assessment – Blackboard Help

Reviewing an online Test

This tutorial explains how to review the results of an online test. The instructor reviews results through the "Grade Center", and the student reviews results through "My Grades".

Instructor: Go to the Grade Center

In Control Panel

go to Grade Center and then
go to Full Grade Center

Find the column for the test

Find the column for the test. You can simplify the gradebook view by using the "Filter" function found to the upper right of the grade center. This lets you filter by category. Note – you’ll have to change the filter back to "All Categories" to see the full grade center again.

Viewing Statistics for the whole test

(1) To the right of the column header for the test, find the drop-down menu
(2) Click on the drop-down menu icon then choose Attempts Statistics

You can also "Download Results" – read the instructions carefull to save the results.

Attempts Statistics

Attempts Statistics will give you a question by question breakdown showing what persentage of students submitted each answer as well as over-all statistics for the test.

View Results for Individual Students

To view individual student grades, go to the first student that has a result in the gradebook. From the drop-down menu next to their score in the column ( (1) this only shows when you move your mouse over that area in the gradebook column) choose (2) View Grade Details.

View attempt for the first student

Now click View Attempt for that student.
You’ll only have to do two clicks for the first student – after that it becomes easier!!!

View a students result

Now you can view an individual students result and over-ride their grade if you would like to (1)

Note also the link that says "Test Information" (2) – this can be important!

Expand Test Information

Expanding "Test Information" by clicking on it lets you know how long the attempt took etc. It is also one way to Clear the Attempt or to Submit an Attempt for a student who takes part of the test then either times out or has a glitch while submitting.

Leave Feedback, Continue to next student

Scroll down while viewing the attempt
(1) You can leave feedback for the student
(2) You can make notes for yourself
(3) At the bottom click "Save and Next" to continue to the next student of "Save and Exit" to return to the Grade Center

Grading Essay Tests

Essay Tests (tests with question type Essay) are graded in the same way. You will of course have to give the grades manually – each question will have a place to enter the score for that question and an individual feedback box for each question.

Entering grade manually

You can enter grades manually from the full grade center view. Just click once or twice on the first row that you want to enter a grade, type the grade and then Enter key.

Do not be too impatient! The grade center takes a bit of time to save the grade and grade history – you’ll see the grade update and your cursor in the next row shortly after you type enter

How students review their grades

You must make "My Grades" visible before a student can see their grades and feedback – use the drop-down menu next to the My Grades link in the course menu and choose "Show Link" (it will have a square with slash through it next to the menu item name if it is hidden).

Student’s view of My Grades

The student will see all the gradebook "columns" down the page when they view My Grades. The score of their test will be a link (1). The will also see any feedback you have entered (2).

Students can click on the link for the score to view attempt

If students click on the link for their score (then click a secont time on the score on the next page) they can review their test.

What they see depends on the level of feedback you have set in "Test Options" when you deploy the test – if you have set only "score" then they cannot review the test. You can also choose to show their answers, the correct answers, and general feedback (if the instructor has entered it when making the test).

In the example above both "submitted answer" and "correct answer" have been selected.

Controlling the level of feedback displayed

The level of feedback the student sees is determined by the options set at the time they go to My Grades. For example

While a test is available you may only wish to show the students their score. They will see this immediately after taking the test and when they go to My Grades.
AFTER the test is no longer available – you may wish to show submitted answers and correct answer – you can Edit Test Options and change the level of feedback – now when the go to My Grades they will see the additional information

Note: for Essay test the correct answer is a model answer which the student can compare their own answer to.

Edit Test Options

Change the availability or level of feedback by editing test options – go to the drop-down menu next to the test name and choose "Edit Test Options"

Deploying a Test and Setting Test Options

After a test is created in or imported to Blackboard it is necessary to "deploy" it to a content area. This "posts" the test and also created a column in the Gradebook (Grade Center).

In Blackboard both computer graded quizzes and essay tests are considered "Tests" – the only difference is the question type.

A test can be deployed in any Content Area or Folder. You’ll want to decide on a predictable place for your students to find the test. One option is to put the test inside a folder corresponding to that unit or week along with other content and activities that go with that unit.

