Blackboard Tip of the Week

Stephen Kevlin

 

Bb 9.1 October 2014

In the new version of Blackboard, as in the previous version, you can make a number of changes to a test after students have started submitting attempts on it and do so without breaking that test.

If students have submitted attempts on a test, you still cannot add a question to it, modify the number of questions in a question set or change the definition of a random block of questions or change its options. However, you can delete or reorder questions or change their point values. When you delete questions or change their point values, any attempts that have already been submitted for the test will be automatically regraded.

In addition, where you could previously edit the text of a question, you also now can change which answer to a question is correct. Here too, when you make such changes, submitted test attempts will be automatically regraded.

To make any of the above changes to a deployed test that has submitted attempts, do the following:

  1. In your Grade Center, select the down-arrow button in the column header for the test and select Edit Test from the context menu that appears — doing this will open the Test Canvas window for that test.
  2. To delete questions, select the check box for any question that you want to delete and then select Delete and Regrade. (Note: if a student is taking a test while you are trying to delete questions, you will have to wait until the student has submitted her/his test attempt before you can delete those questions.) If individual questions that you delete were drawn from a question pool, the questions will be deleted from your test, but not from the question pool.
  3. To reorder questions, use the drag/drop control for individual questions to move them to different locations in the list of questions. Alternatively, use the double-arrow button in the top right of the Test Canvas window to open a Reorder: Questions window that contains controls that allow you to change the order of the questions in the test.
  4. To change the point value of questions, select the check box for any question whose point value you want to change, input a number in the Points text box on the top left of the Test Canvas window and then select Update or Update and Regrade. When you do this, the new point value will be applied to all of the questions that you selected.
  5. To edit a question (including changing which answer to a question is correct), select the down-arrow button for the question that you wish to edit, select Edit from the context menu that appears, make your editorial changes to the question and then select Submit and Update Attempts.

If a test contains random blocks of questions drawn from a question pool (or pools), you can follow the above steps to change the point value of all of the questions in that random block, but not the point value of individual questions. When you input a number into the Points textbox for a random block, the point value will change for every question in that random block. In addition, you cannot follow these steps to reorder questions, since random blocks, by definition cannot be arranged in a predetermined order.

To edit questions contained in random blocks (including changing which question answers are correct), do the following:

  1. In your Grade Center, select the down-arrow button in the column header for the test, and select Edit Test from the context menu that appears.
  2. In the Test Canvas window that opens, select the expander link called Preview questions that match selected criteria.
  3. In the expanded list of questions that appears, select the down-arrow button for any question that you wish to edit, select Edit from the context menu that appears, make your editorial changes to the question, and then select Submit and Update Attempts.

To delete questions contained in random blocks, you have to do the following (warning: if you delete a question from a question pool, that question is permanently deleted):

  1. On your course Control Panel, select Course Tools and then Tests, Surveys and Pools.
  2. In the Tests, Surveys and Pools window, select Pools.
  3. In the Pools Canvas window that opens, select the down-arrow button for any question that you want to delete, select Delete from the context menu that appears, and then select OK in the pop-up confirmation window that appears.

Note: You can also use the above steps as an alternative means of editing questions contained in a random block or of changing the point value of those questions:

  1. To edit a question (including changing which question answers are correct), follow Steps 1 – 3 above to get to the Pool containing the question(s) that you want to edit, select the down-arrow button for any question that you wish to edit, select Edit from the context menu that appears, make your editorial changes to the question and then select Submit and Update Attempts.
  2. To change the point value of a question, follow Steps 1 – 3 above to get to the Pool containing the question(s) that you want to edit, select the check box for any question whose point value you want to change, input a number into the Points text box on the top left of the Pool Canvas window, select Update and then select OK in the pop-up confirmation window that appears.

Use the following link to download a printable version of this Bb tip of the week:  Download the Tip

Use the following link to view previous Bb tips of the week:  BBTOTW-Archive

As always, if you have questions or would like to learn more about the automatic regrading feature in Blackboard 9.1 April 2014, do not hesitate to contact the Distance Learning Office (518-629-7070/DLHelp@hvcc.edu).

 

Published: Mon, 26 Oct 2015 12:15:17 +0000 by m.petersen