How to create tests and assessments in myUSF
From USF Information Technology
Purpose: The Purpose of this document is to show how you can properly create online assessments in Blackboard.
Prerequisites:
- Basic understanding of Blackboard
- Basic knowledge of Blackboard’s grade book
Contents |
[edit] How to create online exams in myUSF
Creating online exams in Blackboard is a three part process, the first part is the creation of the exam; the second part is making the assessment available; and the third part is grading the exam through the online grade book.
[edit] Creating your Exam
The first step in creating an online exam is where you go to make questions for the test. To make test questions, click on the Test Manager link in the Assessment area of Blackboard’s Control Panel.
After you click on this link you will be taken to the Test Manager screen. On this screen you will see the status of any previously created assessment. To create a new assessment click on the "Add Test" button located in the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
The next screen is the Test Information screen, where you can enter a name, description, and instructions for the new test. The only required field is the Name field. The other fields on this screen are optional. Submit you have entered
After you enter the test information, you will see the Test Canvas screen. On this screen you can create test questions by selecting the type of question from the Add Question dropdown box, and clicking the GO button. This will direct you to a new screen where you fill out the question information.
Below is an example of a test question created in Blackboard. To add more, simply repeat the process of selecting a question and clicking GO.
[edit] How to Make the Test Available to Students
After you have successfully created a set of test questions, the next step is to make your test available to students. To accomplish this, first go to the Control Panel and choose a link inside the content area where you want to launch your test. For example if you wanted to have your test appear under Assignments, then you would click on the link labeled Assignments to launch your exam.
Once you are inside a course content area, you will see a menu at the top of the screen with a list of icons, one of these icons is labeled "Test". Click on this item whenever you want to deploy an exam or quiz.
After you click on the "Test" icon (see previous page), you will see a screen with a list of all non-deployed exams. To deploy an exam, select the test from the list of existing tests, and click the Submit button to finalize your choice.
Please note, after you deploy an exam it is not immediately available to students. There are a few more options you have to set before it becomes available.
[edit] Modify the Test Options
If you have been following our example you should see the Modify Test screen.
However, if you somehow passed this screen and are seeing the main screen with the text “Item is not available”, then simply click on the modify button to return to Modify Test screen.
On the Modify Test screen, select the link labeled "Modify the test options" to set availability, presentation, and feedback options.
When you enter the test options screen you will see it is divided into 5 parts.
The 1st area is "Test information." Conveniently, it will already have the name and description field filled out for you.
The only item of real interest is the option named "Launch Item in external window." If this option is checked, the test will appear in a separate window from Blackboard. We recommend you set this option to “No”, since newer browsers have pop-up blocking which may prevent the window from opening externally.
[edit] Test Availability
The 2nd area is "Test Availability", this area lets you set up test time limits and the time when when the test is available.
- The first option in this section is “Do you want to make the link visible?” This setting will make the test automatically available to students on the dates and times you select. We recommend you set this option to "Yes".
- The next option is “Do you want to create an announcement for this Quiz” This will place an announcement about the Test for you on your course’s main page. We recommend you set this option to "Yes."
- The “Allow multiple attempts” option permits students to take a test multiple times. Each time they take the assessment their previous test’s scores are erased. This option is useful for giving practice tests. However, we recommend you leave this turned "OFF."
- The "Force Completion" option forces students to complete the assignment the first time it is launched. This option prevents students from leaving Blackboard while taking an exam. However, if the student is accidentally disconnected from Blackboard their exam ends. For this reason, we recommend you turn this option "OFF."
- The "Set time limit" option sets the amount of time students have to finish an assessment. If you plan to have a test last longer than 2 hours, we recommend you set the test presentation to display questions One-at-a-time.
[edit] Self-assessment Options
The 3rd section is intented to allow the instructor to decide the type of assessment for the test.
- The first option, "Include this test in Gradebook score calculations" allows the instructor to decide if the test will be included in the calculations for the final score in the Gradebook. If this is checked, the score will be included in the student's final score. If unchecked, the grade will not be included in the student's score, and the instructor has access to view the students score.
- The second option, "Hide the score of this test from the Gradebook" allows the instructor to have the students' self assess themselves. If this option is checked, the instructor does not have access to the student's grade on the test. The details of what the student has access to is decided in section 4, "Test Feedback".
[edit] Test Feedback
The 4th section allows the instructor what type of feedback the students will receive.
The student will receive information for only the choices that are checked. If submitted answers, correct answers, or feedback is selected, the student will be able to view the questions.
- Score - Allow the student to view their score.
- Submitted answers - Allows the student to view the answers they submitted for each question.
- Correct Answers - Allows the student to view the correct answers for each question.
- Feedback - Allows the student to view the feedback that is appropriate to their answer.
[edit] Test Presentation
The 5th section lets you setup how the test questions are presented.
- The 1st option is "All at Once," which presents all of the questions at one time on the screen. This is useful for short quizzes to medium length tests where the length of time allotted for the assessment is less than 2 hours. The drawback to using "All at Once" is that some web browsers may cause blackboard to timeout after long periods of inactivity.
- If you plan to host a test which is longer than 2 hours, we recommend you use "One at a Time." This option forces browser activity by presenting questions one-by-one. Once you are done setting up the test options, scroll down to the bottom of the page and click Submit to activate the settings.
[edit] Grading an Exam
Before you can grade an exam, students must first take the assessment. Below is an example of how a student would view an online exam. First, the student goes to the location of the exam and clicks on the exam’s link.
Next, the student scrolls through the test, answering questions.
Lastly, the student receives their grade. If there are no essay questions in the exam, the student will immediately see their grade.
However, if the test contains essay questions, the student will see a message that says “Grade not Available” instead of their score. If this is the case, you will have to manually grade the item through Blackboard’s Gradebook.
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[edit] Manually Grading an Exam
To manually grade an exam, first, go to Blackboard’s Control Panel and click on the link to the Gradebook.
Next, you will see a spreadsheet with your students’ names and an (!) next to their names. The (!) are items which need manual grading. To manually grade an item, click on the (!) next to the student’s name.
On the next screen you will see the student’s name, their grade (!) and a button labeled “View”. Click on the "View" button to see the student’s individual answers, and manually grade their exam.
Below is an example of an online assessment which is being manually graded. Note: you can also clear the student’s test attempt by clicking on the “Clear Attempt” button on this screen. if you choose "Clear Attempt" you will reset the student’s answers.
