Test Creation Tips for Instructors
Note: CTLT does not encourage or recommend high-stakes testing using Blackboard's Test Manager except in a proctored environment. The uncertainty of student system configurations, variety of internet service providers and inability to control other factors makes high-stakes testing on Blackboard a very unstable choice. If you do use Blackboard for large tests, here are some tips that may improve that experience. We also strongly recommend that a proctor be used for testing in online courses.
Encourage your students to be prepared ahead of time for testing by pointing them to this Blackboard Testing Tips for Students tutorial.
Do not give tests designed to last more than one hour. Give several short tests if a long test is needed. When a student is answering questions, the internet connection is idle. Many students' internet service providers will time-out the connection before they have finished the test and answers are lost upon submission. When you apply randomization to the test, this increases the probability of slowing down the presentation of questions to the students.
Generally we recommend displaying questions all-at-once as that format reduces the number of clicks for the student. However, for long essay tests we recommend displaying the questions one-at-a-time to keep the server connection active and reduce time-outs. Instructors might also consider using the Assignment Feature for essay tests as a more reliable alternative. Do not create tests using "Force Completion" and "Multiple Attempts" at the same time. You can use one-at-a-time with "Prohibit Backtracking" and this will force students to continuously hit save which enforces the sessions to continue and will also allow them to resume and continue where they left off if they lose connection, while also making sure they cannot go back and change their answers.
Padlocks present in the Gradebook during testing represent a student's attempt in progress. Instructors should not clear attempts or try to grade items that are still in progress. Unless you hear from the student directly, assume they are still taking the exam.
The "Set time limit" option does not automatically submit the test when the time is up. It only shows the instructor how many minutes over limit the student continued.
We've found that instructors giving large proctored tests using wireless laptops in a lab may experience problems with the availability of the connection. Too many laptops trying to connect to the same access point can use more bandwidth than is available and cause the connection to the internet to be slow or unresponsive. This can cause a Blackboard exam to lock-up as well. If more than 15 students are scheduled to take the test at the same time, have students access the test in groups of 10 or less.
Students should not attempt to save every question as they proceed through an exam. In exams requiring short time between questions this can cause the exam to slow or become unresponsive. Using the Save button at the bottom of the exam periodically is the safest way to save during an exam. This keeps the connection with the session so it does not timeout.
Requiring students to use other software or browse other websites to find exam answers can also result in testing problems. Resizing of the browser window or using Alt+Tab to switch between programs is not recommended. Clicking outside of the testing window can also cause some browsers to lock up.
Blackboard Testing & myGate Time-out Issue - Students taking tests or quizzes in Blackboard should close all open browsers except the one containing the Blackboard Test/Quiz. This includes the browser used to access the link from within myGate. Users have reported being locked out of their tests because of the myGate session time-out box popping up during the test. To avoid this, simply close the browser containing myGate after logging into Blackboard.
When deploying a test and choosing the test options, DO NOT choose the Self-Assessment Option to Hide the score of this test from the Gradebook UNLESS it is truly a self-assessment and only the students need to see the results. Choosing this option means the instructor will NOT have access to the scores. If you want to temporarily hide the results, make the modification in the gradebook settings.
For more information Student Test Taking Tips.