Google Forms quiz score not showing or no 'View score' button? Why, and the fix

Read the symptom first: each one points to a different setting

Ask a respondent exactly what they saw after they submitted. That tells you where to look.

• Only the confirmation message, no score at all: the form may not be a quiz (cause 1), or grades are held for manual review (cause 2).
• You held grades back and now can't send them: no email addresses were collected (cause 3).
• A score shows, but no correct answers or no list of missed questions: 'Respondent settings' are hiding them (cause 4).
• A score shows but it looks too low or incomplete: some questions have no answer key and are waiting for you to grade them (cause 5).

Cause 1: The form isn't set up as a quiz

Scores only exist when quiz mode is on. Adding questions with right and wrong answers does not turn a form into a quiz by itself, and a form that was copied or started from a blank template may never have had it switched on.

Open the form, click 'Settings' at the top and check that 'Make this a quiz' is turned on. Then open each question and make sure it has an answer key: click 'Answer key' in the bottom left of the question, choose the correct answer or answers, and in the top right choose how many points the question is worth. A question without an answer key has nothing to score against.

Cause 2: Release grades is set to 'Later, after manual review'

This is the one behind most 'my students can't see their score' complaints. Google Forms has two ways to release grades, and the choice is under 'Settings', in the 'Release grades' section. (On the UK and Indian English versions of Google's help it is called 'Release marks'.)

'Immediately after each submission' lets each person see their result as soon as they submit, and Google's help says this is the default. 'Later, after manual review' holds every score until you release it. Respondents see the confirmation page and nothing about how they did, which is exactly what this mode is for.

If you want instant results, open the quiz, click 'Settings', and under 'Release grades' select 'Immediately after each submission'. If you chose manual review on purpose, the scores are not lost. They are waiting for you. To release them:

• In Google Forms, open the quiz.
• At the top, click 'Responses', then 'Individual'.
• Grade anything that still needs it and click 'Save' at the bottom.
• At the top right of a response with a recorded email address, click 'Release score'.
• Check the boxes next to the people you want to email.
• Click 'Send emails and release'.

Cause 3: Email addresses weren't collected

Releasing held scores works by email. Google's help says that if you collect email addresses, you can send results immediately or wait until you're ready to share them, and the 'Release score' option sits on a response with a recorded email address. It also says that by default, email addresses won't be collected. Put those together and you get the common trap: grades set to 'Later, after manual review', no emails collected, and no way to send anyone their result.

Google's help does not describe another way to deliver held scores to responses that have no email address. For people who have already submitted, the honest fix is to share their results yourself. For everyone after that, turn email collection on before you send the link:

• Open the quiz and click 'Settings' at the top.
• Next to 'Responses', click the down arrow.
• Under 'Collect email addresses', choose 'Verified' to record the Google Account email of each person, or 'Responder input' to have people type their address. Google notes that with 'Verified', respondents must confirm their Google Account email is collected with their response.
• Optional: next to 'Send responders a copy of their response', choose 'When requested' or 'Always', so people get a copy of what they submitted.
• Grading individual responses also depends on this. Google's help says that if you collect email addresses, you can assign points and leave feedback on individual responses.

Cause 4: Respondent settings hide the correct answers, missed questions or points

If people can see a score but not which questions they got wrong, or not the right answers, that is a separate set of switches. Google's help says you can choose if people can see missed questions, correct answers and point values, and they live in one place.

Open the quiz, click 'Settings' at the top, and change what you need under 'Respondent settings'. Each of the three is independent: you can show the score and the missed questions while keeping the correct answers hidden, which is a sensible choice when the same quiz will be taken by another class or group later. Turn the correct answers on only once you're happy for them to spread.

If you held grades with 'Later, after manual review', check these switches before you click 'Release score', so the email people receive shows what you intended.

Cause 5: Some questions aren't graded yet

Google only lets you build an answer key on six question types: Short answer, Multiple choice, Checkboxes, Dropdown, Multiple choice grid and Checkbox grid. Google's help also says you can assign points and add feedback on all question types, and its Workspace help notes that some questions need to be graded manually, like short answer or paragraph formats. So a quiz with a paragraph question, or short answers that need a human to judge them, will show a total that does not yet include those points.

You can grade them two ways, both under 'Responses' at the top of the quiz:

• Per person: click 'Individual', use 'Previous' or 'Next' to move between people, enter the points earned in the top right of each question, and click 'Add feedback' under the answer if you want to explain. Click 'Save' at the bottom when you're done.
• Per question: click 'Question'. Click 'Mark correct' for full points, enter a number for partial points, or click 'Mark incorrect' for no points. Use 'Previous' or 'Next' to move between questions, then click 'Save' at the bottom.
• If grades are set to 'Later, after manual review', finish this grading before you click 'Release score', so people get their complete result the first time.

Prevent it next time

Most score problems are decided before the first person opens the link. Take two minutes on the settings and test it once.

• Decide how results go out before you share: 'Immediately after each submission' for self-marking practice quizzes, 'Later, after manual review' when you need to grade anything by hand.
• If you pick manual review, turn on 'Collect email addresses' first. Without it, held scores have nowhere to go.
• Check every question has an answer key and a point value, and note which ones you'll have to grade yourself.
• Set 'Respondent settings' on purpose: decide whether missed questions, correct answers and point values should be visible.
• Take the quiz yourself from the responder link before sending it, and look at exactly what appears after you submit. That is what everyone else will see.
• Check the summary afterwards: under 'Responses' then 'Summary', Google shows frequently missed questions, graphs marked with correct answers, and the average, median and range of scores.

If you need sign-ups or payments, not a graded quiz

If what you actually need is a form that takes sign-ups or payments rather than a graded quiz, OneSol forms need no sign-in for respondents and can take payment on Pro. For scored quizzes, the Google Forms settings above are the ones to get right.