Canvas - Quiz Logs [UW-Madison]

Note: Students are unique individuals and are more complex than their data - be sure to consider them holistically. Please review UW-Madison Learning Analytics Guiding Principles before continuing in this document.

Canvas provides a log of each student's interaction with a quiz. This document discusses how to use quiz logs caveats of using them.

    What are Canvas quiz logs?

    Canvas keeps a log of each student’s interaction with a quiz. Quiz logs offer a chronological listing of a student’s activity in a quiz, such as:

    • when they started the quiz
    • when they answered questions
    • whether they stopped and resumed the quiz.
    This log data offers general information and a broad picture of student’s interactions with the quiz. 

    How can you use quiz logs?

    The Canvas Quiz Log can be generally useful to understand variables such as how much time a student spent on a quiz, and can help you investigate problems that a student may have during the quiz.

    • For example, if a student reports access problems or being cut off during taking the quiz, the data may help support the claim. 

    Caveats and cautions when using quiz logs

    The quiz log data are not exact in details of how and when students interacted with quiz questions. Therefore, this data cannot provide definitive evidence for exact interpretations of student behavior. 

    Quiz log data is not recommended as evidence of academic integrity

    • For example, it can’t prove students were cheating during a quiz.
      • However, the data may show patterns of behavior, such as frequent starts and stops, or numerous long pauses between questions.
      • You could use this to determine whether you choose to remind students of quiz-taking expectations, or to use additional data sources to consider their academic integrity.

    While data in Canvas quiz logs can provide useful information, it should never be taken by itself as evidence of academic misconduct, since specific entries in the log may not be accurate. Instructors should never use a single data point to take any action in regards to a student.

    How do I access (and enable) quiz logs?

    For more information about access to the Canvas quiz logs, review this Canvas guide:  How do I view a quiz log for a student?

    See Also: