Creating tests and quizzes in Microsoft Forms is a breeze. Whether you’re used to handwritten tests or old scantron methods, Microsoft Forms brings an easy, automated way to create, send, and grade quizzes. With a mix of question styles, intuitive grading tools, and automated reporting features, it’s a go-to solution for teachers, trainers, or anyone needing to assess learning in an organized way.

In today’s tutorial, we’ll be going over how to create tests and quizzes in Microsoft Forms, from setting up multiple-choice questions to customizing score calculations. By the end of this guide, you’ll be able to create, share, and track quiz responses with ease.

Getting Started with Microsoft Forms

The first step is accessing Microsoft Forms, which is part of the Office 365 suite.

  1. Log into your Office 365 account.
  2. Head to the applications panel (a toolbar on the left) and look for the Forms app. If it’s not showing, use the search bar to find it.
  3. Once in Forms, click New Form to get started.

Naming Your Quiz and Adding Descriptions

When creating forms, start by naming your quiz. This can be as simple as “Quiz 1” or something more descriptive depending on your needs. Add a quick description if necessary—it’s helpful if you need to clarify the purpose for users.

After naming your form, let’s dive into adding questions.

Adding and Setting Up Questions

Choosing Question Types in Microsoft Forms

With Microsoft Forms, you have a selection of question types to suit the quiz or test you’re designing.

  • Multiple Choice: Ideal for quizzes with specific options. You can:
    • Add as many options as you’d like.
    • Enable multiple correct answers if necessary.
    • Set the question as required for submission.
    • Shuffle options to randomize the order of responses.
  • Text Boxes: Allows users to enter written answers. You can:
    • Expand the text box for longer answers.
    • Set restrictions on the type of response, such as requiring a numeric response or defining a minimum/maximum value.
  • Star Rating: Great for surveys or feedback:
    • You can choose the scale (e.g., 1-5 stars or 1-10 stars).
    • Additionally, you can change stars to numbers for a simpler rating system.
  • Number Restrictions: This feature allows you to set up a numeric answer field. Say you expect a response of numbers between 1 and 100, you can limit the input to range-based answers only.

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Adding Specialized Fields

Apart from the basic question types, you also have options like:

  • Date Selection: Allows users to pick a specific date for questions related to events or agreements.
  • Ranking: Useful if you need users to order items according to importance or chronology.
  • Likert Scales: For more in-depth personal feedback, like asking respondents to rate themselves or opinions on a team.
  • File Upload: Handy for collecting additional work or documents along with the quiz.

Using Math Tools for Equation-Based Tests

If you’re conducting a quiz that’s math-heavy, Microsoft Forms lets you switch to Math Mode. You can:

  • Add math equations (like square roots or exponents).
  • Microsoft Forms will provide answer choices based on your equation.
  • You just need to select the correct answer for automatic grading.

Creating a Quiz in Microsoft Forms

Now that you’ve set up the form, let’s tackle a full quiz setup.

  1. In Forms, click New Quiz from the drop-down menu.
  2. Start by naming the quiz just like you did above and adding a description if needed.
  3. Click Add New to choose different question types. For example:
    • Make some questions Multiple Choice.
    • Set the correct answers to enable instant grading.
    • Add other types, depending on the subject matter.

Organizing and Adding Feedback

As you add options for your questions, you can:

  • Add a comment section beside each option to provide immediate feedback (this is great to make your respondents think more critically when they select an answer).
  • You can also copy questions if you want to keep the format similar and only change certain details.

Don’t forget to assign points to each question! Quiz scores are automatically calculated using these points, so it’s important to set this up before sharing.

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Sharing and Submitting Your Quiz

When you’re ready to share the quiz out to respondents:

  1. Click Share.
  2. Select who can take the test:
    • Only people in your organization.
    • Anyone with the link.
    • Specific individuals from your contact list or organization.
  3. Choose how to share it:
    • As a URL link.
    • A QR Code (this is useful for presentations or if you’re embedding it in a slide).
    • Embedded into a webpage (for instance, within an LMS like Blackboard).
  4. Finally, make sure to shorten the URL if it’s too long.

Test-Taking Experience

Before you send out the quiz link in Microsoft Forms, it’s always a good idea to preview what the form will look like for users. You’ll be able to recheck your questions and answer flow to make sure everything works great not only on desktop but also on mobile.

Tracking Responses and Grading Automatically

Once people start taking your quiz, Forms will gather their responses in real-time.

  • You’ll see how many people have responded and review scores immediately.
  • The system calculates the average score, which will adjust as more people respond.
  • You can even export quiz results to Excel for deeper analysis and record keeping.

If you find patterns like a majority missing certain questions, Forms gives you the insights to figure out which lessons may need more review.

Posting Scores and Providing Feedback

After reviewing, you can publicly post scores to participants:

  • When you post quiz results, each respondent gets only their individual score.
  • You can also give tailored feedback on each of their answers directly within Microsoft Forms.

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Wrapping Up

Microsoft Forms handles everything from creating tests, collecting responses, to calculating scores. It’s a powerful tool for quizzes, whether you’re teaching a course or running a business training session. Using the automated features like correct answer marking, math functions, and real-time reporting, you can focus more on improving results rather than manually grading.

Give it a try, and if you found this guide helpful, feel free to subscribe to my channel for more content like this!

If you have any questions or want to see specific tutorials, drop a comment below. I’d love to help!

Until next time, thanks for reading!

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