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WeBWorK · open-source homeworkWeBWorK homework: what Silent Student does in a problem set
WeBWorK is the open-source math and science homework system many departments run on their own sites. Silent Student, a Mac and Windows desktop app from $11.99 a month, opens a WeBWorK set from your Canvas course, enters each answer, submits it, and reads WeBWorK’s problem list before it calls the set done.
Does Silent Student work on WeBWorK?
Yes, for homework sets opened from Canvas, with limits. Silent Student, a Mac and Windows app from $11.99 a month, works each problem in the set, presses Submit Answers and reads WeBWorK’s verdict. It calls a set done only when WeBWorK’s own problem list shows every problem in the set checked. It runs on a general vision agent, and proctored gateway quizzes stay yours.
| What it works | WeBWorK homework sets opened from Canvas: typed answers, intervals, choices and multi-part problems, one problem at a time. |
|---|---|
| How it knows it finished | From WeBWorK’s own sidebar: a check mark on every problem, the set’s Complete or Perfect badge, the progress bar, and an attempt count showing its own submit landed. One problem’s “recorded” message never confirms the set. |
| What it doesn’t do | Proctored gateway quizzes. Number-line and graph problems are unreliable, and a WeBWorK site with its own login page is untested. |
| Plan | Covered by Base ($11.99/mo), Plus ($24.99/mo) and Pro ($49.99/mo). Pricing |
| Last checked | October 20, 2026 |
What do Preview, Submit and Check do in WeBWorK?
Only Submit counts. WeBWorK’s documentation says the Preview button “checks the syntax of the answers, nothing more, and does not count as an ‘attempt’.” Submitting enters the result “into the permanent record of the student” and uses one attempt if attempts are limited. After the due date, a Check button replaces Submit: answers are still graded, but “the resulting scores are not permanently recorded.”
Source: WeBWorK wiki, Preview/Check Answer/Submit Answer Button Behavior, checked October 20, 2026.
Can WeBWorK see your answers and how long you took?
It records every answer you submit, with the time. WeBWorK’s instructor tool for past answers lists each submission with a timestamp, the score and the answers entered, and the grades page shows how many attempts you made on each problem. The WeBWorK pages we read describe no tab, screenshot or webcam tracking, so we make no claim either way, and your school may add its own proctoring. Silent Student does not hide or change any of this.
Sources: WeBWorK source code, the instructor Past Answers page; WeBWorK wiki, Viewing your scores, checked October 20, 2026.
Which WeBWorK question types does Silent Student handle?
WeBWorK problems come from each course’s instructors or from the Open Problem Library, so sets differ from school to school.
| Question type | Handled | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Typed answers (numbers, formulas, intervals) | Yes | Typed into WeBWorK’s answer boxes, math-input boxes included. |
| Multiple choice and dropdowns | Yes | Matched by the choice text. |
| Multi-part problems | Yes | Every box filled before Submit Answers. |
| Number-line and graph problems | Not reliable | Left unanswered in our replica tests. |
| Gateway quizzes (timed, versioned) | Not tested | |
| Gateway quizzes that need a proctor | No |
What won’t it do on WeBWorK?
WeBWorK runs on the general vision agent. Here is where that matters.
- No WeBWorK-specific solver. WeBWorK runs on the general vision agent, which reads the screen. Only the finish check is built for WeBWorK, so read the run log.
- Number lines and graphs are weak. In our replica tests, a number-line problem was the one it left unanswered. Expect to do graph and number-line problems yourself.
- Attempts count. Every Submit Answers is recorded, and it uses up an attempt if your instructor limits them. The agent cannot take a submission back.
- Proctored gateway quizzes are yours. Gateway quizzes that need a proctor to sign in do not open for the agent.
- Separate WeBWorK logins are untested. A WeBWorK site you reach only through its own login page, not a Canvas link, has not been tested.
How much does Silent Student cost for WeBWorK?
Every plan includes WeBWorK, billed monthly: Base is $11.99, Plus $24.99 and Pro $49.99 a month. There is no free plan.
| Plan | Price | Includes |
|---|---|---|
| Base | $11.99 a month | 1× monthly usage pool |
| Plus | $24.99 a month | 2× usage and the advanced pro model |
| Pro | $49.99 a month | Unlimited usage (fair use) and the pro model |
Does it work on proctored WeBWorK exams?
No. WeBWorK gateway quizzes that “require proctor authorization” need a proctor to sign in, and Silent Student does not take them. Tests in a lockdown browser or with a proctoring service are yours too.
What does Silent Student do on WeBWorK?
WeBWorK problem sets opened from Canvas, submitted problem by problem and confirmed only from WeBWorK’s own problem list.
Built around WeBWorK’s answer boxes
It types into WeBWorK’s answer fields, including math-input boxes with a symbol toolbar, and reads each box back before it submits.
Submit, then read the verdict
After each Submit Answers it reads WeBWorK’s results message for that problem before it moves on.
Finished means every problem checked
It confirms a set only from WeBWorK’s own problem list and status, never from one problem’s “recorded” message.
