Taking Tests and Surveys
Taking a test in Blackboard
Can I save a test and come back to it later?
Can I view a test after I’ve taken it?
Points for students to consider when test-taking
Surveys
Taking a test in Blackboard
Taking a test in Blackboard is relatively straight forward. Your instructor will advise you when the test will be available and in what content area of the course site to look for it, i.e. Assignments. Click on the test link. You will then be taken into a page that gives you the option to Cancel or OK. Click OK to take the test. The test will open up. Read any written instructions and take the test.
Can I save a test and come back to it later?
Providing that the Force Completion setting has not been activated a student can save their responses without submitting the test for final grading. Once the answers have been saved the student may log out and return later to resume the test.
Can I view a test after I've have taken it?
Students can only view tests if the instructor has enabled this setting. If they have:
- Click on Course Tools under the Tools section of the course menu bar.
- Click on My Grades.
- Click on the actual score or letter grade to review the test you wish to see. The completed test will then be displayed.
Points for students to consider when test-taking
- Students should not wait until the last minute to take a test. If you do experience technical difficulties there needs to be adequate time to resolve the issue and complete the test.
- Log into Blackboard through http://sf.blackboard.com rather than going through the sf.edu website
- Using a wireless network when taking a test can be unstable.
If working from a computer with a dial-up connection, ensure the ISP time-out settings are set to the maximum allowed time. If you run call waiting with dial-up please note that the call waiting can interrupt the connection in Blackboard and throw you out of the test. - Many ISPs will disconnect or time out a test because of the lack of activity on the page. Even though a student is scrolling, etc within the test as far as the browser is concerned it is on the same page and "inactive". This is particularly prevalent if a test is untimed or exceeds about 45 minutes.
- If using Internet Explorer, version 6.0 or above is required.
- Turn off pop-up blockers and phishing filters and make sure security settings are low enough to not be blocking traffic. Spyware and other programmes running in the background can interfere with test taking.
- The browser must be enabled to accept Cookies.
- Don't have any other applications open, just the internet browser and Blackboard.
- Do not resize, minimize or refresh the browser window once the test has started.
- Don't use the browser back and forward buttons to navigate within a test. To move from question to question, only use the arrows within the testing window.
- When entering the test, only click once. Sometimes it takes a while to load (give it at least a full minute). If, after clicking once, nothing happens for a while, then contact the instructor immediately. Do not click again. If a student clicks twice, a message advising the student they already took the test pops up and barrs the student from being able to retry taking the test.
- If the test is presented all on one page it's not necessary to save every single answer (which refreshes and therefore reloads the page every time). Just save the answers every so often and then complete the final submission. If there are multiple users taking the test at the same time and continually saving answers this can cause the test to run very slowly for all users actively within the test A student can still decide to change answers up until the time of test submission.
- Do not click the Submit button until the test is complete.
- A student should contact the instructor immediately (not the Blackboard Systems Administrator) if they experience a problem or a technical difficulty that has prevented them from finishing the test. The instructor is the only one that can clear your attempt and allow you to retake the test.
- Make sure the computer really does have high speed internet access and a compatible browser (no AOL, no Netscape, no dial up, even basic cable connection may prove problematic).
Surveys
Surveys are taken the same way through Blackboard as tests are. However there is one important difference in that surveys are anonymous. Although the instructor can see who has taken the survey they are unable to match results/answers/comments to an individual student.
