A student of ours is claiming that she took several quizzes in one of our Spanish classes, but that the grades have not shown up in the gradebook. I cannot, however, find any record of her having taken the quiz, not in the activity logs or the gradebook, or even directly in the database. Furthermore, this student claims that not only had she taken the quizzes, the grades were previously listed in the gradebook, and then vanished.
Out of our 5,000+ users, this is the only one who has reported an issue like this. I've gone through the gradebook and made sure that the quizzes themselves are not locked or hidden, and so on; in short, I've tried everything that I can think of.
So, before I go to the student and ensuring that they actually know how to submit the quiz, I want to make sure this sort of issue is actually even possible, and, if so, how I can fix it, and (ideally) recover her grades.
We are using Moodle 1.9.3.
I can't think of anything that would cause this. Even if the teacher deletes the attempts, they will still be recorded in the Moodle logs.
Another place you may be able to look is in the web server logs. That is probably only feasibly if the student can tell you roughly when she thought she did those quiz attempts, and it depends how your web server is set up whether there is enough information in the logs to attribute things to a particular user.
What I often find when I have to research this sort of thing at the OU is that the student got confused, and, for example, did the wrong test. Perhaps they did the practice test, not the real one, or something like that.
So it might be worth doing the query
SELECT * FROM mdl_quiz_attempts WHERE userid = XXX
Where XXX is the userid of this student. That will list all the attempts that student made in any course.
One final thing. If that 'student' somehow had teacher permissions on the quiz, then their 'attempts' would actually have been previews, not real attempts, and preview attempts are deleted automatically.
Another place you may be able to look is in the web server logs. That is probably only feasibly if the student can tell you roughly when she thought she did those quiz attempts, and it depends how your web server is set up whether there is enough information in the logs to attribute things to a particular user.
What I often find when I have to research this sort of thing at the OU is that the student got confused, and, for example, did the wrong test. Perhaps they did the practice test, not the real one, or something like that.
So it might be worth doing the query
SELECT * FROM mdl_quiz_attempts WHERE userid = XXX
Where XXX is the userid of this student. That will list all the attempts that student made in any course.
One final thing. If that 'student' somehow had teacher permissions on the quiz, then their 'attempts' would actually have been previews, not real attempts, and preview attempts are deleted automatically.
I ran that query, and found no hint of any attempts. And just in case, I also checked some older snapshots of our database to see if there were any attempts there that might have somehow been deleted. There were, of course, none.
The fact that only one student is reporting this issue makes me suspicious, but I promised I'd look into it anyway.
The fact that only one student is reporting this issue makes me suspicious, but I promised I'd look into it anyway.
i did come accross this problem, couldnt find the missing quiz attempts. I had to delete the users from the database and asked them to re log in to the system. after that when they completed the quiz, the attempts were on record
Did you determine what the problem was?
...and did the problem affect the student throughout the site, or just in one course?
Bump.
I've done quite a bit of research into this, even looking at database snapshots from the dates the student says she took the quiz, and performing queries on the log tables. As I understand it, no matter what happens to the quiz themselves, even if somehow the quiz_attempts table is corrupted at some point, the record of the quiz having been taken will still appear in the log file, since there is no communication between the two tables.
We have one other student who claims that *one* quiz attempt has vanished. Again, I've examined the activity logs as well as the raw activity tables and while I've found a record of the student viewing the quiz (from this morning), I found no record of the student having completed the quiz.
We have a meeting with the student soon to discuss the situation. I'm not sure what will come of it. My boss says he'll be drinking heavily afterward.
I've done quite a bit of research into this, even looking at database snapshots from the dates the student says she took the quiz, and performing queries on the log tables. As I understand it, no matter what happens to the quiz themselves, even if somehow the quiz_attempts table is corrupted at some point, the record of the quiz having been taken will still appear in the log file, since there is no communication between the two tables.
We have one other student who claims that *one* quiz attempt has vanished. Again, I've examined the activity logs as well as the raw activity tables and while I've found a record of the student viewing the quiz (from this morning), I found no record of the student having completed the quiz.
We have a meeting with the student soon to discuss the situation. I'm not sure what will come of it. My boss says he'll be drinking heavily afterward.
Richard. I think they haven't done it.
I think you're right, honestly. But I promised I'd cover all possible angles on this, so that's what I'm doing. 
We've just seen a printout that the student made on June 3, and the grades are there. So somehow the student's quiz attempts and grades and log records have all vanished. I'm completely stumped.
Hi Richard,
The mere fact that that student made a printout sounds suspicious to me. What kind of printout was it, anyway? When you say "the grades are there", where is that "there"?
Things do not simply "vanish". A moodle site has plenty of logs where you can track almost second by second what the users do.
I wish you good luck on what looks like a detective story or adventure trail.
