Moodle Quiz Settings: Everything Students Should Know (2026)

Moodle is one of the most widely used open-source LMS platforms. Whether your school runs Moodle 3.x, 4.x, or MoodleCloud, quiz settings work similarly. Here's what students need to know.

Moodle Quiz Timing

Professors set a time limit and an open/close window. The open/close window determines when the quiz is available (e.g., Monday 9 AM to Friday 5 PM). The time limit is how long you have once you start (e.g., 30 minutes).

Important: If you start a quiz 10 minutes before the close window, and the time limit is 30 minutes, Moodle may auto-submit after only 10 minutes. Always start with enough time.

Attempt Settings

Moodle allows 1 to unlimited attempts. The grading method can be:

Highest grade: Your best attempt counts.
Average grade: All attempts are averaged.
First attempt: Only your first try counts.
Last attempt: Your most recent attempt counts.

If multiple attempts are allowed with "highest grade," your first attempt is essentially risk-free reconnaissance.

Question Behavior

Moodle offers different question behaviors:

Deferred feedback: You answer all questions, then submit. Most common.
Immediate feedback: Feedback shown after each question (rare in graded quizzes).
Interactive with multiple tries: You get hints and retry (even rarer).
Adaptive mode: Penalty for wrong answers, can retry each question.

Most graded quizzes use deferred feedback — you answer everything, then submit once.

Review Options

This is where Moodle gets detailed. Professors configure what you can see and when:

During the attempt: Usually just the questions.
Immediately after: Can show right/wrong, marks, feedback, correct answers.
Later, while still open: Same options, may differ from "immediately."
After quiz is closed: Often shows correct answers for studying.

If correct answers are shown after the quiz closes, students often screenshot them for future reference.

Navigation and Layout

Moodle can show all questions on one page or one per page. It can also allow or prevent going back to previous questions. "Sequential" navigation forces you forward without returning.

Question Randomization

Moodle can pull random questions from a question bank, shuffle question order, and shuffle answer choices. Each student may see a different set of questions. AI tools that read question text are unaffected by randomization.

Safe Exam Browser (SEB)

Moodle integrates with Safe Exam Browser, an open-source alternative to Respondus LockDown Browser. When SEB is required, you must download and use the SEB application to take the quiz. It locks your desktop to the quiz window.

Most Moodle quizzes do not require SEB. It's mainly used for proctored on-campus exams. Standard online quizzes use the regular browser.

Does Moodle Detect Chrome Extensions?

No. Moodle is a web application with the same technical limitations as Canvas or Blackboard — it cannot enumerate or detect installed browser extensions. Moodle logs attempt timing and IP addresses, but not your browser configuration.

Using Quiz Solver Extensions on Moodle

QuizAce works on Moodle 3.x and 4.x, MoodleCloud, and self-hosted instances. It scans quiz pages via DOM analysis and uses AI to determine answers. Custom Moodle themes don't affect compatibility.

Try QuizAce free — 5 questions/day, all platforms, no credit card required.