Assessments overview

In this article: The three types of assessments you can add to your Ruzuku course — quizzes, polls, and open-ended assignments — what each one does, and when to use them. All Plans

Why add assessments to your course?

Lessons teach. Assessments help students put what they learned into practice.

When a student reads your content or watches a video, they absorb information. When they answer a question, complete an exercise, or reflect on what they learned, that information sticks. Assessments close the gap between passive watching and active learning.

They also give you a window into how students are doing. If half your students are getting a quiz question wrong, that tells you the lesson might need a clearer explanation. If students are writing thoughtful open-ended responses, you know the material is landing.

Every assessment you create lives inside a specific lesson. Students see it below the lesson content and submit their responses right there — no separate platform, no extra logins.

The three assessment types

Ruzuku gives you three types of assessments to work with. Each one serves a different purpose.

Quizzes

Quizzes test whether students understood the material. You write a question and provide answer choices. One answer is correct.

Use quizzes when you want students to check their own understanding — for example, after a lesson on nutrition basics, you might ask "Which macronutrient provides the most calories per gram?" with multiple-choice answers.

Quizzes can be auto-graded (students see their results immediately) or reviewed by you manually. You can also set passing scores, enable retakes, and attach feedback to each question. See Create and configure quizzes for the full setup guide.

Polls

Polls collect opinions or preferences. There's no right or wrong answer — you're gathering information from your students.

Use polls to get a feel for where your group is at. For example, in a business coaching course: "What's your biggest challenge right now? (a) Finding clients (b) Pricing my services (c) Managing my time." Poll results help you tailor future content and live sessions to what your students actually need.

Open-ended assignments

Open-ended assignments ask students to submit written responses, upload files, or share their work for your review. These are the most flexible type.

Use open-ended assignments when you want students to apply what they learned in their own way — writing a draft sales page, recording a practice coaching session, sharing a portfolio piece, or reflecting on their progress. You review each submission individually and provide personalized feedback.

Where assessments live

Assessments are added to individual lessons. When you edit a lesson, you'll find the Assessments section below your lesson content. Students see assessments at the bottom of the lesson page after the text, video, and other materials.

Each lesson can have multiple assessments, and you can mix types within the same lesson. For example, a lesson might end with one quiz question to check understanding, followed by an open-ended prompt asking students to apply the concept.

What happens when students submit

When a student completes an assessment and clicks Submit, their responses are saved and you're notified. You can view all submissions in one place by going to Manage Course → Review Assessments.

From there, you can:

See every student who submitted work
Read their responses
Send feedback
Approve or reject submissions (for open-ended assignments)

For quizzes with a correct answer, students can see their results right away. For open-ended assignments, students wait for your review and receive an email when you respond.

Tip: You don't have to grade everything formally. Some creators use assignments as self-reflection checkpoints and only review submissions when a student asks for feedback. Choose the approach that fits your teaching style.

Choosing the right assessment type

If you want to...

Use this type

Test knowledge or comprehension

Quiz

Gather opinions or preferences from the group

Poll

Have students practice a skill or submit work for review

Open-ended assignment

Check understanding with instant feedback

Quiz (auto-graded)

Collect information to guide your live sessions

Poll

Give personalized feedback on student work

Open-ended assignment

You can always go back and add, remove, or change assessments after your course is live. Students who already completed a lesson won't lose their submissions.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add assessments to any lesson?

Yes. You can add assessments to any lesson in your course. There's no limit to the number of assessments per lesson or per course.

Do students have to complete assessments to progress?

By default, students can mark a lesson complete without submitting an assessment. If you want to require a response before they move on, you can set that up in the lesson settings. See Require students to complete a lesson for details.

Can students see each other's assessment responses?

No. Assessment submissions go directly to you (the course creator). They are private between you and each individual student. If you want students to share work with each other, use discussion prompts instead.

Where do I review student submissions?

Go to Manage Course → Review Assessments. You'll see all submissions across your course in one list, with each student's name, the lesson, and the submission status. See Review student assignments for a full walkthrough.