Others

How to Assign Points for N/A Answers in Microsoft Forms Quizzes

Amos Gikunda Sep 27, 2026 869 views

Question details

The user wants to assign partial scoring or exclude points when a respondent selects an "N/A" option in a multiple-choice quiz.

How to Assign Points for N/A Answers in Microsoft Forms Quizzes

Product: Microsoft Forms
Device & OS: not provided
Scenario: Creating a scored quiz where certain questions may not apply to every respondent, requiring a neutral "N/A" answer that doesn't penalize the total score.
Observed behavior: Microsoft Forms lacks a built-in partial scoring feature for multiple-choice questions, marking "N/A" answers as strictly incorrect if they are not selected as the sole correct answer.

Before you start

Because Microsoft Forms does not currently support native partial scoring, you will need to prepare for exporting your quiz data to a spreadsheet tool or setting up an automated workflow to calculate adjusted grades.

Solution 1Recommended

Calculate Scores Externally Using Microsoft Excel

Export your form responses to Excel to manually apply custom formulas that account for N/A answers.

The most straightforward workaround is to let users take the quiz as normal, and then recalculate the scores in a spreadsheet environment where you have full control over the grading logic.

Open the Quiz Responses

Navigate to your Microsoft Forms dashboard, open the quiz you want to grade, and click on the 'Responses' tab at the top of the page.

Export to Excel

Click the 'Open in Excel' button located on the right side of the response summary to download the raw response data.

Apply Custom Scoring Formulas

Open the downloaded file and insert a new column for adjusted scores. Use IF statements (e.g., =IF(B2="N/A", 0, [Standard Score])) to assign specific points or ignore the question in the total average.

Calculate Scores Externally Using Microsoft Excel

Data Sync Limitation: Changes made to the downloaded Excel file will not sync back to the original Microsoft Forms quiz interface.

Solution 2

Automate Custom Scoring with Power Automate

Create a cloud flow to automatically calculate partial points whenever a new response is submitted.

Solution 3

Submit a Feature Request to Microsoft

Provide direct feedback to the Microsoft Forms development team to advocate for native partial scoring.

Free Microsoft Office alternative

Analyze Your Forms Quiz Data Easily with WPS Office

While Microsoft Forms lacks built-in partial scoring, calculating your exported quiz data shouldn't be a struggle. WPS Office provides a lightweight, highly compatible spreadsheet editor to seamlessly open your exported Forms Excel files, apply custom IF formulas, and manage your grading workflows for free.

1. Download and Install WPS Office: Get the free WPS Office suite from the official website and install it on your device.
2. Open Your Exported Data: Launch WPS Spreadsheet and open the .xlsx file you downloaded from Microsoft Forms.
3. Calculate Adjusted Grades: Use WPS Spreadsheet's extensive formula library to build custom scoring rules for your respondents' N/A answers.

Fully compatible with Microsoft Excel (.xlsx) formats, ensuring your exported Forms data opens perfectly.Free access to advanced spreadsheet formulas needed to calculate N/A scores.Lightweight application that runs smoothly on Windows, Mac, Linux, iOS, and Android.Familiar user interface makes data analysis easy with zero learning curve.

microsoft office alternative - wps office

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I assign zero points to an N/A answer in Microsoft Forms without marking it wrong?

No, Microsoft Forms natively treats multiple-choice quiz questions as either entirely correct or incorrect. If an 'N/A' option is selected and it isn't marked as the correct answer, the platform will automatically grade it as wrong, assigning 0 points and lowering the overall percentage.

Will Microsoft add native partial scoring to Forms in the future?

Microsoft has not announced an official timeline for implementing native partial scoring. However, it remains one of the most frequently requested features on the Microsoft Forms Feedback Community. Users are encouraged to upvote these requests to increase visibility.

Does Power Automate update the score directly inside the Microsoft Forms interface?

No. Power Automate extracts the submission data and calculates custom scores externally. You can save these adjusted scores to an Excel spreadsheet, a SharePoint list, or an email, but the native score shown to the user inside Microsoft Forms will remain unchanged.

Office Quick Solutions