I created this activity a few years ago and keep wanting to come back to fix the code, but never have time. I am using a table and that might be an issue. I am thinking I need to create a simple function and then check by evaluating. However, I am just guessing as I look at other similar activities. Any help is appreciated.
I have a few work arounds as you will see, but the students have to type it in perfectly it causes frustration for me and them.
I found something that makes this work! Curious to know if there is a better way than this update.
Thanks to [Nolan Fossum] for his code work to help me out. (Quadratic Equation Practice • Activity Builder by Desmos)
I think the update is a good solution! The coding on the teacher’s side is not too complicated, and students can enter the factors in either order now.
For comparison, here is a copy of the activity that has screen 3 re-coded with simpleFunction:
On the bright side, simpleFunction is a lot more flexible with answer format - answers like (x-8)(x-5) and (-5+x)*(x-8) are equivalent. BUT, it has no way of knowing if students entered their answer in standard or factored form. To partially address this shortcoming, I added in a little bit of pattern matching to check for standard or factored form. It is far from airtight (entering x^2 - 8x - 5x + 40 for standard form is marked correct, for example), but it at least provides feedback to a student who accidentally switches standard and factored form.
Hopefully some piece of that is useful either now or for future activities 
Here is an example of how you can check for a quadratic trinomial or factored form, using both a pattern for structure and simplefunction for value. Students can enter it with lots of variety and it will still work (writing x - 2 as x + -2 or 1x - 2 or -2 + 1x would all work, for example). For the trinomial, it will also give an error if terms are not combined. And spaces should not be a problem. You should be able to copy the CL and just change the latex for the problem at the top. repeat and allowNegativeTerms patterns to check trinomial or factored form quadratic • Activity Builder by Desmos
The following checks for factoring, tracks number correct and provides infinite question generation.
Pick and choose which screens work best for you:
Wow thank you everyone for the suggestions and activities! This helps me on multiple fronts and I continue to get better at coding. I feel like I mainly “borrow” from other activities, but I can tell that this also leads to confusion as there are multiple ways to achieve the outcome. However, there are reasons to do it one way over the other. Appreciate your time and feedback!