Tests

Tests are sets of questions that are graded to measure student performance. Once a test is created, it must be deployed within a content folder before students can take the test. Test results are reviewed in the Grade Center. Note that some question types are not automatically graded.

Create a Test and add questions

Original Environment

Create a Test and add questions

Watch the video below to learn hot to create a test and then deploy it.

To create a test step by step, follow the instructions below:

Visit your Blackboard course and the Content Area you want to add your test.
Click “Assessments” > “Tests, Surveys and Pools”.
Click “Tests”.
Click the “Create Test” button.
In the Test Information page fill in the Name field and provide information about the test in the Description textbox and the relevant Instructions in the Instructions text box.

After you finish providing all the necessary information please click Submit to save the changes.

Select a question type from the Create Question drop-down button on the Test Canvas.
Create a question.
There are several types of questions that you can choose to submit in a test. To select a type you may click on the “Create Question” drop – down button and click on the type of your choice.

Ultra Environment

Distinguishing Assignments and Tests in Ultra

Assignments and Tests (grouped under Assessments in the Course Content Items panel) share the same user interface and options. Many options in the settings are enabled or disabled based on whether at least one question is included in the assessment.

In practice, instructors use these assessments differently. For example, you might create an assignment with instructions for students to submit a file for a grade. In a test, students may answer a series of questions you’ve added to the assessment.

To distinguish between assignments and tests, and to highlight workflows with and without questions, the discussion of tests will emphasize a workflow with added questions.

The New Test page

There are three customizable components on the new test page:

add test content
control test visibility to students
apply test settings

Course Content page, with the Test creation option highlighted

Image of new test page with boxes drawn around three areas to customize test: 1. Create content, 2. Student Visibility, and 3. Test Settings

Provide a descriptive title so students can easily find the test among your course content. On the Course Content page, the title appears as the link students select to view the materials. If you don’t add a title, “New Test” and the date appear in the content list. If you don’t add content, the test won’t appear on the Course Content page.

Adding Test Content

Select the plus sign to open the menu to add questions and more.

Image of component to create test content with box drawn around plus sign button

You can choose a question type, add a question pool, upload questions from a file or reuse questions and content from existing assessments. You can also add files and text, such as instructions for the test. You can also add files from cloud storage, such as OneDrive and Google Drive.

Additional Tools

image of Additional tools section of Test Settings panel

Add a time limit. A time limit can keep students on track and focused on the test. 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. Time limits can only be added to individual (not group) tests.

Add a grading rubric. A rubric is a scoring tool to evaluate graded work. Rubrics can help you evaluate student submissions based on key criteria that you define. You can create a new rubric or associate an existing rubric in your course. You can only add a rubric to a test without questions.

Add goals and standards. You can align a test to one or multiple goals. You and your institution can use goals to measure student achievement across programs and curricula. You can also align individual test questions to goals.

Make a group test. You can create a test for groups of students. By default, you assign a grade to each group as a whole, but you can change a group member’s individual grade.

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Question Types

Find below four examples of question types, with guidelines, of common question types that an instructor could use in a test:

Fill in the Blank Questions
1. “Question Title” type the title of the question
2. “Question Text” type the content of the question
3. “Number of Answers” select how many answers this question should have and choose the “Exact Match” choice.
4. In the feedback section you may type a feedback that presents a response to a correct or an incorrect answer.
5. As soon as you finished editing the question requirements you may add notes concerning the question in section “Instructor Notes”
6. Click “Submit” to upload this question in the test.
Jumbled Sentence Questions
1. “Question Title” type the title of the question
2. “Question Text” type the content of the question including the variables of the possible answers. Variables must be typed in square brackets and only in capital letters. E.g.[A]
3. “Number of Answers” select the number of answers for this question and type each answer in the boxes below this section
4. As soon as you finished editing the question requirements, click next to continue with the editing of the correct answers as long as the feedback you could give for each answer
5. To specify the correct answer, click on the drop – down button to select the correct answer
6. In the feedback section you may type a feedback that presents a response to a correct or an incorrect answer.
7. You may add notes concerning the question in section “Instructor Notes”
8. Click “Submit” to upload this question in the test.
Multiple Choice Questions
1. “Question Title” type the title of the question
2. “Question Text” type the content of the question
3. “Options” set how the answers are about to be displayed by selecting the desirable “Answer Numbering” , “Answer Orientation” and if you wish “Allow partial credit”
4. “Number of Answers” choose the number of answer selections by clicking the drop – down button
5. Then, set the correct answer
6. In the feedback section you may type a feedback that presents a response to a correct or an incorrect answer.
7. You may add notes concerning the question in section “Instructor Notes”
8. When taking a test that associates negative points to incorrect answer choices you may want to clear that selection from a multiple-choice question and leave it blank. Click you answer one more time to clear your choice.
9. Click “Submit” to upload this question in the test.
Short Answer Questions
In the Short Answer question type, the students are able to add up to six (6) number of rows that are not limited in length.
1. “Question Title” type the title of the question
2. “Question Text” type the content of the question
3. “Answer text” you may write a possible correct answer and you can set the number of rows that will display in the answer text box
4. You may add notes concerning the question in section “Instructor Notes”
5. Click “Submit” to upload this question in the test.