ATB
Joseph
The mere fact that that student made a printout sounds suspicious to me. What kind of printout was it, anyway? When you say "the grades are there", where is that "there"?
Things do not simply "vanish". A moodle site has plenty of logs where you can track almost second by second what the users do.
I wish you good luck on what looks like a detective story or adventure trail.
ATB
Joseph
Why did the student feel the need to print their grades out unless they thought they might mysteriously vanish later on? Is there anyway the printout could be shared with the community ?(Sorry; I am going to leave this alone now as my 25 years in the job have made me somewhat cynical..)
Mary,
I've only been in the business for six years, and already I'm cynical as well.
The student claims that the same issues happened to her in a previous course, which is why she wanted to print out the grades for this course. I don't have a record of her communicating with Technical Support over this issue, so who knows.
Either she's a very good liar, or our entire Moodle database is compromised and our installation inherently unstable and completely unreliable.
Richard
I've only been in the business for six years, and already I'm cynical as well.
The student claims that the same issues happened to her in a previous course, which is why she wanted to print out the grades for this course. I don't have a record of her communicating with Technical Support over this issue, so who knows.
Either she's a very good liar, or our entire Moodle database is compromised and our installation inherently unstable and completely unreliable.
Richard
Believe me, we spent hours poring over the student's activity logs over the past couple of months, from the date that the course started. I'm currently restoring a snapshot of the database from the date that she claims is represented in her printout. I already restored a snapshot based on the next day, and found no support for her claim there.
As I replied to Mary, if the student is not a very good liar, then the implications for our Moodle deployment are... well, they suck.
As I replied to Mary, if the student is not a very good liar, then the implications for our Moodle deployment are... well, they suck.
Once you have restored the database. It would be worth checking the permissions, to make sure the student did not somehow end up doing a preview.
I assume the printout includes clear evidence that she is signed in with the right account.
I don't see how a database error could lose an entire quiz attempt (and all the associated data in related tables) but nothing else. It might be worth trying queries like
SELECT *
FROM mdl_question_sessions qs
WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM mdl_quiz_attempts qa WHERE qa.uniqueid = qs.attemptid)
I assume the printout includes clear evidence that she is signed in with the right account.
I don't see how a database error could lose an entire quiz attempt (and all the associated data in related tables) but nothing else. It might be worth trying queries like
SELECT *
FROM mdl_question_sessions qs
WHERE NOT EXISTS (SELECT * FROM mdl_quiz_attempts qa WHERE qa.uniqueid = qs.attemptid)
Hi Richard,
I wonder what that print out shows (is it the quiz page showing the grade and the student name?
Considering there are no log entries of the student even looking at the quiz, Occam's razor would sugest that the student did not do the quiz.
Rgrds,
Paul.
I wonder what that print out shows (is it the quiz page showing the grade and the student name?
Considering there are no log entries of the student even looking at the quiz, Occam's razor would sugest that the student did not do the quiz.
Rgrds,
Paul.
I've seen the printout; it's a copy of her user report from earlier in the course. And yep, it shows grades for the quizzes in question. My boss and I looked it over very carefully, and if it's a forgery, it's a damn good one. We've essentially discarded that possibility entirely.
The best we can think of at this point is that the student is the victim of the world's worst timing. Our records show a database outage at about 11:00 a.m. on the day she printed the document. There is a slight possibility that she had done all the quizzes that morning, and then the database went out, necessitating a restore of the database from earlier in the day. I've spoken with our host about this, however, and they say that no restore occurred.
Our theory now is that the quizzes themselves may be somehow corrupted; this is the oldest course on our site (dating back more than five years), and there's a slight possibility that there's been some degradation in the quizzes themselves. We're looking into that possibility. Either way, we're going to rebuild those quizzes from scratch.
The best we can think of at this point is that the student is the victim of the world's worst timing. Our records show a database outage at about 11:00 a.m. on the day she printed the document. There is a slight possibility that she had done all the quizzes that morning, and then the database went out, necessitating a restore of the database from earlier in the day. I've spoken with our host about this, however, and they say that no restore occurred.
Our theory now is that the quizzes themselves may be somehow corrupted; this is the oldest course on our site (dating back more than five years), and there's a slight possibility that there's been some degradation in the quizzes themselves. We're looking into that possibility. Either way, we're going to rebuild those quizzes from scratch.
I now suspect your web host is lying. I bet you lost some updates in the database. One way to tell would be to look at the complete list of timestamps in the log table, to see if there is a suspicious gap.
I still can't think of any way that database corruption or a Moodle bug could cleanly eliminate all trace of one quiz attempt, with all the data in half-a-dozen tables, and the mdl_log entries.
