The Exam block in the New Course Builder lets Plus admins create structured, high-stakes assessments with attempt limits, passing scores, and a distraction-free exam environment - purpose-built for certification programs, compliance training, and formal credentialing.
Applies To:
- Plan: Plus
- Role: Site Owner, Site Admin, Course Admin (to create and manage); Learner (to take)
- Products: New Course Builder
- Platform: Web
What's New
Plus admins using the New Course Builder can now add an exam to any lesson. Unlike a quiz, an exam:
- Presents all questions in a single scrollable view (stacked layout) for a focused experience.
- Enforces a configurable attempt limit - learners who exceed it are blocked from retaking without admin intervention.
- Requires a minimum passing score to complete the lesson.
- If a learner hasn't passed the exam, they cannot mark that lesson completed.
- Learners can still freely navigate to other lessons, even lessons after the exam. If you would like to prevent learners from moving onto the next lesson, we recommend setting the lesson as a prerequisite in the lesson settings. Learn more: Lesson Settings in the New Course Builder
- Launches in an immersive environment - the course curriculum is hidden while learners take the exam.
- Supports up to 150 multiple-choice questions per exam.
How to Create an Exam
After opening a lesson in the New Course Builder:
- From the content menu, select More
- Select Exam
- Select Build exam
- Add your questions using one of four methods:
- Generate from lessons: Generate questions from your course content (lessons, PDFs, video transcripts)
- Paste to build: Paste questions from an external source (such as an AI-generated list or a Word document)
- Create from scratch: Write questions directly in the editor.
- Import: Upload questions using the Thinkific Assessment Import Template.xlsx template
- Select the correct answer for each question
- To add new questions, click + Add question
- Click Save and insert
You can set a maximum of 150 questions per exam, with up to 10 answer choices per question.
How to Generate Questions with AI
When creating your exam, you can use AI to generate questions with two methods - generating from lessons in your course, and by pasting questions from an external source.
To generate questions:
- In the exam builder, select either Generate from lessons or Paste to build
- When generating questions from lessons, select lessons from the same chapter as your quiz which you want to use to generate questions (video transcripts are required for this option)
- Select the number of questions you want to create
- Select Generate questions
- Review the generated questions and answers - correct answers will be marked with Correct answer
- Optional: Click Generate questions again to get a new set of questions
- Select Add X questions to exam to use the generated questions
How to Configure Exam Settings
When in the exam builder, click the Settings button in the top-right corner of the page to go into the exam settings. Here you can configure the following:
- Passing grade: Enter the minimum percentage required to pass.
- Limit attempts: Toggle on and enter the number of allowed attempts. If left off, learners have unlimited attempts.
- Randomize questions: Toggle on to show a random set of questions per exam attempt, then set how many questions to show per attempt from the total pool.
How Learners Take the Exam
When a learner reaches a lesson containing an exam block, they see a pre-exam screen with the exam title, number of questions, attempts remaining, and a Begin Exam button.
Clicking Begin Exam launches the immersive exam environment:
- The course curriculum sidebar is hidden.
- All questions are displayed in a single scrollable page - learners can answer in any order.
- Exiting the exam (using the X button and confirming) counts as a used attempt, even if not all questions were answered.
- Learners must complete the exam in a single session - progress is not saved across sessions.
- Correct answers are not shown after submission. Learners will be able to see their score and whether they passed or failed.
- Once the learner has answered all questions, they will click the Submit button in the top-right corner of the page.
After submitting, the learner sees one of three outcomes:
- Passed: The lesson is marked complete and the learner can continue the course.
- Failed (attempts remaining): A Retake button is shown; the learner can retake immediately.
- Failed (no attempts remaining): Lesson completion is blocked. The screen displays "You've used all your attempts” with a prompt for the learner to reach out to the admin to reset their attempts.
How to Reset a Learner's Exam Attempts
If a learner exhausts all attempts and needs another chance, admins can reset their attempt count:
- In the Course Manager, navigate to the Exam results tab
- Locate the exam and click on it to open the learner detail view
- Locate the learner's attempts
- Click Reset attempt then Reset attempt again on the confirmation modal
Only one attempt can be reset at a time. If you would like to reset all of a learner’s attempts, you will need to reset each one manually.
Viewing Exam Results
Admins can view exam results in two places:
-
Course Manager: The new Exam results tab shows an exam list of all exams in the course, which lessons they belong to, the number of responses, and a last completion date. Here you can filter by exam name and completion date range, as well as the option to export all results for an exam as a CSV.
- The Exam results tab also includes a learner detail view - when clicking on an exam name from the results list, you will see individual learner attempts, scores, pass/fail status, completion date, and an option to reset their attempts.
- Engagements Report: A new Exam tab (Plus only) shows per-learner exam results across all courses, including attempts used, score, and result.
Important Considerations
- The Exam block is only available in the New Course Builder. It is not available in the classic course builder.
- Only multiple-choice questions are supported at this time.
- Correct answers are never shown to learners - they will see their own submitted answers and their score only.
- Exiting an in-progress exam always counts as a full attempt, regardless of how many questions were answered.
- Learners must complete an exam in one session. If their browser closes or they lose connection mid-exam, any unanswered questions will be treated as unanswered on submission.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the difference between a quiz and an exam?
Quizzes and exams are separate block types in the New Course Builder. Exams are designed for high-stakes assessments and include attempt limits, a minimum passing score, an immersive distraction-free environment, and lesson completion gating. Quizzes are lighter-weight assessments without these controls. Exams support up to 150 questions; quizzes support up to 50.
Can learners see the correct answers after completing an exam?
No. After submitting, learners can see their own submitted answers and their overall score (pass or fail), but correct answers are not revealed. This is designed to preserve exam integrity.
What happens if a learner closes the browser during an exam?
The learner must complete the exam in a single session. If they close the browser or lose connection, their progress up to that point is not saved across sessions. Unanswered questions will be treated as unanswered when the session ends.
Can I add more than one exam to a lesson?
Yes - there is no platform-level limit on the number of exam blocks per lesson or course. However, lesson completion is gated on passing all exams in the lesson.
Can learners still continue through the course if they have used all of their attempts?
Yes. If a learner hasn't passed the exam and has used all of their attempts, they cannot mark that lesson completed, though they can still freely navigate to other lessons in the course. If you would like to prevent learners from moving onto the next lesson, we recommend setting the lesson as a prerequisite in the lesson settings. Learn more: Lesson Settings in the New Course Builder