Tests are located in the Test Manager.

Go to the Control Panel located in the lower left below the course menu (1)
Click on Course Tools to expand it (2)
Click on Tests, Surveys and Pools (3)
Click on Tests (4)

Now you’ll be in the Test Manager. There you’ll see all your tests (both quizzes and essays) (5) and an indication of whether or not they are deployed (6).

To deploy a test you’ll need to go to the content area where you wish to post it.

Browse to the Content Area where you wish to deploy the test.

Using the Course Menu and clicking on Folders within your main Content Areas, browse to the Content Area or Folder in which you wish to deploy the test. In the example above, the test is being deployed in Week Two, so I click on Course Content and then the Week Two folder.

Create Assessment > Test

At the top of any Content Area you’ll see the buttons "Build Content", :"Create Assessment", "Add Interactive Tool" etc.

Mover your cursor over Create Assessment and select Test.

You can create a new test or deploy an existing test

At this point you have the option to create a new Test or deploy an existing Test.
You’ll only see Tests that are not yet deployed to a Content Area – you can’t deploy a test in two different places.

What you can do is write a notice or do a "cross course link" so that students looking in one Content Area or Folder are aware that the test is (or will be) deployed elsewhere.

After selecting the Test, click Submit.

Test Options

There are many test options – the following describes the most common. Additional help for setting test options can be found by following a link on the Blackboard page (1) or by viewing the tutorial at http://ondemand.blackboard.com

The Test Name is mandatory as indicated by the orange asterisk. A description is optional – it will appear below the link to the Test and the students will see it before they take the test (but only if the test is available to them).

Make the Test available

By default the Test is NOT available. This is so you don’t accidentally have it available before you are ready. At the very least you must change this selection to Yes.
No means the test will NEVER be available to students.

Set options for availability

(1) For the Test to EVER be available you must set this option to "Yes" – you can then set a time window to limit availability
(2) Set number of allowed attempts
(3) Check these boxes if you want to set a time window – you must both check the boxes AND choose dates and times
(4) Choose dates and times. When choosing a time at the end of the day – scroll down the list and choose "End of Day"
(5) You can set a password for a proctored test.

There is also a "Due Date" option – this does not limit availability. It simply provides information to the student and can also be used in the Blackboard early warning system.

Test Feedback

This section determines the level of feedback the students will see both after they complete the test and whenever they go to "My Grades" (their view of the gradebook) and click on the score.

During the time the test is open and available – you may want to limit the feedback (to Score for example)
After the test is no longer available (the link to it will disappear) you can change the level of feedback. If you want to let students see the correct answers you can check the boxes for Submitted Answers and Correct Answers. They will view these by going to "My Grades" and clicking on their score.
The box labeled "Feedback" does not apply unless there is feedback entered for a test question.

Set any other options you wish and click Submit.

Link to Test in Content Area

The Test link will now be available to you in the Content Area or Folder. If the test is not available, it will be grayed out and a message will indicate its status.

If the message simply says "This item is not available" – that means "No" is still checked. It will never be available unless you manually change this.
If the message says "Item is not available. It will be available after date." or "Item is not available. It was last available on date" then the Availability is set to "Yes" but you are outside the time window.

Editing the Test or Test Options

Use the drop-down menu found by clicking on the two downward arrows next to the Test name. This is how you change the availability dates or feedback levels.

There is usually no need to remove a test from a Content Area or Folder unless you don’t plan to use it again. You can make it unavailable and then the next time you teach the course you can edit the options for availability and feedback. You also use this menu to delete a test.

The Test in the Gradebook

Deploying a Test automatically puts it in the gradebook. It will be at the end of the list. You can change its position by going to "Manage" and then "Column Organization".

Hiding a Column

Gradebook columns that are still linked to things that are deployed can NOT be deleted from the gradebook. You must first locate and delete them from the Content Area.or Folder. If you don’t want students to see this column in the gradebook then you can choose "Show Hide to Users" from the drop-downmenu next to the column name.

Be sure to choose "Show/Hide to Users" and not the entry "Hide Column" which is lower down on the list!

