How to make quizzes with AI

Why make a quiz?

If you’re trying to learn (or determine if someone else has learned) material in a meaningful way, a quiz is one of the best ways to do so. By being tested on information, you’re forcing the brain to actively recall information, which leads to better long-term retention. You’re strengthening the memory of that material, and by reframing material in a new way, like in a quiz question, it’s much more likely to be remembered.

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Quizzing your students

Quizzes and tests are part of school for students and teachers. They’re a way for teachers to assess what their students know (or don’t know) about a particular topic that’s being taught. This is what’s called a knowledge gap, an area where your student needs a little extra help understanding the material. Quizzes also help students study for an exam on the material.

If you’re an educator who needs to create a quiz for your students, turn to generative AI with prompts like these:

• Create 15 multiple choice questions about the first ten chapters of Pride and Prejudice. Each question should have 5 options, and the correct answer must be one of the options. These questions should be written for freshmen in high school.
• My junior high students are learning about the noble gases. Write 20 questions about the noble gases that include what they are, their symbols, and why they’re used.
• Write a 10-question quiz on [topic] for [grade level]. Use pop culture to bring some fun to the quiz, and provide a quiz answer key as well.

Using AI to write quiz questions for yourself

If you need to quiz yourself on information, it can feel a little silly to write out a whole test for yourself. You certainly won’t be setting yourself up for success, and it won’t be a true test of your knowledge. But by making a quiz with AI, you get a better sense of what you know and what you don’t about a particular topic in a low-stakes way, which is great if taking tests makes you anxious.

If you have the material that you’re supposed to study on hand as a digital file, upload it into your generative AI tool. Then try prompts like these to create a quiz:

• Analyze the data in the pdf and create 10 multiple choice questions about its content. All the answers should be found within the pdf and no other sources should be used.
• Write multiple choice and true/false questions about [topic] from the uploaded document.
• I am being tested on the pdf I uploaded. Create a quiz so I can test my knowledge of the material. Create an answer key as well, but don’t provide it until I specifically ask for it.

If you need to brush up on material but you can’t upload your textbook, that’s okay too! Use AI prompts to write questions about the material you need to cover:

• Create a multiple-choice exam about the literary themes of morality and redemption that are incorporated in Scorsese’s movies The Wolf of Wall Street and Taxi Driver.
• Write a 20-question multiple-choice quiz that covers the topics on the AP Psychology Exam.

Some apps even let you create your own quizzes, like a practice math test!

Other ways to quiz yourself with AI

If you’re trying to learn a new language or get ready for an interview, quizzing yourself is a great way to ensure you know the material. Make an AI quiz with prompts like these:

• I’m learning Spanish. Quiz me on the conditional and present perfect tenses of the verbs “to show” and “to teach.” Make the questions multiple choice and fill in the blank.
• I am interviewing for a new job. Create a list of common interview questions and questions that might be asked in conjunction with the job description I uploaded. Make this list in a timed quiz format so that I have to think about my answers quickly.

Quizzing yourself and others on material that’s being learned is a great study habit. Identify what you need to spend more time learning with AI quizzes or write questions that can help others. or write questions that can help others.