DCAD Digital Help Guides

Tests are commonly used as knowledge checks, quizzes or as a formative or a summative component.

The video below provides an overview of how to set up a Test in Blackboard.

1. To add a Test item, select the plus icon press Create and select the Test option.
2. Name the Test.
3. From this Test page, you can add test content (plus icon), change the Assessment Settings and visibility.

1. To add test content, press the plus icon select the question type that you wish to add.
2. Use the Add Text option to add instructions for your students.
3. There are a wide range of question types. Create the questions directly in the Test area or you can draw questions from question pools or reuse questions.

Add questions using question pool
Drawing questions from question pools affords greater randomisation, and the ability to draw from different themes or topics in the same Test.

Create question banks
Question banks allows you to create and manage a database of questions which you can reuse in multiple assessments.

Questions Types in Blackboard
Blackboard offers a range of question types, including multiple choice, true/false, short/long answer, hot spots, calculated numeric and more.

Auto Generate Questions
The AI Design Assistant can offer suggestions and generate test questions based on your course content.

1. Select Add Multiple Choice question from the question type menu.
2. Add the Question Title. When creating future tests, questions can be searched for using the content of the question or the question title.
3. By default, each question is set at 1 point. Select the point to edit/amend the point. This visible to the student so there is no need to type the marks available into the question text.
4. Next, add the Question Text. Use the text editor to format your content or add images to your question.
5. If partial or negative credit is to be awarded, toggle the Allow partial and negative credit option and if required, tick the box which allows overall negative credit for that question.
6. Enter the answer options. For additional answer options, select Add option.
7. Remember to tick the correct answer(s). Use the text editor to add images, calculations to your answers, if required. If using images, remember to include alt text.
8. Toggle the Automated Feedback option to add correct and incorrect feedback. Students will see this part of the text when feedback is released.
9. Toggle the Metadata option to add tags to the question.
10. Press Save.
11. Select the plus icon to continue adding additional questions.
12. Disable the Allow student to add content at end of assessment option if students are not required to attach any additional resources.

Use alternative text to describe images/charts/diagrams

Add images using the Image icon from the editor. This option is available in the question, answer and feedback text areas.

In Blackboard, you have the option to upload an image from your device, use stock images from Unsplash or generate images. Once you have selected your image, press Next and determine the ratio.

In the Edit File Options pop-up, if required, change the Display Name. Under Accessibility add an alternative text in the text field to describe your image.

Decorative visuals

If the image does not convey meaning and is added as a visual interest, tick the Mark the image as decorative option.  This ensures users using screen readers hear this image as decorative so they know they are not missing any important information.

Page breaks allow for easy creation of sections within an assessment and afford flexibility in the presentation of assessment content. For example, you can add a page with test instructions at the beginning of the test, or group related questions around a topic on a single page. When students navigate a paged test, they will see all the information that you have added to a page all at once.

Select the plus sign to open the menu wherever you want to add a page break. Add Page Break is at the very bottom of the menu.

The example here showcases release condition rule commonly set for summative Test with a 24 hour window.

Select Date/time. Set the Access from and Access until dates and times from the calendar picker. Press Save.

The right-hand side of the page outlines Test Settings. To choose and apply settings, select the Settings (cog) icon to open a new panel.

The following section will highlight some of the key options recommended to staff in a typical Test set up.

• Due date. Due dates appear on the calendar and in the Activity Stream. Late submissions appear with a Late label in the course gradebook.
• Prohibit late submissions. Enforce a hard deadline and prevent a late submission. In-progress and saved attempts will auto-submit at the due date. Students will receive a submission receipt email. If students have been awarded accommodations these are still honoured.
  If students have submitted attempts, you cannot change the due date to a date in the past. If the due date has passed, you can’t select the Prohibit late submission setting.
• Prohibit new attempts after due date. Prevent students from beginning a new attempt after the due date. Specified accommodations are still honoured.

• Display one question at a time. This option encourages students to focus on a single question at a time and helps reduce cognitive load. It allows students to navigate and skip questions unless Prohibit backtracking is enabled.
• Prohibit backtracking. The Displaying one question at a time option enables you the option to prohibit a student from navigating back to earlier test questions. This option is also available for paged tests, in which case enabling this option prevents students from navigating back to earlier test pages.
• Randomise questions. Randomises the sequence in which questions are displayed for each student.
• Randomise answers. Randomises the sequence in which answers for Matching and Multiple Choice questions are displayed for each student.
• Randomise pages. If your test includes questions across multiple pages (for example a page of Multiple Choice questions followed by a page with Essay questions), this option randomises the order in which these pages are displayed.
• Do not randomise first page. If your test is set to randomise pages, this option allows you to lock the first page in place. This is useful, for example, if the first page of the test includes instructions.

• Attempts allowed. You can let your students submit more than one attempt at a Test. If you want to allow multiple attempts, enter the number allowed.
  • When a Test allows more than one attempt, you have select which Attempts to mark – the First attempt, Last attempt, or All attempts. 
  • If you wish mark All attempts, you must also select the calculation method for Final mark calculation – Highest mark, Average mark or Lowest mark.
    
• Mark using. From the Mark using menu, select an existing grading schema such as Points. A Test’s score consists of the sum total of all the questions’ points. You can change the grading schema at any time and the change will appear to students and in your Gradebook.
• Maximum points. If you create a test that only consists of text blocks (short/long answer questions), you can manually set the maximum score here. Otherwise, the maximum points are automatically drawn from your questions. To edit the points, you will need to edit the value of individual questions.

This option is turned on by default and will post students’ mark when test is graded. This means grades for auto marked questions will be available immediately after the student submits the test. The release of submission view (i.e. attempted test questions) and automated question feedback would be dependent on the Assessment results setting.

We recommend that you turn the setting off and manually control mark publication. 

See the next section on Assessment Results and how to publish grades.

• Allow students to view their submission. Preserves the academic integrity of the Test questions. When switched off, students can only see the Test questions when they are taking the Test.
• Show automated feedback. Shows the correct and incorrect feedback to students.
• Show question scores. Provides the individual scores for each question.
• Show correct answers. Select Show correct answers to allow students to see the correct answers to automatically scored questions.

For each option, select how and when you wish to release test related information to students.

To ensure instructors have greater degree of control, we recommend that you release the information after All marks have been posted.

After students open the assessment or make submissions, instructors can make these changes:

• Edit the text of questions and answers
• Edit the point value
• New grades are recalculated for all previously submitted assessments
• Give everyone full credit for a question
• Change which answers are correct
• Change the scoring options for Multiple Choice and Matching questions
• Align questions with goals, from the assessment only

After students open the assessment, instructors can’t make these changes:

• Add new questions and answers
• Delete a question
• Delete answers in Matching and Multiple Choice questions
• Change the number of blanks in a Fill in the Blanks question
• Move the content, such as switch the order of questions, answers, or additional content
• Add or remove questions from a question pool or delete a pool from an assessment 

To alter the points available for questions:

• Click the ellipses above the questions and select Bulk edit points.
• Tick either Select all to change the points for every question, or tick the questions you want to change.
• In the Points box, type in the new points value and click Update.

There is also a filter button to choose a particular question type, e.g. Multiple Choice.