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Correct answers are hidden on Canvas: what it means

Written by the Canvas Quiz Solver team. Last verified: 2026-09-25

Short answer

Your instructor turned off the setting that shows students the correct answers after a quiz.

  • You can usually still see your own answers and which ones were marked wrong.
  • The correct answers show only if the instructor allows it: after your last attempt, from a show date, or never.
  • When the message says "hidden", no date unlocks them; only the instructor can.
  • Canvas documents no way to check an answer while the quiz is still open.

Our pickCanvas Quiz Solver shows an AI answer right below each question, inside the quiz page, so you can compare it with yours before you submit.

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What "Correct answers are hidden" means on Canvas

The message comes from Classic Quizzes. Canvas is open source, and its quiz helper code shows the exact rule: when the quiz setting that shows correct answers is off, the results page says "Correct answers are hidden." No date unlocks them; only the instructor can.

The same code has five other messages for answers that are not hidden for good:

Message on your results page What it means What you can do
Correct answers are hidden. The instructor turned off Let Students See The Correct Answers. Ask the instructor. No date will unlock them.
Answers will be shown after your last attempt The quiz shows answers only after the final allowed attempt, and you have attempts left. Complete your last attempt, or wait for the instructor to change the setting.
Correct answers will be available on [date]. A show date is set and has not arrived yet. Come back on that date.
Correct answers will be available [date] - [date]. The answers show only inside a date range. Look at them inside the window. They hide again after the end date.
Correct answers are available until [date]. The answers are visible now, but a hide date is set. Review them before that date.
Correct answers are no longer available. The hide date has passed. Ask the instructor to reopen them.

"Correct answers are hidden" is not the same as "results are hidden". Instructure's guide for students says that when your instructor does not allow correct answers, the quiz results "will only display your responses and note whether they were correct or incorrect". So you often know which questions you missed, but not what the right answer was. Some instructors hide the results completely, which Instructure says "is common for quizzes that are allowed multiple attempts".

Why your teacher hid the correct answers: the Classic Quizzes settings

Hiding answers is a choice, not the default. Instructure's list of options an instructor can set in a Classic Quiz says: "By default, students can see correct answers after completing a quiz." If you see the message, someone changed one of these settings:

  • Let Students See The Correct Answers - "allows students to view the correct answers after completing the quiz". When it is off, you get "Correct answers are hidden".
  • Only After Their Last Attempt - students see the correct answers only after their last attempt.
  • Show Correct Answers at and Hide Correct Answers at - dates that control when, and for how long, the answers are visible. With both left blank, answers show right after you submit. With only a show date, answers appear from that date on. With only a hide date, they disappear after it. With both, you get a window.
  • Let Students See Their Quiz Responses - controls whether you see your own answers at all. The instructor can turn this off too.
  • Only Once After Each Attempt - you see your responses and the correct answers once, right after you finish. Instructure says this option "overrides any show or hide dates or times". It is meant as a single view, so read it before you leave the page.

Three details in the same guide explain most confusing cases:

  • If the answers show only after the last attempt and you stop early, you "may never see the correct answers". The instructor has to change the setting later.
  • "Students cannot view their results if the quiz uses Respondus LockDown Browser and has the Only Once After Each Attempt option enabled."
  • If your school's Canvas admin restricts viewing quiz submissions after the course ends, the option to let students see correct answers is not available after the course end date.

Correct answers in New Quizzes: restrict student result view

New Quizzes does not use the exact words "Correct answers are hidden", but it has the same control with more steps. Instructure's guide to managing quiz results in New Quizzes starts from the default: "By default, students can view all results for their quiz attempts." The instructor changes that in the quiz Settings tab:

  • Hide results from students - turns on restricted results. Anything the instructor does not switch back on stays hidden.
  • Show questions and Show student responses - responses can show for all attempts, only once after each attempt, only after the last attempt, or only once after the last attempt, from an optional date.
  • Indicate response as correct or incorrect - with it on, the instructor can show the correct answer after each attempt or only after the last attempt, again from an optional date.

On the student side, Instructure's guide to viewing New Quizzes results says that if you cannot view your results, "your instructor has restricted view of the results page". When answers are allowed, "incorrect answers include the solution for the correct response". If you see no solutions, the instructor hid the quiz items or the correct and incorrect indicators.

  Classic Quizzes New Quizzes
Default Correct answers shown after the quiz All results shown
Main switch Let Students See The Correct Answers Hide results from students, then Indicate response as correct or incorrect
Timing After last attempt, show date, hide date, or once after each attempt After each attempt or after the last attempt, plus a visible-from date
What you see when hidden "Correct answers are hidden." and usually your own answers A results restriction message, or results without the solutions
Score in Grades Can still show; grades can be hidden separately Still shows unless a posting policy hides it

That last row matters. Instructure says restricting results in New Quizzes "does not apply to viewing scores in the Gradebook", so a score on your Grades page next to hidden answers is normal.

If your teacher hides the correct answers, get the answer while you take the quiz. Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question, inside the Canvas quiz page. You do not open a second tab, you do not copy the question into ChatGPT, and you do not switch windows, so there is no page switch for the quiz log to record. A web page cannot list the Chrome extensions you have installed. It works on Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes, and you can start free.

