Blackboard Tests, Surveys, and Pools

You can create tests alongside the other content students need as they prepare. On the Course Content page, select the plus sign wherever you want to add a test. In the menu, select Create to open the Create Item panel and select Test. The New Test page opens.

*Students can't see the test until you make it visible.

*When you create a test, a gradebook item is created automatically. A test's score consists of the sum of all the questions' points. More on how to edit an existing test

When you create a new test, select the plus sign to open the menu and select a question type. You can also reuse questions and content from existing assessments. If you add questions to a test, you can't enable parallel grading.

The Test Content area opens where you type the question and answer choices if required, such as for Multiple Choice questions. Questions have a default value of 1 point. Select the Points box to type a new value.

For more information on the different types of question you can add, refer to this BB Tests Content page. 

You can make changes to existing tests and change where they appear on your Course Content page. Be cautious when editing a test that students can access, some students may have started submissions.

Click and Drag to reorder in a tests row to move it to a new location. You can also move a test into a folder.

Edit

In a tests row, open the menu to access the Edit and Delete options. You can change the test's due date and grade unit at any time, even after students have made submissions. Students' statuses, scores, and grade units will update also.

Delete tests

You can delete a test from your course and if no student submissions exist, the gradebook item is also deleted. For tests with submissions, you must confirm that you want to permanently remove the test, all submissions, and grades from your course. You can also hide the test from students to preserve the submissions and the scores in the gradebook. Students can't access hidden tests on the Course Content page or on their grades pages even if you've graded submissions.

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

Test Accommodations

If any students in your course have accommodations, this number of students will appear in the in the Test Settings section. You can set accommodations for students and make them exempt from certain course requirements, such as test due dates and time limits. To modify accommodations, go to the Roster and access the student's menu. You can also access it from the Submission page or Gradebook. More on accommodations

Details & Information

The section Details & Information provides options for test submission. 

• 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. 
• Prohibit new attempts after due date. 
• Allow class conversations- students can discuss the test with you and their classmates while the test is available. 

Presentation Options

Control question presentation. By default, your test will present students with all the questions at once in the order you added them. You can choose from a range of presentation options that meet your needs.

• Display one question at a time. This option controls how a student navigates the test and allows them to focus on a single question at a time and reduce cognitive load. Students can skip questions with this option enabled 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.

• Randomize questions. Randomizes the sequence in which questions are displayed for each student.
• Randomize answers. Randomizes the sequence in which answers for Matching and Multiple Choice questions are displayed for each student.
• Randomize 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 randomizes the order in which these pages are displayed.
• Do not randomize first page. If your test is set to randomize 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.

Grading & Submissions

Grading & Submissions provides options for assessment type and grading criteria. 

• Change the grade category to be part of one of the custom gradebook categories you set up in your course. 
• Determine the number of attempts. When you allow multiple attempts, you can also choose how the final grade is calculated.
• Select the grading schema. From the Grade 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.
• Set Maximum points. If you create a test that only consists of text blocks, you can manually set the maximum score. Otherwise, edit the points value of individual questions.
• Enable assessment grade to automatically post a student's grade once grading is completed. Turn the setting off if you want to manually control grade publication. 

Assessment Results

Assessment results allows you to control how students see feedback, scores, and answers once they turn in their assignment.

Select the link below each option to open the Assessment results timing panel to customize Submission View, Automated Question Feedback, Question Scores, and Correct Answers.

• Allow students to view their submission. When switched off, students can only see the test questions when they are taking the test.
• Show automated feedback. Provides feedback to students that's released automatically based on your settings.
• Show individual scores for each question of a student's test. You can decide when this information is released to students. 
• Show correct answers to allow students to see the correct answers to automatically scored questions after they submit.

Additional Tools

Additional Tools provides several more options to customize your test.

• Add a time limit. Each student has a limited amount of time to submit. The test attempts are saved and submitted automatically when time is up. You can also allow students to work past the time limit. 
• A rubric is a scoring tool to evaluate graded work. Rubrics can help you evaluate student submissions based on key criteria that you define. 

1. Go to the test you want to edit and open it.
2. On the test content and settings page select the three-dot menu in the top-right corner and select "Bulk Edit Points".
3. Select the questions
   • Check the box next to each individual question you want to change.
   • Alternatively, use the "Select All" checkbox to select every question.
   • You can also filter questions by type (e.g., all True/False questions) using the "Filter By" dropdown to select a group.​​​​​​​
4.  In the "Points" box at the bottom of the page, type the new point value you want to apply to the selected questions.
5. Click the "Update" button to save the changes. The new point values will be applied to all selected questions, and new grades will be recalculated for any previously submitted tests

Image 1 Instructors select Bulk edit points.

Image 2: Instructors can select the questions that they want included in the bulk edit.

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 

If no time limit exists, students can view a test and they don't have to submit it. When students select View assessment, they can just view the test or add some work. Students can select Save and Close in the panel and return later. Their work is saved. Students can select View assessment to resume working or Submit when they've finished.

If you added a time limit, students see Start attempt instead of View assessment.

The time limit appears alongside other test details on the Course Content page. Students also see the time limit on the test's Details & Information panel and within the test as they work. When students select Start attempt, they'll receive a pop-up window. They must start the timer before they can access the test. After they start, the test auto-submits when time is up. If you allowed students to submit multiple attempts, the time limit applies to each attempt.