The Question Bank component is a summative, end-of-module assessment. You can build a pool of questions, set a pass rate, and control how questions are drawn and retried, so learners get dynamic, cheat-resistant assessments rather than a static quiz.
Why use Question Banks?
In a static assessment, every learner sees the same questions in the same order. Learners who fail and try again often rely on memory and process of elimination rather than mastering the subject. Question Banks address this:
- Eliminate guesswork and memorisation: randomised subsets of questions on retries mean learners must engage with the material rather than memorise answer options.
- Deter answer-sharing: randomised pools and question shuffling mean no two learners take the same test in the same order.
- Target topic coverage: group questions by learning objective or topic (for example, Data Protection or Health & Safety) to ensure a balanced distribution across all core areas.
- Add richer context: use Prefaces to bring scenarios, case studies, video, audio and diagrams into each question.
Supported question types
Question Banks support all core scored question types in Create:
- Single Choice
- Multiple Choice
- Drag and Drop
- Sortable List
- Typed Answer
Survey questions are unscored and cannot be added to a Question Bank.
How to set up a Question Bank
Step 1: Add the component
- Open your project in Create.
- From the component list, add the Question Bank component to your page or custom content block.
- Open the Questions panel in the right-hand sidebar to add and author your questions.
Tip: Use the Expand icon to make the Question editing screen bigger
Step 2: Assign topics to questions (optional)
Topics categorise questions by subject matter, so learners are tested across all syllabus areas.
- In the Questions panel, select a question.
- In the Topic field, select an existing topic from the dropdown, or type a new one and press Enter.
- Repeat for each question in your bank. Each question can carry one topic.
Note: Topic keys are structural matching identifiers. When you translate a course using Auto-Translate, topics stay identical across language variations, so the draw logic never breaks.
Step 3: Configure draw rules
Select the Question Bank Settings button on the component to choose how questions are drawn.
Draw from entire Question Bank
- All questions (default): learners receive every question in the pool.
- Capped number: set how many questions to draw at random, for example 5 from a 15-question bank.
Draw from topics
- Select specific topics and set the number of questions to draw from each, for example 2 from Fire Safety and 3 from Emergency Evacuation.
- If a topic has fewer questions than requested, all available questions for that topic are served. Questions are not pulled from other topics to make up the difference.
Step 4: Set the pass rate and scoring
- Pass rate (%): set the threshold (0–100%) required to pass. A score that matches or exceeds the threshold marks the assessment as passed.
- Scored (default): the Question Bank contributes to the course score. Each question served is weighted individually (1 × the number of questions drawn).
- Unscored: toggle this in Project Controls > Scored Questions. An unscored Question Bank still calculates its own pass/fail state for the learner, but adds 0 points to the overall course grade.
Note: Course completion and course pass/fail are calculated independently of individual assessment pass/fail outcomes.
Step 5: Configure attempts and retries
In Question Bank Settings, define how retries behave when learners don't pass:
- Number of attempts: choose 1 to 20 attempts, or leave blank to inherit the project defaults.
- Reset questions on new attempt:
- All questions: the learner retakes a full set of questions.
- Incorrect only: questions answered correctly are kept, and only missed questions are asked again.
- Prefer new questions each attempt: when enabled, unseen questions are drawn from the bank before previously answered questions are reused.
- Allow retry after passing: choose whether a learner who has passed can retry to improve their score.
Step 6: Customise feedback
You can add feedback at both assessment and question level.
Assessment completion dialogs
- Pass feedback: shown when the learner meets or exceeds the pass rate.
- Fail feedback: shown when the learner falls below the pass rate and has attempts remaining.
- Final attempt feedback: shown when the learner fails their final allowed attempt.
Individual question feedback
Toggle Individual Question Feedback in the Questions panel to show Correct, Partially Correct or Incorrect explanations beneath each question when it's submitted.
Add context with Question Prefaces
A Preface sets the scene before the question prompt, with background details, situational context or multimedia. You can add one to any question in your Question Bank.
Preface text: enter scenario descriptions, case study prompts or background briefs. Rich text and headings are supported.
Preface media: add one piece of media per question:
- Image: diagrams, photos or infographics (supports alt text).
- Video: streamed or uploaded video clips.
- Audio: audio clips with title and introduction fields.
- Text to Speech: a synthetic voice reading generated from text.
- Embed: third-party iframes or interactive web embeds.
- None: remove media to keep text only.
Media layout: when a Preface has both text and media, choose how they display:
- Column (default): media stacked vertically above or below the text.
- Column-reverse: the vertical stacking reversed.
- Row: text and media side by side.
- Row-reverse: side by side with positions swapped.
On mobile and narrow screens, row layouts automatically reflow into stacked columns for readability.
Preview your Question Bank
Because Question Banks serve randomised questions, the editor offers two preview experiences:
- Learner Preview: experience the component exactly as a learner will, with randomised draws and shuffled questions.
- Author Preview: when reviewing your course, use the Author Preview dropdown to inspect, proofread and verify every question, Preface and feedback state in the bank, including questions a random draw might not display.
Best practices
- Keep bank sizes balanced: when drawing by topic, make sure each topic has enough questions to keep attempts varied, for example at least 3–4 questions per topic if drawing 2.
- Use 'Incorrect only' retries for longer assessments: if your Question Bank has more than 10 questions, resetting only incorrect answers reduces frustration and rewards the questions learners have already got right.
- Test in Learner Preview: before publishing, use Learner Preview with retries enabled to confirm that feedback dialogs, question transitions and score weightings behave as intended.