms scores into the Classroom gradebook. Google lists the conditions: the form must be the only attachment, students are limited to one response, they must be in the same domain as the teacher, and the form must collect email addresses. That combination explains why Classroom quizzes almost always require your school account and allow only one submission.

What Google Forms records

Google Forms is simpler than an LMS quiz tool, and it records less:

This describes Google Forms itself, not your school device. A school-managed Chromebook or Chrome profile can be monitored by classroom-management software your school installs, and those tools follow their own rules. For what a browser can reveal more generally, see what professors can see about browser extensions. Whatever the tooling, your teacher's instructions and your school's academic-integrity policy are what matter.

Common problems and what to do

• "You need permission": the form is restricted to your school domain. Sign in with your school account.
• "You've already responded": Limit to 1 response is on. Ask the teacher if you submitted by mistake; they can delete the response.
• Your answers disappeared: you were signed out, offline, or autosave was disabled. Drafts are tied to the account you were using.
• No score after submitting: grades are set to release after manual review, often because a paragraph question needs grading.
• The quiz will not open on your laptop: it may use locked mode, which requires a school-managed Chromebook.

Studying with Google Forms quizzes

Google Forms quizzes are short and frequent, which makes them good retrieval practice. When the teacher releases correct answers and feedback, copy the missed questions into your notes with a one-line explanation; if answer feedback includes a video, watch it. When a quiz allows response editing or multiple submissions, use the first attempt to find gaps, then review before trying again.

An AI study assistant can fill in the "why" that a score alone does not give. QuizAce is a Chrome extension that reads the question on the page, including images, and explains the answer, which is useful on practice quizzes, review forms and homework checks. On graded quizzes, follow your teacher's rules and your school's academic-integrity policy; locked-mode quizzes run on managed Chromebooks where extensions are controlled by the school. See our guide to studying with AI tools, and if your courses also use an LMS, compare with the Canvas, Moodle and Brightspace quiz settings guides.

Sources

• Google Docs Editors Help: Create & grade quizzes with Google Forms
• Google Docs Editors Help: Publish & share your form with responders (limit to 1 response, response editing, results summary)
• Google Docs Editors Help: View & manage form responses (close date, email collection, receipts)
• Google Docs Editors Help: Edit your form (shuffling, sections, required questions)
• Google Docs Editors Help: Autosave your response progress on a Google Form
• Google Workspace Updates: Forms can stop collecting responses at a set time (January 2026)
• Google Classroom Help: Create a quiz assignment (locked mode, grade importing)

FAQ

Can I see my score right after submitting a Google Forms quiz?

Only if the teacher set Release grades to "Immediately after each submission", which is the default. If it is set to "Later, after manual review", your score arrives by email once the teacher releases it.

Why does a Google Forms quiz make me sign in?

Because the teacher turned on Limit to 1 response, verified email collection, or a restriction to your school domain. All three require a Google Account, and Classroom grade importing requires them.

Does Google Forms save my answers if I close the tab?

Yes, if you are signed in and online: progress is saved as a draft for 30 days. It is not saved if the teacher disabled autosave or you were offline.

Can I take a locked mode quiz on my own laptop?

No. Google states that locked mode quizzes work only on school-managed Chromebooks and that unmanaged devices cannot access them. Ask your teacher for an alternative if you do not have one.

Can my teacher see if I leave a Google Forms quiz?

Not on a regular form; Forms records your answers and submission time. In Classroom locked mode, the teacher gets an email if you exit the quiz and reopen it.

Why are my Google Forms questions in a different order than my friend's?

The teacher turned on Shuffle question order, and possibly Shuffle option order. Each signed-in respondent gets their own order.