Testing Tips for Instructors

Following these recommendations may help avoid common problems associated with Blackboard Learn tests. While no amount of preparation can account for all possible issues, this information can minimize the chance of experiencing a problem.

• Share our Testing Tips for Students with your class to help them avoid typical technical problems.

• Prepare a practice online test that is similar in the settings and types of questions you will use in graded tests.

• Blackboard has a 3-hour inactivity time limit. If you plan to create a long, single-paged test, ask students to click the Save button frequently in order to avoid being “timed out”.

• We do not recommend the use of Force Completion. For example: If you have enabled the Force Completion setting on the test and a student’s internet connection drops, the test will submit itself. The student will NOT be allowed to re-enter the test to complete the attempt.

• Preview the test before delivering it to your students to make sure the images display properly. Be advised that some PNG images have been shown not to display properly in all browsers.

• After a student submits their test successfully, a submission report displays the student’s first name, last name, name of the assessment, course name, username, course ID, and date/time of submission. You may ask the student to print or email a screenshot of the submission receipt.

• Always have a backup plan for students to take the test (paper copy of the exam, alternative date, etc.). It is always possible for students to encounter problems with online tests.

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