A student can't start a quiz. What do I do?
Fix a problem · Updated
Issue: The Take quiz button is missing or grayed out, or the quiz won't open.
Fix: match what the student sees
| What the student sees | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Request quiz and "This quiz hasn't been finalized yet" | The quiz isn't written yet. | Request it. Most arrive within 3–5 days. See This book doesn't have a quiz |
| "This book isn't out yet" | The book's release date hasn't come. Its quiz can't be requested or taken until then. | Wait for the date the tab shows. |
| "This book does not support a quiz" | It's a book we don't quiz, such as a board book, wordless book, box set, reference or activity book. | Admin certify the reading instead. If you think the category is wrong, email books@bookroo.com. |
| "You can retake this quiz on or after…" | They failed a recent attempt, or left one after answering at least half the questions. Both use the same wait. A quiz left with fewer answered opens again the next day. Waiting longer than your class's retake wait? The date is set when the quiz ends, so a quiz from before you changed the setting keeps its old date. Otherwise the student is also in another class with a longer wait, and the longest applies (see students in more than one class). | Quizzes → magnifying glass on the student → … → Change retake date. See Change a retake date or certify. |
| "To take this quiz, first mark this book as read" | The student is set to Admin controlled. | Record the book as finished for them first (Record or fix reading). |
| A Monitor password box | Your class asks for its password on every quiz, or on books above the student's ZPD or with no known level (Ask for it on in Settings → Book Quizzes). | Type the password on their device. It isn't case-sensitive. If you set Where so students need no password at school, their devices may be on a different network than yours. See When and where students take quizzes. |
| "Your class takes quizzes at school" or "…takes quizzes Mon–Fri, …" with a Teacher password box | Where and when your class can start quizzes (Settings → Quizzes) closes them away from school or outside your hours. | Type your password to start this one, or see When and where students take quizzes. |
| Quiz Unavailable after clicking Take quiz | The quiz stopped being available after the page opened, for example while we fix its questions. | Refresh the page. If the tab now shows Request quiz, request it. |
| "Wrong Password" | The password doesn't match. A student can have their own password in Settings → Rules for one student → Quiz password. | Check the class password in Settings → Quizzes, and the student's Quiz password under Rules for one student. |
| A password box, but your class has no password | A class with no password never asks for one, so it comes from somewhere else: the student's own password under Settings → Student Restrictions → Quiz Monitor Password, or another class the student is in that has a password (see students in more than one class). | Check the student's own column. For another class's password, the student can type that class's password, or yours once you set one. |
| "You certified having read this book!" | They already passed. A passed quiz can't be retaken. | Nothing to do. |
Why a quiz gets abandoned
A started quiz must be finished within 60 minutes. When Settings → Quizzes says students can leave a quiz and finish it within 8 days, they get 8 days instead. After that the attempt is marked abandoned. How long the student waits depends on how far they got:
- No questions answered: no wait. They can start again right away.
- Fewer than half answered: they can retake it the next day.
- Half or more answered: your class's full retake wait, as for a failed quiz.
Changed a setting? It can take up to 15 minutes to reach a signed-in student. Have them refresh.
Ask Marian: "Why can't Maya take her quiz on Holes?" She checks that student's settings, retake dates, ZPD and quiz times and tells you which one is in the way.
Still stuck?
Email us or book a call. A person on the Bookroo team will help.