Blackboard Test Overview

Welcome to the Blackboard Tests Training pages. While building tests in Blackboard can seem time-consuming and tedious, there are numerous benefits to using online tests. From automatic scoring and grade in-put into the Grade Center, to the ability to copy and re-use tests throughout multiple classes over many semesters without rebuilding, and much more; online tests can benefit both students and instructors when created and deployed properly.

Choosing Your Test Training Path:

Before you start your exploration of the tests training pages, consider the following information to better determine which path to take.

There are three main paths to take when creating questions for student assessment in Blackboard: Tests, Surveys, or Pools. Each path uses the same methodology for creating questions in Blackboard, but includes a different functionality that is important to understand before proceeding.

Tests: are the final product that will be deployed in your course for students to access to answer questions. You can choose to populate questions into a test by creating the questions individually, or using questions from a pool or different test that has already been created. For training on how to create tests in Blackboard, proceed to our Blackboard Test Training pages.

Surveys: are sets of questions that users answer anonymously. Questions can be added from a pool or can be created individually in the survey. User responses are intended to be anonymous so that the creator is unable to identify individual answers to the survey questions. The anonymous feature is not something that is turned on/off; if using the survey tool, responses will be recorded anonymously. Our IDA-created training pages are currently being constructed, if you have questions in the meantime, please visit our labs or email us at OIR@wichita.edu 

Pools: are sets of questions that can be used together, or from which you can select specific questions, to build a test. It is not a final product and will require additional steps once you have built a pool. Test pools can be created inside of Blackboard, created through the Respondus Test Builder product, created by using questions from previously created tests, or obtained from a publisher if available. For training on how to create and upload pools, proceed to our Blackboard Pools Training pages.