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When do correct answers show up after a Canvas quiz?

Correct answers show up when the instructor's setting says so, and at no other time:

  • Right after you submit. The default in both tools.
  • Once, right after each attempt. Classic Quizzes "Only Once After Each Attempt" and the New Quizzes "only once" response options. Read the results before you leave the page.
  • After your last attempt. With three attempts, that means after the third one.
  • From a date. The instructor sets a show date (Classic) or a visible-from date (New Quizzes). Many students expect this to be the due date, but neither tool has a setting tied to the due date. A date applies only if the instructor sets one.
  • Never. If the setting stays off, the answers stay hidden, in earlier attempts too.

A hidden grade is a separate case: in Classic Quizzes, if your instructor has hidden your quiz grades, your results are unavailable until grades are posted.

How to see correct answers on Canvas as a student

There is no student setting that shows hidden answers. What you can do is read the situation correctly and ask the right person:

  1. Read the message. The table above tells you whether a date, an attempt or only your instructor can unlock the answers.
  2. Wait for the show date. If the message gives a date, the answers appear on it with no action from you.
  3. Finish your attempts. If the answers show after the last attempt, they appear when you complete it. Check first which score Canvas keeps: highest, latest or average.
  4. Check the Grades page and submission details. They show your score, and in Classic Quizzes the kept score, even when the answers are hidden. An asterisk means some questions still need manual grading.
  5. Ask your instructor. They can change the setting after the quiz closes, set a show date, or go over the quiz in office hours. In a Classic Quiz set to Only Once After Each Attempt, Instructure says the instructor can use the Moderate Quiz feature to give you another view of your results.

Can you check if your answers are correct before you submit?

Not in Canvas. Instructure's guides describe correct answers only on the results page, after you submit, and only when the instructor allows it. Neither quiz tool documents a way for a student to check an answer while the quiz is open.

That is the gap Canvas Quiz Solver fills. The Chrome extension shows an AI answer right below each question, inside the quiz page, while you take the quiz, so you can compare it with your own answer before you submit. AI answers can be wrong, so check them against your course material.

Staying on the quiz page also matters for the quiz log, which writes "Stopped viewing the Canvas quiz-taking page" when you open a new tab or move to a different program. Our guide on what the Canvas quiz log shows a professor covers every event, and the guide on whether Canvas can detect Chrome extensions covers what a quiz page can and cannot see about your browser.

Get the answer during the quiz, not after it

Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question, inside the Canvas quiz page. You do not open a second tab, you do not copy the question into ChatGPT, and you do not switch windows, so there is no page switch for the quiz log to record. A web page cannot list the Chrome extensions you have installed. It works on Classic Quizzes and New Quizzes. You can start free, then it costs $9.99 a month.

It does not run inside LockDown Browser, and Honorlock can turn Chrome extensions off during a proctored exam.

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Sources we checked

Common questions

Why does Canvas say correct answers are hidden?

Because your instructor turned off Let Students See The Correct Answers for that Classic Quiz. Canvas shows the message when that setting is off. You can usually still see your own answers and which ones were wrong, but not the right answer.

How do I get Canvas to show correct answers?

Only the instructor can change it. Read the message on your results page first: it can give a date or say the answers show after your last attempt. If it only says the answers are hidden, ask your instructor. In a Classic Quiz set to show results only once, the instructor can give you another view with the Moderate Quiz feature.

When will correct answers be shown on Canvas?

When your instructor's setting allows it: right after you submit, after your last attempt, from a show date, or never. Neither quiz tool has a setting tied to the due date. A date applies only if the instructor sets one.

Can you check if your answers are correct on Canvas before you submit?

Instructure documents no way for a student to see whether an answer is right before submitting. Canvas Quiz Solver puts an AI answer right below each question inside the quiz page, so you can compare it with your own answer before you submit. AI answers can be wrong. You can start free.

Why can I see my score but not the answers?

Scores and answers are separate settings. Hiding correct answers does not hide the grade, and in New Quizzes, hiding results does not hide the score in the Gradebook unless the instructor also uses a posting policy. Your Grades page can show the score while the answers stay hidden.

Why will I never see the answers if I skip my last attempt?

If the quiz shows correct answers only after the last attempt, Canvas waits for that attempt. Instructure warns that a student who stops early may never see the correct answers unless the instructor changes the setting later.

What is the 15 second rule on Canvas?

It is a claim from an Instructure Community forum answer, not from Instructure's documentation. The official quiz log guide gives no time threshold for Stopped viewing. Plan as if any focus change can be logged.

Is it true that Canvas can detect cheating?

Not on its own. The quiz log records that the quiz page lost focus and when it came back, with no tab, site or app named, and Instructure says quiz logs are not intended to identify cheating. Canvas Quiz Solver keeps the answer on the quiz page, so there is no page switch to record. Proctoring tools see much more.

Related guides: Everything Canvas can and cannot see during a quiz · What the Canvas quiz log shows a professor · Does Canvas detect Chrome extensions? · Does Canvas detect tab switching? · All Canvas guides · How to cheat on Canvas without leaving the page · What professors can see on Canvas

Answers inside Canvas, without leaving the page

Canvas Quiz Solver puts the answer right below the question you are on, even when your teacher hides the answer key afterwards. You can start free.

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