1. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Creating Tests in BlackBoard Intermediate/Advanced Level :30 – 3:30
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

2. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Building Your Test
This workshop will cover:
How to start building a test
How to add questions
Question options and what they mean
Question types
Question sets and random blocks of questions
Organizing your questions
Deploying your finished test
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

3. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Building Your Test
To get started, find the “Tests, Surveys, and Pools” tool in the left-hand menu.
Then, choose “Tests.”
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

4. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Building Your Test
Click “Build Test.”
Name your test, then hit “Submit.”
(If you want, you can add a description and instructions now, but you can also do that later.)
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

5. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Adding Questions
Click “Create Question.”
Choose the type.
We’ll start with Multiple Choice, but several options are the same for many question types.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

6. Adding Questions – Multiple Choice
You must type the question text. This is where you just put your question.
Check out your options.
The first two are just stylistic.
This one allows some points for a partially correct answer.
This one switches the answers for every student.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

7. Adding Questions – Multiple Choice
Choose how many answers you want the students to see.
If you don’t want 4 answers, you can remove one or two.
Choose a correct answer. If you decided to randomize your answers, it doesn’t matter in which order you type the answers because they will change each time.
You can change the way the questions and answers look with all of these options.
Type all of your answers in the text boxes.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

8. Feedback, Categories and Key Words
If you want the test to be a learning tool instead of just assessment, you can add feedback to your answers.
For example, an ESL teacher could remind students of a certain grammar point which
explains why the correct answer is best.
To make it easier to find your questions again later, you can add categories, topics, levels of difficulty, and keywords.
Make your decisions, then click submit.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

9. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Question Options
Woohoo! You have a question!
Now let’s look at a few more options you have for all questions.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

10. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Question Options
You can change the order of your questions by clicking on the left, dragging, and dropping them.
You can change the number of points for ALL questions by selecting all
and then updating the number.
You can see how many points each question is worth here.
You can update how many points you want for each question individually here, too.
You can also change the default settings for lots of stuff here, but I never really touch this button.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

11. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Types of Questions
Type
Automatically Graded
Mobile Compatible*
Calculated Formula (math and science) 
Calculated Numeric (math and science)
Either/Or
Essay
File Response
 (image only)
Fill In Multiple Blanks
Fill in the Blank
Hot Spot
Jumbled Sentence
Matching
Multiple Answer
Multiple Choice
Opinion Scale/Likert (ideal only for surveys)
Ordering
Quiz Bowl
Short Answer
True/False
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

12. *Mobile Compatible Tests
Mobile compatible tests can be taken in the Blackboard App.
For students on cell phones, this is often easier for them to read
Can still be taken on computers as well
Question types and options are limited
If you make a test in the normal test interface but you choose only mobile compatible question types and options, it will automatically appear as a mobile compatible test.
Some things that will make your test NOT mobile compatible:
randomizing questions or answers
pulling questions from pools or other tests
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

13. Creating Random Blocks
It is possible to have a group of questions that show up in a random order, but still have the rest of your test remain in the order which you decided.
To do that, you need to make a “Pool” of questions to choose from.
Once you name your pool, you can create questions just like you would for a test.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

14. Creating Random Blocks
Once you have enough questions to pull from, return to your test.
Click “Reuse Question” and choose “Create Random Block.”
Choose which pool you want to pull questions from.
Choose the types of questions you want to pull. You can choose more than one, or select “All Pool Questions.”
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

15. Creating Random Blocks
Once your block is created, you can decide how many questions you want it to show. The default setting is only 1.
You can also change how many points each one is worth.
And you can drag and drop them before or after other questions.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

16. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Deploying Your Test
Navigate to the content area where you wish to have your test.
Click “Assessments”, then “Test.”
Choose the test that you created, then click “Submit.”
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

17. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Test Options
- Once you click “yes,” students will be able to see the test.
- Lets students know as soon as you click “Submit.”
Allows students to take the test more than once. You can
leave it unlimited or set a specific number.
If you choose to allow multiple attempts, you must decide how the scores will be determined. I usually choose “Last Graded Attempt” or “Highest Graded Attempt.”
This means that students cannot resume a test later. If they accidentally close the window,
they will be locked out of the test. It can cause many issues so I tend not to use it, but it
generally prevents cheating.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

18. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Test Options
The timer will be visible to students while taking the test.
You can choose for the test to close automatically once the time has run out.
Like with content, you can choose when the test
will appear to students and when or if it will
disappear.
- Note: even if you use this option, you still have to
click “Make Available” before students can see it.
With passwords, students can see that the test exists, but they
cannot begin until you provide the password.
DO NOT use this unless you speak with IT first and confirm.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

19. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Test Options
This dictates what students see when they complete the test.
They will always see their score, but this specific feedback determines if they can see their mistakes and correct answers.
You can set rules that determine when the students will receive the feedback. For example, “After Attempts are graded” generally prevents cheating because no students see answers until everyone is finished.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program

20. Blackboard Committee 2017 Bb Training Program
Test Options
- This is like a traditional test. Students can see all questions.
- This only allows students to see one question at a time.
If one at a time, this keeps students from going back.
- If you choose this option, the question order will change for
each student.
*If you have put the questions in order (for example, following a reading text) you should not choose this option.
Blackboard Committee Bb Training Program