Columns Hidden from Students

If a column is hidden from students then you will see a circle with slash through it next to the column name. Make sure you see this indication – if the column simply disappears, it means you have hidden it from yourself but not your students! You will need to go to "Manage" and "Column Organization to reverse this. After hiding it from your students you can also hide it from yourself, if you wish.

Moving a Test

A test cannot be moved – instead it must be deleted and then re-deployed in a new location.

NOTE – deleting a test from a Content Area or Folder does NOT delete it from the test manager.

If there are no grades associated with this test then deleting it will also delete the column from the gradebook. If there are grades, you will be asked whether or not you wish to delete the column.

Collecting and Grading Assignments

A Blackboard "Assignment" is the mechanism for any task in which the students type a submission in a textbox and/or turn in one or more electronic files. These may be papers (word processing documents), spreadsheets, images, mp3 files – any files which they can upload from their computer. When you create an assignment you can add instructions and attach files. After the student submits their response, you collect files from the Grade Center, evaluate them, then give a grade, feedback and any returned files back to the students. Assignments can be given individually to students or to groups that are set up in Blackboard.

TIP: Make sure your students know how you expect them to submit the assignment. If you want them to enter text directly online rather than as an attached file, let them know. On the other hand if you expect a word processing document, let them know what format(s) you can view.

The Blackboard Assignment is the analog of the UAS Online Task.

Needs Grading

After students submit their assignment, a "needs grading" icon will appear in the Grade Center. The student will also see a "Needs Grading" icon in their gradebook (My Grades).

Viewing a single students submission

To view a single student’s assignment:

Click on the drop-down menu to the right the icon for their attempt. You will need to "hover over" this space to see the two downward arrows that represent the menu.
Choose View Grade Details
On the resulting information page, choose View Attempt.

Open or download the student’s files, submit grade and feedback

You’ll see any text submitted by the student, link (s) to the file(s) and any comments they added (1) . Click on the link to open or download the file. When you are ready to submit a grade and feedback, return to the gradebook, view the attempt again, and enter a grade (2) and feedback in the textbox (3). You can also attach one or more files to return to the students (4).

Below this is a textbox where you can enter Instructor Notes – these are notes to yourself and any other co-teachers. The student will not see them.

Scroll down and click "Save and Exit" or "Save and Next"

Viewing Multiple Students’ Files

If you prefer to open your student’s files one at a time – then you can page through the submissions using the "Save and Next" button (1) at or the navigation button (2) to the right of that. You’ll only view attempts for which work has been submitted.

Bulk file download

You can download all the student’s files as a zipped package. Click on the drop-down menu next to the column header in the gradebook (1) and choose Assignment File Download (2).

Select student files to download

Check the boxes next to student names or check the box at the top of "Select Users" to select all. Click Submit

Download zipped file

The next page has a link to the zipped file. Click to download and save on your computer. You can rename the file as long as you keep the extension ".zip".
The assignment files will have the course name, the assignment name, and the students username appended in front of the name the student gave the file. Do not make your assignment names too long – it can cause problems!

After you have saved the zipped file to your computer extract all files. In Windows, right click on the zipped file and choose Extract All. A folder with the same name as the zipped file will be created. In the zipped package will be the students submitted files as well as text and comments they entered directly online.

TIP: Its a good idea to at least open all the files immediately after the assignment deadline, even if you can’t grade them right away. That way if there is a glitch and a corrupted file, you can contact the student and have them re-submit.

After extracting all the assignment files, grading them and perhaps adding comments or text as feedback, you will return to the Grade Center and enter grades, feedback and return papers to the students.

TIP: As you grade each paper in the download folder – add your comments, "Save As" and change the name. You might save them in a new sub-folder to keep track of them.

How student view their grades and feedback

The student views their grades through "My Grades". They see only their own grades. After you give them a score, the "Needs Grading" icon will change to a numerical or letter grade. Clicking on that will allow then to view their score, feedback, and any returned file(s).

Review an “attempt in progress” and submit the result for a student.