Honest when it stops
A run that answered some problems and then got stuck is reported as partial, with the rest named, never as done.
How does Silent Student work on WeBWorK, step by step?
Pick the set in Canvas
Open the Silent Student desktop app, find the WeBWorK assignment in your Canvas course list, and queue it.
It opens WeBWorK from Canvas
The app follows the assignment’s link out of Canvas to your school’s WeBWorK site. It does not ask for a WeBWorK password.
It works each problem
The vision agent reads the problem, enters each answer, presses Submit Answers and reads the result before the next problem.
It reads the set’s status
It marks the run confirmed only when WeBWorK’s problem list shows every problem in the set checked.
What is a WeBWorK gateway quiz?
A timed test-style assignment. WeBWorK’s documentation says gateway quizzes “have a time limit,” can come in different versions for each attempt, “may require proctor authorization to be taken and graded,” and can be limited to specific computers or labs. Regular homework sets have none of these by default.
Source: WeBWorK wiki, Gateway Tests and Quizzes, checked October 20, 2026.
Does WeBWorK take off points for late work?
Only if your instructor turns on Reduced Scoring. WeBWorK’s documentation says that after a set’s Reduced Scoring Date, “additional work done by the student counts at a reduced rate” until the due date, when the set closes. The set’s page tells you the period and the rate, for example that work “counts 50% of the original.”
Source: WeBWorK wiki, Reduced Scoring, checked October 20, 2026.
How do you type intervals and infinity in WeBWorK?
WeBWorK’s student help says to use Inf for infinity, a square bracket when an endpoint is included and a parenthesis when it is not, and U to join intervals, as in [-8,-5)U(-3,7]. It says WeBWorK “will not interpret [2,4]U[3,5] as equivalent to [2,5], unless a problem tells you otherwise,” so give the simplest form.
Source: WeBWorK wiki, Interval Notation, checked October 20, 2026.
What is Show Me Another in WeBWorK?
An optional button that shows “an alternate version of their assigned problem” to practice on. Your instructor decides whether it is on, after how many attempts it appears, and whether it shows answers or solutions. WeBWorK says it “will never show solutions to a students assigned problem.”
Source: WeBWorK wiki, Show Me Another, checked October 20, 2026.
What is WeBWorK, and who runs it?
The WeBWorK Project calls WeBWorK “an open-source online homework system for STEM courses,” supported by the MAA and the NSF, with an Open Problem Library “of over 35,000 homework problems.” A nonprofit, The WeBWorK Project, coordinates the volunteers who maintain it, and the newest release is WeBWorK 2.21, from August 2026. WeBWorK sites are set up school by school, so the project tells students to “ask your course instructor for your class link.”
Sources: The WeBWorK Project home page; WeBWorK 2.21 release notes on GitHub, checked October 20, 2026.
Does WeBWorK have terms of use for students?
We found none on The WeBWorK Project’s site. WeBWorK is open-source software, and your school or its host runs the site you use, so your school’s acceptable-use and academic-integrity policies and your instructor’s course rules are what apply. We are not lawyers. Read them before you decide.
Source: The WeBWorK Project home page, checked October 20, 2026.
Why does Silent Student read the WeBWorK problem list?
Because a WeBWorK problem page looks almost the same before and after you submit: the answer boxes stay editable. WeBWorK’s set-level signs are in the problem list instead: a check mark on each solved problem, the set’s status badge and the progress bar. The agent reports a set done only when every problem in the set shows checked and the attempt count shows its own submission landed. Anything less is reported as partial or unconfirmed.
WeBWorK FAQ
Is Silent Student made by The WeBWorK Project?
No. Silent Student is made by El Dorado Ignition LLC and is not affiliated with, endorsed by or certified by The WeBWorK Project, the MAA or your school.
How is WeBWorK different from WebAssign or MyLab Math?
WeBWorK is open-source software run by your school or its host. WebAssign and MyLab Math are publisher platforms from Cengage and Pearson. Our WebAssign vs MyMathLab comparison covers all three.
Related platforms and tools
Platform pages and free tools related to WeBWorK.
Sources
Updated . Every page below was checked on October 20, 2026; each answer above names the page it quotes.
- WeBWorK wiki, Preview/Check Answer/Submit Answer Button Behavior
- WeBWorK source code, the instructor Past Answers page
- WeBWorK wiki, Viewing your scores
- WeBWorK wiki, Gateway Tests and Quizzes
- WeBWorK wiki, Reduced Scoring
- WeBWorK wiki, Interval Notation
- WeBWorK wiki, Show Me Another
- The WeBWorK Project home page
- WeBWorK 2.21 release notes on GitHub
Silent Student is not affiliated with, endorsed by, sponsored by, or certified by The WeBWorK Project, the Mathematical Association of America or your school. WeBWorK is a trademark of its owner, used here only to describe the software this product works with. Silent Student promises no grade or academic outcome; you are responsible for reviewing what is submitted under your name and for your institution's academic-integrity policies.
Queue a WeBWorK set from Canvas
Queue the set from your Canvas course and read the run log for which problems WeBWorK marked correct.
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