Employee training doesn’t have to be a one-way street. If you want people to actually remember what they just read, quizzes are about as close to a cheat code as it gets. But let’s be real—bad quizzes waste everyone’s time. The good news: with Lessonly, you can build interactive quizzes that actually help people learn (and don’t feel like busywork).
This guide is for trainers, managers, and anyone tasked with building training in Lessonly who wants their content to stick. I’ll walk you through the whole process—setting up, building questions, and making sure your quizzes work. I’ll also be honest about what’s worth your time (and what isn’t).
1. Start with the learning goal (not the quiz)
Before you even touch Lessonly, stop and ask: what do you want people to know or be able to do after this training? If you can’t answer that in a sentence, your quiz is going to be a mess, no matter how slick the software is.
Pro tip: Write your quiz questions after you outline the real-life tasks people need to perform. That way, you won’t end up with trivia nobody cares about.
Skip this: Don’t start by copying a previous quiz or using a template without thinking. Every job, team, and process is a little different.
2. Set up your lesson in Lessonly
Once you’ve got your goal and maybe a rough outline, log in to Lessonly and get into the lesson editor.
- Create a new lesson: Click “Create” and pick “Lesson.” Give it a name that makes sense—think “Customer Call Basics Quiz” instead of “Lesson 5.”
- Add an intro: One or two sentences is enough. Tell people what they’ll get out of the quiz. Don’t overthink this.
- Organize your content: If your quiz follows a training module, put the quiz after the content, not before. People hate “cold open” quizzes.
What works: Lessonly’s lesson editor is pretty intuitive. You drag, drop, and type. No coding, no weird formatting.
What doesn’t: Don’t bury your quiz in a wall of text. Keep lessons tight. Aim for 5-10 minutes max, including the quiz, if you want people to finish.
3. Add interactive quiz questions
Now for the meat of it. Lessonly gives you a few question types. Here’s how to use them (and what to avoid):
Multiple Choice
- Good for: Quick knowledge checks, basic recall, or “pick the best answer” scenarios.
- How: Click “Add Question,” choose “Multiple Choice,” and fill in the question and answer options. Mark the right answer.
- Avoid: Tricking people with “all of the above” or tiny differences between answers. You’re not writing SAT questions.
True/False
- Good for: Black-and-white facts, not opinions or stuff that’s open to interpretation.
- How: Same as above, but pick “True/False.”
- Avoid: Overusing. True/False is easy to guess and gets boring fast.
Open Text
- Good for: Checking understanding in people’s own words or short explanations. Useful for “how would you handle X?” questions.
- How: Add “Open Text.” You can optionally require a certain number of words.
- Heads up: These aren’t auto-graded. Someone has to review them.
Other Types (Matching, Hotspot)
- Matching: Good for definitions or processes. Not always available in all Lessonly plans.
- Hotspot: Point to a specific part of an image (like labeling a diagram). Cool, but easy to overcomplicate.
Pro tip: Mix question types. Don’t make every question multiple choice, or people will zone out.
What to ignore: Don’t bother with “gotcha” or trick questions. They frustrate and confuse more than they help.
4. Write clear, realistic questions
Here’s where most quizzes go wrong. If your questions are vague, nitpicky, or feel like trivia, your team will tune out fast.
How to write better questions:
- Use plain language, not policy-speak.
- Tie questions to real tasks (“What’s the first step when handling a refund?” beats “What is our refund policy called?”).
- Keep questions short. If you need a paragraph to explain the scenario, it’s probably too complicated.
- Only test what matters. If no one needs to know it to do their job, leave it out.
What works: Reviewing your questions with someone who actually does the job. They’ll spot weird wording or useless trivia.
What doesn’t: Copy-pasting questions from old training materials. The workplace changes—your quizzes should too.
5. Set up instant feedback (and don’t skip it)
One of Lessonly’s strengths is instant feedback. After someone answers, they can see right away if they got it right—and, more importantly, why.
- Add feedback for each answer: When you create a question, fill in the feedback fields for correct and incorrect answers.
- Good feedback: “That’s right—refunds must be processed within 24 hours to meet our customer promise.”
- Bad feedback: “Incorrect. Try again.” (This tells them nothing.)
Why bother? Feedback is where the learning really happens. If you skip it, people just click through, get a score, and move on—none the wiser.
Pro tip: Keep feedback short and specific. A sentence or two is plenty.
6. Set passing scores and retake options
Decide how “tough” your quiz should be. Lessonly lets you set:
- Passing score: Usually set between 70%-80%. Any lower, and you’re not really testing anything. Any higher, and you risk frustrating people.
- Retakes allowed: It’s usually best to let people retake quizzes. Locking them out after one try just leads to people gaming the system (or giving up).
- Show correct answers: You can choose to show answers after submitting or keep them hidden. If you want people to actually learn, show them.
What works: Clear rules. Tell learners up front how many tries they get and what “passing” means.
What doesn’t: Making quizzes punitive. The goal is learning, not catching people out.
7. Preview, test, and tweak
Before you unleash your quiz on the team, preview it as a learner.
- Click “Preview” in the lesson editor.
- Take the quiz yourself (or rope in a coworker). Check for typos, confusing questions, or technical hiccups.
- Tweak as needed. If something’s unclear or people keep missing the same question, it’s probably your question—not their knowledge.
Pro tip: Don’t aim for perfection on the first try. Quizzes are easy to update in Lessonly, so fix issues as they pop up.
8. Assign and track results
Once you’re happy with the quiz:
- Assign the lesson to your team or specific groups.
- Check completion rates and scores in Lessonly’s reporting dashboard. Look for patterns—if everyone is missing the same question, something’s off.
- Follow up. If someone struggles with a quiz, check in. Sometimes it’s a training issue, sometimes it’s the quiz.
What works: Using quiz data to actually improve your training (not just to fill a spreadsheet).
What doesn’t: Ignoring the results. If nobody passes, the quiz is broken—or your training is.
What to skip (unless you have hours to burn)
- Over-customizing: Fancy layouts and images are nice, but don’t let design slow you down. Focus on the questions.
- Gamification “extras”: Points, badges, and leaderboards sound fun, but they rarely matter in real learning. Use them if your team actually cares—otherwise, keep it simple.
- Making quizzes too long: Five to ten questions is usually plenty. Nobody loves a 30-question quiz.
Keep it simple—and keep improving
Building interactive quizzes in Lessonly isn’t rocket science, but it does take a bit of planning. Start with what matters, keep questions clear, and use feedback to actually teach—not just test. Don’t stress about making it perfect on your first go. The best quizzes get better over time, as you see what trips people up. Keep it simple, listen to your team, and tweak as you go. That’s how you build training that actually works.