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Allow Multiple Attempts on an Assessment

This assessment setting allows students to reattempt an assessment after it has been graded.

Ethan Kelly avatar
Written by Ethan Kelly
Updated over a week ago

By enabling the "Allow Multiple Attempts" setting on an assessment, you can allow students to retake and resubmit the same assessment multiple times. 

This setting might be helpful for:

  • Assessments with no due date

  • Asynchronous remote learning

  • "Check for understanding" assessments

  • Assessments that encourage further research or revision

➡️ Not sure if Allow Multiple Attempts is the best choice for what you want to do? For additional options, take a look at our article on allowing students to retake an assessment.

Please note: When a student restarts an assessment with Allow Multiple Attempts enabled, their previous score is not saved. The Otus gradebook will record only their most recent attempt score.


Enable or Disable "Allow Multiple Attempts"

  • Step 2: To enable the setting, click the checkbox next to Allow Multiple Attempts.

    Note: This setting is OFF (disabled) by default. If you do not wish to allow multiple attempts, you do not need to take any action when assigning an assessment.


Student Actions

For an assessment where all of the questions are auto-scored, there is no action required on the teacher's end once the student submits their first attempt. Students will be able to start their second attempt immediately after turning in the assessment. If there are questions that need to be scored by the teacher, those questions will have to be graded before the student is able to start the next attempt.

  • Students will navigate to their Assessments module and click on a graded assessment.

  • Based on the assessment settings, students will be presented with one of the following prompts. If Allow Multiple Attempts is ON, they can click the Retake Assessment button to start the assessment as a fresh attempt.

Allow Post-Grading Review: ✅ ON

Allow Multiple Attempts: ✅ ON

Allow Post-Grading Review: ✅ ON

Allow Multiple Attempts: 🚫 OFF

Allow Post Grading-Review: 🚫 OFF

Allow Multiple Attempts: ✅ ON

Allow Post-Grading Review: 🚫 OFF

Allow Multiple Attempts: 🚫 OFF

  • If the student chooses Retake Assessment, they will be alerted that their prior assessment attempt will reset.

    • Any previous scores for the assessment will be reset when the student clicks Yes and begins the assessment.

    • For Simple and Advanced assessments, any previous work will not be saved. The student will start the assessment as a fresh attempt.

    • For Rubric assessments, attachments that were previously submitted by the student do remain attached to the assessment when it is restarted.


FAQ and Troubleshooting

Click to see FAQ and troubleshooting details.

Can I select which students I want the setting to apply to?

The setting will apply to all of the students who you select when you assign the assessment. If you want some students in a class to have multiple attempts while others do not, you will need to assign the assessment separately to each group of students.

Can I specify how many attempts students can take?

Currently, this isn't an option, but it is a feature request that the development team has their eyes on! Click here to add your vote.

Which score will go in the gradebook; the highest, or the most recent?

Otus uses the most recent score the gradebook. Scores for previous attempts are not preserved.

Are teacher comments preserved when a student retakes an assessment with Allow Multiple Attempts enabled?

Yes, teacher comments remain in place when a student retakes an assessment. If needed, you can edit or delete previously added comments when the assessment is resubmitted.

If I use the "Randomize Questions" setting, will the questions stay in the same randomized order for each attempt?

Yes; If you use Allow Multiple Attempts, the questions will remain in the same order for each attempt as they were during their first attempt.


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