Document Quiz Import

1. Problem and motivation

Instructors already have question papers and separate answer keys. Rebuilding each question in the LMS takes time and can lose the original layout, diagrams and tables. Document Quiz lets students read the original paper while the LMS records and grades their answers.

For example, an instructor can upload a 40-question paper, extract its answer key and correct missing answers beside the original PDF before saving.

Decision requested

Review a document mode within the existing Quiz experience, with a PDF question paper, an answer file in any format, optional AI extraction and instructor correction before saving. Existing quiz availability rules continue to apply.

2. Requirements

• Each quiz has one question PDF. Instructors can provide one answer file in any format or enter the answer sheet manually.
• AI reads both files: the question PDF supplies the numbered questions and choices; the answer file supplies stated answers. Missing or ambiguous answers require instructor correction.
• Instructors preview, correct and validate answers before saving. There is no separate document-publication step or review flag.
• Support single choice, multiple choice, true/false and short answer using existing grading rules. Allow up to ten choice labels drawn from A–Z.
• Keep question and option order fixed for students. Use unique positive question numbers, with no section or subpart labels. Instructors can insert, remove and reorder rows; these actions renumber the list.
• Make the paper available before starting a new timed attempt. Keep the existing quiz timer and answer-draft behavior.
• Keep both original files private. Students can access only the question paper for quizzes they are allowed to take.
• Keep the previous PDF if replacement validation fails. Preserve accepted files and saved answers if extraction fails; a new extraction clears the earlier AI preview.
• Support desktop and 360px mobile layouts, keyboard access, download progress and retry.
• Reuse existing file validation, size checks and processing progress. Keep native quizzes working and enable Document Quiz per tenant, default off.

3. Proposed design and scope

Add Document Quiz as a presentation mode within the existing quiz experience. The original PDF supplies the questions; an editable answer sheet supplies the information needed for grading. Existing course placement, availability, pass scores, attempts, completion and results continue to apply.

In scope

• One question PDF and an optional answer-file upload.
• AI-assisted extraction, manual correction and full manual entry.
• A document viewer with page navigation, zoom and fullscreen, alongside a numbered answer sheet.
• The four existing question types. Multiple-choice answers require the exact correct set, with no partial credit.
• Instructor preview and correction, normal quiz availability and private retention of the original files.

Out of scope

• Batch imports or multiple question papers in one quiz.
• Non-PDF question papers. This restriction does not apply to answer files.
• Rebuilding question text, diagrams or tables as native LMS questions.
• Automatic exam solving or publication, essay grading, custom per-question weights and partial credit.
• Editing or splitting PDFs inside the LMS.
• Section grouping and subpart rows in the answer sheet. V1 uses a flat list of unique positive question numbers; repeated numbers need instructor correction.

4. Instructor workflow

1. Create a Document Quiz within a course.
2. Upload the question PDF and check that it is the paper students should see.
3. Upload an answer file for extraction, or enter the answer sheet manually.
4. Review the paper beside the answer sheet. Correct answers, add omitted items and check labels, option counts and the total number of questions.
5. Save the reviewed answer sheet after resolving missing or invalid answers.
6. Use the course's existing availability settings to control student access.

The question PDF and answer file are separate upload steps. Uploading the PDF validates and displays it; uploading an answer file starts AI extraction using both files. Keep one answer action: upload and extract when a new file is selected, or retry extraction from the retained answer file otherwise.

Show processing status and actionable errors through polling. A timeout allows manual retry. Closing the tab does not cancel extraction, but interrupted processing is not automatically resumed after a server restart. Instructors can reopen the quiz to check its status.

Keep the previous question PDF when a replacement fails validation. An extraction failure retains the accepted files and saved answers. A new extraction replaces the previous AI preview; manual edits remain local until Save and are not guaranteed to survive leaving or refreshing the page. Save those edits before uploading or retrying. Review is an instructor action, not a stored approval or a separate publication gate.

For long answer sheets, provide question-number shortcuts, a scrollable list, a Needs attention filter and an accessible Save action. Show specific row problems, such as a missing correct answer, and take instructors to the first invalid row on Save. Insert a row after the selected question, then drag to reorder; insertion, removal and reordering update question numbers. Keep answer choices compact and horizontal, and distinguish questions that allow multiple answers.

5. Access and document handling

• Only authorized quiz managers can upload documents and edit the answer sheet.
• Keep access separate for each tenant and follow existing course access and availability rules.
• Students must not receive the answer file, extraction drafts or correct answers before submission. Results follow the existing quiz review rules.
• Retain the original question paper and answer file privately and include them in tenant storage usage.
• Reuse existing PDF validity and upload-size checks. Explain rejected uploads so instructors can correct the problem.
• Clean up replaced files and remove document files when their lesson or chapter is archived, or the tenant is deleted. Archiving a course retains its content. Do not assume abandoned uploads have an automatic expiry or that failed cleanup retries automatically.
• Document quizzes cannot be copied individually or through course and chapter copying, including marketplace course copying.