I can think of one way to eliminate all traces of quiz attempts. I think course reset would do that, but it can only do that to all quiz attempts and log entries in a course, not one specific attempt.
Deleting a quiz attempt in Moodle (for example via the overview report, which calls the delete_attempt function) will delete all the attempt data and data in associated tables, but will not delete the log entries.
Database corruption would almost certainly affect only some, not all, of the tables, and you would get visible errors until you ran repair tables. So again, this could not silently lose just one attempt.
I still can't think of any way that database corruption or a Moodle bug could cleanly eliminate all trace of one quiz attempt, with all the data in half-a-dozen tables, and the mdl_log entries.
I can think of one way to eliminate all traces of quiz attempts. I think course reset would do that, but it can only do that to all quiz attempts and log entries in a course, not one specific attempt.
Deleting a quiz attempt in Moodle (for example via the overview report, which calls the delete_attempt function) will delete all the attempt data and data in associated tables, but will not delete the log entries.
Database corruption would almost certainly affect only some, not all, of the tables, and you would get visible errors until you ran repair tables. So again, this could not silently lose just one attempt.
We're working now on the assumption that something wonky happened on our host's side, and that a once-in-a-lifetime fluke affected this one student. We'll be creating a brand new account for the student the next time she enrolls in a course. Hopefully that account will have no magically disappearing grades.
At the suggestion of my co-worker I've opened a bug report on this issue, but without more information regarding how this happened -- information I don't have, obviously -- I doubt much could be done about it.
At the suggestion of my co-worker I've opened a bug report on this issue, but without more information regarding how this happened -- information I don't have, obviously -- I doubt much could be done about it.
Have you checked the sequence of timestamps in the log file, to look for gaps?
Also, just to note that the tracker issue is MDL-23003.
Also, just to note that the tracker issue is MDL-23003.
I checked the logs per your suggestion but found no gaps at the time we're assuming the grades and activity records vanished (around noon on June 3).
So, we are back to having no convincing explanation of what happened. Worrying.
Hi Richard! I detect some contradiction between those 2 statements :
a) "The student claims that the same issues happened to her in a previous course, which is why she wanted to print out the grades for this course."
b) "We're working now on the assumption that something wonky happened on our host's side, and that a once-in-a-lifetime fluke affected this one student."
Joseph
a) "The student claims that the same issues happened to her in a previous course, which is why she wanted to print out the grades for this course."
b) "We're working now on the assumption that something wonky happened on our host's side, and that a once-in-a-lifetime fluke affected this one student."
Joseph
Hi, Joseph. In the midst of investigating the current issue, we had completely forgotten that the student had claimed a similar incident the previous quarter. So....... Maybe twice-in-a-lifetime?
Reminds me of an oft-quoted Oscar Wilde quote "To lose one parent may be regarded as misfortune. To lose both seems like carelessness." Perhaps your student should substitute parent for quiz...
Ha! Thanks for the laugh. It was much needed.
I'm just voting "Me too!" to Tim's statement.
Just a comment here.
I think you *should* treat this printout as legit. When we get to the point where we have to examine printouts as suspect, we're getting pretty deep into "I suspect cheating" territory.
Personally, I don't think most students have the moxy to pull such a thing off.
Tho' if you're interested, some able student with image software could probably trace what has been/has not been changed in the image, which might satisfy the question.
Doesn't answer the Quiz question though.
I think you *should* treat this printout as legit. When we get to the point where we have to examine printouts as suspect, we're getting pretty deep into "I suspect cheating" territory.
Personally, I don't think most students have the moxy to pull such a thing off.
Tho' if you're interested, some able student with image software could probably trace what has been/has not been changed in the image, which might satisfy the question.
Doesn't answer the Quiz question though.
I agree. The amount of effort required to pull off a forgery as convincing as this student's printout would far outweigh the amount of effort required to simply complete the course. We are not considering the possibility.
I disagree on the time required to make a convincing forgery. I am sure a convincing enough forgery that corresponds to student logs could be completed in less than 1/2 an hour.
If the student missed the quiz and realized this after the quiz was closed, it would surely be worth the effort for a student.
Did you check to see if the printout headers and footers correspond to their moodle logs?
Did the printout look like a screenshot that was printed? If there was no header/footer info and backgrounds and text had the same fuzziness, it is a fake. If the fonts are not the same as used online it is a fake.
What browser / OS was it printed from? If you print the student grade report from the same browser / OS does it look the same?
Did you check the grades_grade_history table to see if any grades had previously existed for that course that no longer exist?
Use a query like this:
SELECT *
FROM mdl_grade_grades_history
WHERE userid = user_id
AND itemid = gradebook_item_id
If you find a non-null rawgrade and non-zero finalgrade entry on grades_grades_history that corresponds to the quiz and user and does not have a corresponding log entry or grade_grade entry, then you can believe the student and Moodle has an issue.
