Plugin Pulse Beta
← Rankings

wp.org search vs our merit ranking: “exams”

wp.org orders by popularity, so a plugin a host bundled onto millions of sites, or a big-brand one that's slow and mediocre, can sit at the top. Our ranking is built to answer a different question: which of these is actually worth installing. How this works →

For “exams”, we agree with wp.org on the top plugin, and our order differs from theirs on 14 of the top 20. 3 plugins are pushed down for signals wp.org ignores: errors, a host-installed base, or removal risk.

wp.org search ranks on

Install count (uncapped), the raw star average, freshness, and support. Popularity dominates, so the biggest install base usually wins regardless of how it got there.

We add

A cap on the install boost, volume-weighted ratings, and signals wp.org can't see: whether it throws errors on current PHP, whether the install base is organic or host-pushed, and its risk of being pulled.

Ranked above its merit

Acadlix LMS – AI Quiz Maker, Online Exam & Course Plugin for WordPress shows at wp.org #7 but places #16 on merit, a gap of 9 places. Its 40+ installs carry it up the search order; its 5.0★ average from 3 reviews, plus freshness and upkeep, place it lower on our volume-weighted scale.

Buried gem

Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking places #11 on merit, 4.3★ from 62 reviews, but shows at wp.org #19. A smaller install base keeps it further down the default search order than its quality signals alone would.

merit plugin wp.org
1 Quiz Maker by AYS 20K+ · 4.9★ (601) wp.org #1 2 Quiz and Survey Master (QSM) – Quiz Maker & Survey Maker 40K+ · 4.7★ (1282) wp.org #2 3 Watu Quiz 3K+ · 4.7★ (137) wp.org #3 4 LearnPress – WordPress LMS Plugin for Create and Sell Online Courses 70K+ · 4.3★ (597) wp.org #4 5 Responsive Menu – Mobile Menu & Hamburger Menu Builder 70K+ · 4.5★ (574) wp.org #8 ↓2 3 too low 6 HD Quiz 6K+ · 4.9★ (145) wp.org #11 5 too low 7 ProctoPress : Quiz/Exam Proctoring For Learning Management System(LMS) 100+ · 5.0★ (11) wp.org #5 2 too high 8 Popup Box – Create Countdown, Coupon, Video, Contact Form Popups 50K+ · 4.6★ (82) wp.org #13 ↑1 5 too low 9 The School Management – Education & Learning ERP 700+ · 4.5★ (15) wp.org #6 ↑1 3 too high 10 Chained Quiz 1K+ · 4.9★ (38) wp.org #14 ↓1 4 too low 11 Secure Copy Content Protection and Content Locking 20K+ · 4.3★ (62) wp.org #19 8 too low 12 Educare – Students & Result Management System 600+ · 4.6★ (24) wp.org #15 3 too low 13 School Management System – WPSchoolPress 1K+ · 4.0★ (21) wp.org #10 3 too high 14 Chartify – WordPress Chart Plugin 3K+ · 4.9★ (28) wp.org #23 ↓2 9 too low 15 PressPrimer Quiz – AI Quiz Maker, Exam Builder & LMS Assessment Plugin 200+ · 5.0★ (4) wp.org #9 6 too high 16 Acadlix LMS – AI Quiz Maker, Online Exam & Course Plugin for WordPress 40+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #7 ↑1 9 too high 17 TotalSurvey for Survey, Quiz and Form 500+ · 4.6★ (16) wp.org #20 ↓2 3 too low 18 Projectopia – Project Management Tool 200+ · 5.0★ (7) wp.org #17 ↑3 1 too high 19 Gutena Accordion – Beautiful FAQ Accordion Block 5K+ · 5.0★ (3) wp.org #16 3 too high 20 Bukza 200+ · 5.0★ (2) wp.org #24 4 too low 21 HEXAM — Quiz & Exam Builder 10+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #12 9 too high 22 Plugixa Exam – Online Exams, Live Monitoring, Quizzes & Certificates — · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #21 1 too high 23 EDU Results Publishing – Student Result Management 50+ · 5.0★ (1) wp.org #22 1 too high 24 Gutena Kit – Gutenberg Blocks and Templates 1K+ · 4.0★ (1) wp.org #18 ↓1 6 too high

Merit ranking caps the install boost at 1M (wp.org leaves it uncapped), replaces the raw star average with a volume-weighted Bayesian score and a Wilson lower bound, and keeps wp.org's own freshness and compatibility decays. Method from the plugin-directory source; see Meta Trac #8298. Positions are tracked daily from the first visit to a keyword, so the small arrows show movement since tracking began.