How to Create Bonus Quiz Questions on Brightspace

Introduction:

Bonus questions are optional questions in a Brightspace quiz that allow students to earn extra points without being penalized if they answer incorrectly. Adding bonus questions is a great way to encourage additional learning or reward students for answering more challenging items. You can add bonus questions to both new quizzes and existing quizzes.

Step-by-Step Instructions:

For a brand new quiz

1. 1. Create a new quiz from the Quizzes page in your course.
   1. Course Home > Activities > Quizzes > Create New
2. 2. On the quiz page, Create New question or Add Existing from your questions library
3. 
4. 3. [a] Select the question(s) you want to add as a bonus. Then, go to [b] More Actions and click on [c] Toggle Bonus.

   • (Optional) If you do not want incorrect answers to count against students, ensure Exclude from attempt score calculation is selected.

5. 
6. 4. Edit your quiz to your liking, then Save and Close.

On an existing quiz:

1. 1. Access your course, then go to Activities << Quizzes.
2. 2. Select an exam that students haven't taken yet.
3. 3. [a] Click on the question(s) you want to mark as a bonus.
4. 4. In the [b] More Actions area, click on [c] Toggle Bonus.
5. 5. Once finished, click Save and Close.
6. 
7.  

Troubleshooting Tips:

• • Bonus not appearing in student attempts?
  • Verify the question is marked as Bonus and not just Exclude from attempt score calculation.
• • Students can’t see their bonus points?
  • Ensure quiz result display settings include the Questions and Scores option.
• • Final grade not reflecting bonus?
  • Confirm the Final Calculated Grade or relevant category in Grades is set to Can Exceed.

Additional Resources:

• • Create bonus quiz questions | D2L Brightspace Community
• • Allowing Extra Credit and Bonus Items in Final Calculation
• • Bonus Grade Items in Brightspace

FAQ Section:

• • Q: Do bonus questions affect the total points possible for the quiz? 
  • ​​​​​​​A: No. Bonus questions only add to a student’s score. They are not factored into the denominator when calculating percentage scores.
• • Q: Can I make all questions in a quiz bonus? 
  • ​​​​​​​A: Technically yes, but it is recommended to use bonus questions sparingly to keep grading consistent.
• • Q: What’s the difference between “Bonus” and “Exclude from attempt score calculation”? 
  • ​​​​​​​A:
    • Bonus: Adds extra points to a student’s grade without penalizing missed answers.
    • Exclude from attempt score calculation: Removes the question entirely from grading (neither helps nor hurts).