I did this exact lookup on the student Buddy was worried about above and found only a null/0 entry for the student, indicating there was never a grade entry for this student for the quiz in question.
My research has confirmed my original speculation that the student had been mistaken in thinking he took the quiz in question.
Your case is a bit more serious, as proving there was no attempt also proves academic dishonesty and actions should be taken.
Mistakes happen to everyone, just recently I SWEAR I added the ability for an instructor to assign a new role, but I must not have hit save. If it can happen to me, it can happen to an overloaded student.
If the student missed the quiz and realized this after the quiz was closed, it would surely be worth the effort for a student.
Did you check to see if the printout headers and footers correspond to their moodle logs?
Did the printout look like a screenshot that was printed? If there was no header/footer info and backgrounds and text had the same fuzziness, it is a fake. If the fonts are not the same as used online it is a fake.
What browser / OS was it printed from? If you print the student grade report from the same browser / OS does it look the same?
Did you check the grades_grade_history table to see if any grades had previously existed for that course that no longer exist?
Use a query like this:
SELECT *
FROM mdl_grade_grades_history
WHERE userid = user_id
AND itemid = gradebook_item_id
If you find a non-null rawgrade and non-zero finalgrade entry on grades_grades_history that corresponds to the quiz and user and does not have a corresponding log entry or grade_grade entry, then you can believe the student and Moodle has an issue.
I did this exact lookup on the student Buddy was worried about above and found only a null/0 entry for the student, indicating there was never a grade entry for this student for the quiz in question.
My research has confirmed my original speculation that the student had been mistaken in thinking he took the quiz in question.
Your case is a bit more serious, as proving there was no attempt also proves academic dishonesty and actions should be taken.
Mistakes happen to everyone, just recently I SWEAR I added the ability for an instructor to assign a new role, but I must not have hit save. If it can happen to me, it can happen to an overloaded student.
Richard,
Please keep us updated. I had almost a verbatim discussion with one of our faculty about a similar situation just yesterday and, after looking at the logs, I basically wrote it off, but now...
Thanks,
Buddy
Please keep us updated. I had almost a verbatim discussion with one of our faculty about a similar situation just yesterday and, after looking at the logs, I basically wrote it off, but now...
Thanks,
Buddy
Shall do. Our biggest fear is that this represents an inherent instability within Moodle itself, meaning that Moodle is completely unreliable... in which case, I, personally, am out of a job and our entire department is in trouble.
Hi there,
I know this thread is a little old, however we have just had the same thing happen on our server.
I had a student comment that their exam attempt disappeared and I thought here we go.... however it has now been established that they did do the exam as they could discuss the questions in it, and there are no other students of ours around them.
Looking at the activity logs - there is absolutely NO activity for any user recorded between 7.48pm Sunday 6th Feb and 7.36pm Mon 7th Feb - and I know that users, including another teacher and I, were logged in and doing things in that time.
I have since had another student state they are missing an attempt from an assignment they submitted Sunday, and was marked Monday. They were going back to resubmit a question they got wrong and that is why they noticed it disappeared.
Both the exam and assignment use the Quiz activity.
We are running moodle 2.1 on a windows VPS with godaddy. We are integrated with GeniusSIS however it does not make changes to moodle tables except for enrolling and unenrolling students, and only gathers data on grades and activity. They assure me there is nothing GeniusSIS does that should delete student activity attempts.
Any activity either side of the missing 24 hours seems fine. I only have the two reports so far, but have not yet done a mailout to inform students and ask if anyone else submitted work in this time.
Of course I have done a full backup and put the site into maintenance mode whilst we investigate.
So to sum up - I have 24 hours of NO activity, including logins or views, any work submitted in that time frame as vamoosed.
We have not performed any maintenance tasks, restores etc that would have written over the data. It doesnt appear that the server had as issue as there are server logs in that time frame (showing login errors for students).
We are suspecting that the database got restored, however it wasnt authorised or actioned by any of us (only 3 people have access). Only thing we can think of is the software that manages the websites on the server came accross an error and did a restore all on its own - not sure if the software has any more inititive than the average student, so I don't think it's done this on its own.
Did anyone on here work out what happened to their site?
Your guess that you the server was restored from a backup seems plausible. I can't think of anything else that might cause you to lose 24 hours worth of data. I wonder if there is any change of getting Godaddy to tell you if they did an unauthorised restore?
Godaddy insist there was no restore of the server etc. The server logs show activity in that time period, so it seems to be specific to the moodle database.
Very very odd!
Ah, that is a good point. You could compare entries in the Apache log file, and in the Moodle log table, both during a 'normal' period, and during the problem 24 hours. If there is a descrepancy, you might get a better understanding what is going on.