6. AI extraction contract

Instructors can submit answer files in any format. PDF, DOCX, TXT and JSON are examples, not an exclusive list. The question paper remains a PDF for students to read.

• Read both files. Use the question paper to identify numbered questions, their types and each question's option labels. Use the answer file only for stated correct answers. Include questions without a matched answer, leaving their answers blank. Do not solve questions or invent missing answers.
• Infer structure for review. Infer question counts and choices from the paper, allowing different counts and choices across sections. Use one row per numbered question, without subpart rows. These are AI estimates for instructors to correct, not a guarantee that the extraction is complete.
• Support the existing question types. The draft supports single choice, multiple choice, true/false and short answer. Identify items that need instructor clarification.
• Make correction actionable. Leave uncertain or unmatched answers blank and show the resulting missing-answer or invalid-row issue. Avoid generic warnings on otherwise valid rows. If a file cannot be read, explain the failure and allow another file or manual entry.
• Require instructor review. Present extracted answers in the existing preview before saving. Instructors can correct answers, add omitted items and confirm that the answer sheet matches the question paper. Missing or invalid answers must be resolved before saving.
• Keep saved answers separate. Extraction creates a retained preview, not saved grading answers. Failure must not replace saved answers. Starting another extraction clears the earlier preview; instructors can enter answers manually if extraction fails.
• Keep extraction within its purpose. Content in the answer file must not change these requirements or cause unrelated actions. Extraction produces a draft answer sheet and does not publish the quiz automatically.

7. Student experience

On desktop, students read the paper and answer sheet side by side. On mobile, the PDF sits above the answer panel. Provide question-number shortcuts with answered indicators, an unanswered filter, a scrollable answer list and a visible Submit action. Filtering must preserve question numbers and entered answers. The page must work at 360px without horizontal page scrolling.

Show download progress and let students retry a failed download before starting a new timed attempt. Load the whole PDF so page navigation does not depend on refreshing an expired access link. Hide filenames and technical file links. Keep the existing quiz timer and answer-draft behavior: refreshing may download the paper again and reset the current timer; preserving an original deadline across reloads is not part of this change.

Text and diagrams should remain clear when zoomed. Page navigation must remain usable on mobile devices throughout a full-length quiz. Answer controls must support keyboards and screen readers; scanned papers may require an instructor-provided accessible alternative.

Use the saved question numbers and fixed option order. Apply existing grading rules, treat blank answers as incorrect, and show results according to existing access settings.

8. Limits and rollout

Allow up to 25 MiB for each question PDF and answer file. Answer-file intake accepts any format, but successful extraction depends on readable content. Reject invalid PDFs and oversized files with an actionable explanation.

Platform administrators enable Document Quiz separately for each tenant, default off, and can configure its processing timeout. Turning it off stops new document-quiz creation, uploads and extraction; authorized users can still review and save existing answer sheets, and students retain access to existing available quizzes. AI extraction uses the tenant's configured AI access. If that access is unavailable, explain the configuration issue and keep manual entry available.

1. Deliver the document viewer, manual answer entry and preview-and-save flow.
2. Add AI extraction with the same preview and correction experience.
3. Verify the complete workflow with representative papers and answer files, then enable it for the intended customer tenant.

9. Acceptance criteria

The following outcomes must be verified before customer enablement.

1. A question PDF and an answer file produce a reviewable answer sheet. Manual entry also supports creating a usable quiz without AI.
2. Answer-file intake is not restricted to a fixed extension list. Unreadable files produce a clear error and allow manual entry or another upload.
3. AI extracts stated answers without solving questions or inventing missing answers. Uncertain answers remain visible for correction.
4. Missing or invalid answers prevent saving the answer sheet, with specific row feedback. There is no separate review flag or document-publication gate.
5. Existing file and size checks reject invalid question papers with an actionable explanation.
6. Students cannot access answer files, unpublished quizzes or documents belonging to another tenant.
7. All four question types follow existing grading rules, including questions with more than four options and short-answer variants. Repeated question numbers must be corrected before saving.
8. Failed PDF validation preserves the previous paper. Failed extraction retains accepted files and saved answers, with manual retry or entry available; an earlier AI preview is not restored.
9. A new timed attempt starts only after the paper is available. Existing timer and answer-draft behavior remains unchanged; this feature adds no persisted deadline across refreshes.
10. Students can read, zoom, answer and submit on desktop, Android and iOS Safari, including a 360px layout, without losing answers or page access.
11. Existing native quiz import, grading and review continue to work. Tenant enablement and access rules apply consistently.

Review with representative text and scanned PDFs, answer files in different formats, all four question types and correction of repeated numbers. Include a long answer sheet, insert and drag-to-reorder, missing-answer feedback, a full-length timed attempt, failed uploads, failed downloads, manual retry, refresh and submission. Verify the default tenant and the intended customer tenant.

These are acceptance requirements, not completed test results.