Moodle Quiz Answers: How Review Options Work (2026)

Moodle shows quiz answers through its Review options: the teacher decides, item by item, whether you can see your attempt, whether each answer was correct, your marks, feedback and the right answer, and at which of four moments (during the attempt, immediately after it, later while the quiz is still open, or after the quiz closes). If "Right answer" is not ticked for the moment you are looking, Moodle will not display it. This guide walks through every review option as documented by Moodle, explains how question behaviours and attempts change what you see, and gives a practical way to study for Moodle quizzes.

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

How a Moodle quiz works

A Moodle quiz is an activity that pulls questions from the course question bank. The teacher configures it on the Quiz settings page, in sections that include Timing, Grade, Layout, Question behaviour, Review options, Overall feedback and Extra restrictions on attempts. Three of those determine whether and when correct answers appear:

• Question behaviour decides whether you get feedback while answering or only after submitting.
• Review options decide what you can see when you review an attempt, and when.
• Timing, especially the close date, decides when the "after the quiz is closed" review phase begins (if it ever does).

The Review options, item by item

Moodle's documentation lists eight things a teacher can reveal on the review page. Each is a checkbox, and each can be switched on separately for each timing phase.

Moodle's docs note that the "Right answer" display is not consistent across question types: it is a summary Moodle generates, which is why many teachers prefer to explain the answer in general feedback instead. If you see a short, oddly formatted "The correct answer is…" line, that is this option.

The four review timings

Every review option above sits in a grid with four columns. Moodle defines them precisely:

This explains the most common student confusion: "I saw the right answers when I submitted, and now they're gone." The teacher ticked Right answer for Immediately after but not for Later, while still open. The review page changed two minutes after you submitted, as designed. The opposite pattern is just as common: nothing is visible until After the quiz is closed, so that classmates still taking the quiz can't see the answers. If the quiz has no close date, that last phase never arrives, and the teacher has to change the settings to release answers.

For the full list of quiz settings in student terms, see our Moodle quiz settings explained guide.

Question behaviours: when feedback arrives

The question behaviour setting changes the rhythm of the quiz:

• Deferred feedback: you answer everything and submit the whole quiz before anything is graded, like a traditional exam.
• Immediate feedback: you can submit each response during the attempt and get it graded, but only once; you can't change it afterwards.
• Interactive with multiple tries: after a wrong answer you can try again, often with hints and a grade penalty per extra try.
• Adaptive mode: multiple attempts at a question before moving on.
• Certainty-based marking: you also say how sure you are, and the mark depends on that confidence.

Interactive and immediate-feedback quizzes are effectively built-in tutoring: the feedback is the answer explanation, delivered at the moment it is most useful.

Reading the review page

When you open the review of an attempt, each question appears in its own box with a small information panel on the left. Depending on the options enabled, that panel shows whether the question was correct, partially correct or incorrect, and the mark you earned out of the maximum (for example, "Mark 0.50 out of 1.00"). Under the question you may see three different kinds of text, and it helps to know which is which:

• Specific feedback sits right next to the option you chose and explains why that particular choice is right or wrong. It is the most targeted explanation Moodle offers.
• General feedback appears in a shaded box under the question and is the same for everyone. Teachers often use it for the full worked explanation.
• Right answer is a line such as "The correct answer is: …", generated by Moodle rather than written by the teacher.

At the top of the review page, a summary table shows when you started and finished, the time taken, your marks and your grade, plus overall feedback if the teacher wrote feedback for different grade bands. Partially correct results are common on multiple-response, matching and cloze questions, where each part is marked separately; the review shows which parts you got right, which is a useful guide to what to revisit.

Attempts and grading method

Teachers can allow several attempts. The grading method then decides which one counts: highest grade, average grade, first attempt or last attempt. With highest grade, a first attempt followed by careful review and a second attempt is a sound study plan. With average or first, every attempt matters, so prepare before attempt one.

To review an attempt, open the quiz: the Summary of your previous attempts table lists each one with a Review link when the review options allow it.

What the teacher sees

Moodle's quiz reports give the teacher three main views under the quiz's Results:

Moodle also keeps site logs of course activity, and teachers can restrict attempts in Extra restrictions on attempts: a password, a required network address (limiting the quiz to listed IP ranges, often a campus lab), and browser security (a full-screen pop-up with some JavaScript restrictions, which Moodle's own docs describe as not fool-proof).

For higher-stakes exams, Moodle integrates Safe Exam Browser, an open-source locked-down browser for Windows, macOS and iOS. When the teacher sets Require the use of Safe Exam Browser, you can only attempt the quiz from SEB with the exam's configuration file, which Moodle can provide from the quiz page. If a quiz tells you SEB is required, install it ahead of time and run a practice quiz if one is offered.

How to study for Moodle quizzes

1. Check the quiz info box first. The quiz page lists the opening and closing times, the time limit, attempts allowed and grading method. Those four facts tell you how to approach the attempt.
2. Review within the right window. If answers show only "immediately after", you have about two minutes; read the review page right away and note the questions you missed.
3. Use general feedback as a mini-lesson. Teachers often put the full explanation there. Copy the key sentence into your notes.
4. Expect random questions. Many quizzes draw from categories of the question bank, so retakes may show different questions on the same topic. Learn the concept rather than the item.
5. Look for practice quizzes and lessons. Ungraded quizzes with interactive behaviour, H5P activities and glossaries are the best study material in a Moodle course.
6. Ask about hidden answers. If the right answer never appears, the teacher may release it after the close date or cover it in class. Asking is fine.

Our guide to studying with AI tools goes deeper into retrieval practice and spaced repetition.

Using an AI study assistant while you practise

On practice quizzes and when reviewing an attempt, an AI study assistant can fill the gap when Moodle shows only "Incorrect" with no explanation. QuizAce is a Chrome extension that reads the question on the Moodle page, whatever the school's theme or domain, including images, and explains the reasoning behind the answer. Answer first, then compare; the questions where your reasoning differed are the ones to revisit.

On graded quizzes, follow your teacher's instructions and your institution's academic-integrity policy, and never use outside tools on a quiz that requires Safe Exam Browser or is described as closed-book. The same approach works on Brightspace and Google Forms.

Sources

• Moodle Docs: Quiz settings (review options, timings, attempts, extra restrictions)
• Moodle Docs: Question behaviours
• Moodle Docs: Quiz reports
• Moodle Docs: Quiz grades report
• Moodle Docs: Safe Exam Browser

FAQ

How do I see the correct answers on a Moodle quiz?

Open the quiz and click Review next to your attempt. The correct answer appears only if the teacher ticked "Right answer" in the review options for the current timing phase (immediately after, later while open, or after close).

Why did the answers disappear from my Moodle quiz review?

"Immediately after the attempt" lasts two minutes. If the teacher enabled answers only for that phase, the review page changes once you move into "later, while the quiz is still open".

When will Moodle show the answers after the quiz closes?

As soon as the close date passes, if the teacher enabled the options in the "After the quiz is closed" column. If the quiz has no close date, that phase never begins.

Can my teacher see how long I spent on a Moodle quiz?

Yes. The quiz grades report has "Started on", "Completed" and "Time taken" columns for each attempt, alongside your marks, and the teacher can review your attempt exactly as you saw it.

What is Safe Exam Browser in Moodle?

An open-source locked-down browser that integrates with Moodle quizzes. When the teacher requires it, you can only take the quiz in SEB using the exam's configuration file.