PRIMER: Graded Questions the Allow Multiple Attempts

Graded questions (standard and freeform) can be set to give the learner more than one attempt to answer. 

 

How to adjust the number of attempts

Follow these steps to adjust the number of attempts:

• Go to the QUESTION TOOLS>DESIGN ribbon.
• Open the Attempts dropdown menu.
• Select a number (1–10) or Unlimited. 

 

• Note: If the Feedback for the question is set to None, the program doesn’t allow more than one attempt. 

 

How a question with multiple attempts works

When you increase Attempts to >1, Storyline automatically adds a Try Again layer to the slide. 

• The Try Again layer shows when the learner answers incorrectly before reaching the maximum number of attempts. The layer has a Try Again button. Clicking the button closes the layer and returns the learner to the question. The learner can change their answer and resubmit the question for grading.
• The Correct layer shows when the learner answers correctly within the allowed number of attempts.
• The Incorrect layer shows when the learner answers incorrectly and they have reached the maximum number of attempts. 

 

Overview of resetting the learner’s answer

When the Try Again layer closes, the learner's previous answer still appears on the base. 

What if you don't want to show the learner’s previous answer when the Try Again layer closes? Depending on the type of question, you can reset the responses.

• True/False, Multiple Choice (Pick One), Multiple Response (Pick Many), Fill-in-the-Blank (Text Entry), and freeform Drag-and-Drop questions can be reset. See below for instructions.
• The response to a Numeric question can only be reset to a specified number. The entry field cannot be reset to blank with just a Storyline trigger. (It can be reset to blank using JavaScript. That is beyond the scope of this discussion.)
• Responses cannot be reset for other types of graded questions. 

 

How to reset the learner’s answer for True/False, Multiple Choice (Pick One), and Multiple Response (Pick Many) questions

With True/False, Multiple Choice (Pick One), and Multiple Response (Pick Many) questions, the Selected state indicates the chosen response button(s). To reset the question, add triggers to the Try Again button that change the state of each response button back to Normal.

The image below shows two examples. On the left are the triggers to reset a Multiple Choice (Pick One) question. On the right are the triggers to reset a Multiple Response (Pick Many) question. Because any response might be Selected, there is one trigger per response. 

 

How to reset the learner’s answer for Fill-in-the-Blank (Text Entry) questions

When you insert a Fill-in-the-Blank (Text Entry) question, Storyline creates a variable to store the text that the learner enters. To reset the question, add a trigger to the Try Again button that adjusts the variable's value back to (blank). 

 

How to reset the learner’s answer for freeform Drag-and-Drop questions

Resetting freeform Drag-and-Drop questions requires returning the draggable items to their original positions. This is done with triggers on the Try Again button that move the draggable items on motion-path animations. 

• Give each draggable item a line motion path. 
• Shorten the Duration of the each motion path. 
• Set the Length of each motion path to 0 px. That will “move” the item to its starting position.
• It’s also helpful to give each motion path a meaningful Name. 

 

• When you add a motion path, the program automatically creates a trigger to move the item on that path when the timeline starts on the slide. Delete those triggers. 

 

• Add triggers to move each draggable object on its 0-px motion path when the learner clicks the Try Again button.