Kevin Wolf’s tip on Blackboard Test Best Practices

The information at this link (put together by my colleagues at Hunter) has some recommended practices for working with high stakes tests in Blackboard:

http://www.hunter.cuny.edu/ttlg/help/consider/high-stakes-tests

If you are using force completion for the test, then students should not navigate away from the test.  This will force the students out of the test, in which case they will not be able to re-enter to continue.   If you as the instructor do not choose “force completion” in the test options, students who get kicked out will be able to get back into the test to complete it.

To ensure the best test-taking experience, students shoul

• use a laptop or desktop computer if possible
• close other programs prior to taking the test
• open one browser (Firefox is recommended) with one window open
• disable pop-up blockers
• access the test using a wired internet connection unless their wireless connection is strong and reliable
• avoid using the browser’s “back” arrow or refresh button on their browser
• avoid navigating away from the test window or opening a new browser window
• avoid clicking the buttons more than once (e.g., after clicking the “Submit” button, it may take a few moments to submit)

Finally, I would recommend asking the students to take screenshots or photo of any errors that they encounter while taking the test.

I would recommend also asking the students to take screenshots when the problems occur.

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Here are some resources from CUNY about Blackboard Tests:

• Creating a Test
• Creating a Test
• Setting Test Options
• Setting Test Options (includes setting the timer for a test)
• Automatic Regading
• Getting Started with Automatic Regrading
• Reading Survey Results
• Getting Started with Building a Test
• Tour the Question Finder Feature
• Reading Survey Submissions
• Exporting and Importing a Test or Survey
• Uploading Test Questions from Microsoft® Excel
• Awarding Negative Points for Incorrect Answers to Test Questions
• Creating a Fill in the Blank Question
• Creating a Short Answer Question
• Creating a Matching Question
• Creating a True or False Question
• Adding an Existing Question to a Test
• Creating a Calculated Formula Question
• Creating a Calculated Numeric Question
• Creating an Essay Question
• Creating a Fill in Multiple Blanks Question
• Creating a Hot Spot Question
• Creating a Jumbled Question
• Creating a Likert Question
• Creating a Multiple Answer Question
• Creating a Multiple Choice Question
• Creating an Ordering Question
• Creating a Quiz Bowl Question
• Tagging Questions for Reuse
• Significant Figures
• Building a Pool
• Creating a Random Block and Adding It to a Test
• Item Analysis