diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/capa_module.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/capa_module.py
index cfe3d2d48b..0d812eda76 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/capa_module.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/capa_module.py
@@ -347,6 +347,10 @@ class CapaModule(XModule):
         if self.show_answer == "never":
             return False
 
+        # Admins can see the answer, unless the problem explicitly prevents it
+        if self.system.user_is_staff:
+            return True
+
         if self.show_answer == 'attempted':
             return self.attempts > 0
 
diff --git a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py
index 0dc16bd976..b2d883b38d 100644
--- a/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py
+++ b/common/lib/xmodule/xmodule/x_module.py
@@ -765,6 +765,7 @@ class ModuleSystem(object):
         self.replace_urls = replace_urls
         self.node_path = node_path
         self.anonymous_student_id = anonymous_student_id
+        self.user_is_staff = user.is_staff
 
     def get(self, attr):
         '''	provide uniform access to attributes (like etree).'''