Blogboard @ SHSU

The Blackboard Faculty Support Blog at Sam Houston State University

Friday, October 12, 2007

4 "Best Practices" for giving tests in Blackboard


We receive many e-mails and phone calls on a weekly basis at Blackboard Central. Many of the questions that are asked drive how we put together our Technology Tutorials. Some of the most common types of questions revolve around testing within the Blackboard environment. In an effort to make delivering tests to your student via Blackboard an easy proposition, we have put together a list of "Best Practices" for our Bb Faculty users.


By no means are you obligated to use all of these, but using one or just a few can help make your test creation/giving experience a pleasant one.


Here we go:


  1. Ensure your students know the procedures and expectations for their tests. Have them sign off on a statement of understanding (this would be a great place to utilize the Mark Reviewed button). Here is an example:

    - I will take tests myself, no test by committee or help from other students in answering the questions.

    - You may use your book. However the test is timed, so looking up every question will be impossible.

    - You have X minutes to complete the X question test.

    - If you lose your ability to access the Internet during the test, user your phone to call my office (xxx-xxx-xxxx). If I do not answer, please leave a voicemail.

    Click the Mark Reviewed button to show you understand these procedures and expectations. The test will not show up until you have clicked the Mark Reviewed button.


  2. If your test is in essay format, consider using the Assignment Manager tool instead. It is much easier to collect and grade responses.


  3. If the test counts as a significant portion of the students' grades, use pools and random blocks to ensure that no two student get the same exam...


  4. ...Otherwise make the test worth cheating for rather than spending a lot of energy trying to manage test security (e.g., it should have low mark value and encourage review and open book searching for answers).

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