Overview
Canvas New Quizzes is an updated alternative to Classic Quizzes for creating and managing assessments. This article provides guidelines and tips for building accessible assessments using New Quizzes and highlights known accessibility issues, limitations, and recommended workarounds.
Known accessibility issues and workarounds
As Instructure continues to improve New Quizzes, some accessibility limitations remain and may affect students using assistive technologies. Review the following known issues and recommended workarounds before publishing assessments.
| Accessibility issue |
Description |
Recommended workaround |
| Hot Spot questions |
Hot Spot questions require students to select a location on an image. This interaction does not meet WCAG 2.2 accessibility requirements and is not accessible for students using screen readers or keyboard-only navigation. |
Avoid using Hot Spot questions. Use an alternative question type, such as Multiple Choice or Multiple Answer, that assesses the same learning objective. |
| Matching and ordering questions |
Drag-and-drop interactions create difficulties for students using keyboard navigation or assistive technology. |
Provide clear instructions and use alternative question types, such as Multiple Choice or Dropdown, when possible. |
| Built-in calculator |
The built-in calculator presents accessibility and usability challenges for students using assistive technologies or mobile devices. |
Allow students to use an external calculator or provide an alternative method for completing calculations. |
| Images without alternative text |
Images included in quiz questions fail to provide necessary information to screen reader users when alt text is missing or unclear. |
Add meaningful alt text that communicates the purpose and essential information contained in the image. |
| Complex tables |
Tables with merged cells, multiple headers or complex layouts may not be interpreted correctly by assistive technologies. |
Avoid complex tables. Use simple tables or present information using text lists or structured paragraphs. |
| Question response fields |
File Upload, Fill-in-the-Blank, Matching and Ordering response fields may not clearly communicate their connection to the question content for students using screen readers or other assistive technologies. |
Provide detailed textual instructions explaining how students should complete the question. Do not rely on visual cues alone. Consider an alternative question type when appropriate. |
| Safari web browser |
When creating a new assessment in Safari, instructors using screen readers or other assistive technologies may encounter inaccurate navigational focus with Multiple Choice and Formula question types. This issue does not affect students taking quizzes in Safari. |
Use a different supported browser when creating Multiple Choice or Formula questions with assistive technology. Preview and review the assessment before publishing. |
Accessibility accommodations
Students with approved accommodations through Student Disability Services (SDS) may require adjustments to quiz settings. Possible accommodations in New Quizzes include:
- Extended time limits
- Multiple testing attempts
- Extended availability dates
- Other approved testing adjustments
Instructors should apply accommodations through the Moderate tab in New Quizzes following Wayne State accessibility guidelines.
Current limitations and considerations
New Quizzes has functional and workflow differences that instructors should consider when creating or migrating assessments. Review quiz content, settings and functionality before making an assessment available to students.
| Current limitation |
Description |
Recommended action |
| Migrating Classic Quizzes |
Classic Quizzes can only be migrated to New Quizzes on an individual basis. During migration, text and image formatting may change, and images or media may be lost. |
Review migrated quizzes carefully to confirm that questions, formatting, images, and media transferred correctly. Learn more about migrating a Canvas quiz to New Quizzes. |
| Question Bank conversion |
Classic Quizzes Question Banks cannot be directly converted to New Quizzes Item Banks. |
Add Question Bank content to a Classic Quiz, then migrate the quiz and add the migrated questions to an Item Bank. Learn more about moving a Classic Quizzes Question Bank into a New Quizzes Item Bank. |
| Designer role |
Users with the Designer role may not be able to create or edit New Quizzes assessments. |
Confirm that users who need to create or modify assessments have the appropriate Canvas role. |
| Survey options |
New Quizzes does not include the Graded Survey or Ungraded Survey options available in Classic Quizzes. |
Use anonymous quizzes or another approved survey tool when collecting student feedback. |
| Quiz activity log details |
New Quizzes activity logs may provide less information about student actions than Classic Quizzes logs. |
Be aware of these differences when reviewing student attempts. Additional details are available in the Moderation page for New Quizzes and quiz logs for Classic Quizzes. |
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