When a student is interupted or has an error while taking or submitting a test, it is possible that some of their answers may be saved. The instructor can review the test and submit the result for the student.

In the gradebook – look for the attempt in progress symbol

(1) The attempt in progress symbol looks like a paper with pencil.
(2) Click on the drop-down menu (two downward arrows) on the right of the grade entry to get the context menu.
You will see the date of the attempt. Make sure the student is done trying to take the test.
(3) Click on View Grade Details.

View the attempt

Now you’ll see the entry for that student’s attempt including the date and time.
Click on the View Attempt button.

Review the student’s attempt.

You’ll be able to review the attempt including any answers that have been saved. ( It is possible no answers were saved – if so that will be indicated as Selected Answer: [None Given]

Next click on the link above the test "Test Information"

Expand the "Test Information"

After you expand the "Test Information" by clicking on that underlined link, you’ll see a button that will allow you to submit the test for the student.
A dialog box will ask you if you are sure. You will then get a chance to add feedback to the student or notes to yourself.
Click Save and Exit.

Import a test

This lesson describes how to import a test using a zipped file created by a quiz import tool such as Respondus, Exam, Examview etc. It does not cover the use of the quiz programs themselves, just the import steps.

Use your quiz management software to create the exam.

After creating your exam using the software of your choice, export a zipped file to your computer. Make sure this is compatible with the Blackboard 9 system. The screenshot above shows how to instruct Respondus to create a zipped file. Respondus can also connect directly to Blackboard, but a Firewall may prevent this. Despite the wording, the zipped file can be imported to Blackboard as a test or as a pool.

Give the zipped file a meaningful name and save it to a location on your computer where you can find it again.

Go to the tests, pools and surveys manager in Blackboard

Log into your Blackboard course. Go to the control panel, expand Course Tools and click on Tests, Surveys and Pools

Go to the Test or the Pool Manager

In the center of the screen click on either Tests or Pools

Click on Import Test

Click on Import Test

Browse and find your zipped file

Click on Browse My Computer and find the zipped file you previously saved.

Click Submit

You should get a "success" message. The test is now in your Test Manager.

Add the test to a content area

Go to the Content Area in which you would like to post the test. Move your mouse cursor over Create Assessment and choose Test

Choose the test from the list

Choose the appropriate test from the list then click "Create".
Add a description or instructions as needed then click Submit.
You will see the questions that you imported, go to the bottom right and click "OK"

Make the test available

By default the test is not available. Click on the drop-down menu to the right of the test name and click "Edit Test Options"
Scroll down to "2. Test Availability" and make the test available. Set opening and closing dates, passwords and other options as needed.

More resources

More tutorials about tests can be found on this page: http://ondemand.blackboard.com/assess.htm
Scroll down to the "tests" section.

Creating tests

This tutorial explains how to create tests, pools, and surveys. They can be created in a content area or using the control panel.

Make sure editing is ON

To add a test directly to a content area (area linked to from the left side course menu), make sure editing is on and go to the content area.

Tests are an “Interactive Tool”

(1) Hover over the link labeled Add Interactive Tool
(2) Click on the link labeled “Test”

Create or add a test

From here you can create a new test (1) or add an existing test. Before going into details, we will show the alternative way to create tests.

Accessing Tests, Pools, and Surveys from the Control Panel

In Control Panel find Course Tools and click on the down-arrow to the left.

Click on Tests, Surveys and Pools

Click on the link to Tests (or Surveys or Pools) that appears in the main window

Build a new test or import a test

You’ll see the list of existing tests (1) and also links to Build a new Test (2) or to Import a Test. (3) Tests are imported from a zipped file which is exported from Blackboard or from a publishers program.

Modify an existing test

To modify a test, click on the down-arrow next to the test name, You can edit, export, copy or delete the test. (Your ability to edit or delete will be limited if the test is deployed and students have taken the test.)

Building or editing a test.

When you Build or Edit a test, the steps are very similar to previous version of Blackboard. For more instructions on building a test and the types of questions possible, see this pdf file (22 MBytes)
http://library.blackboard.com/d/?c637668a-85d0-4d99-bb38-2f6c60691c76