Overview

In Blackboard 6, there are assessment interface changes as well as feature enhancements.

Interface

• Control Panel: Assessment Manager is now called Test Manager. Survey has its own area called Survey Manager.
• Test, Survey, and Pool Canvas: The titles for the forms used to modify these items have been changed to Test Canvas, Survey Canvas, and Pool Canvas.
• Tests and Survey Availability: The settings and availability for tests and surveys are now found in the Content Areas where test and survey are two of multiple items to add to a content area.

Features

• Math and Science Notation Tool (WebEQ^TM Equation Editor): This tool accompanies virtually every entry box in Blackboard. See Blackboard 6: Equation Editor handout for details.
• Creation Settings: Question settings found in the Advanced view of a question form in Blackboard 5.x can now be globally set for all questions in a test or survey. It is now also possible to specify default point values for all questions on a specific test; enable feedback for each answer to a question; and to assign keywords to questions.
• Test and Survey Options: It is possible to set a test to display one question at a time and to prohibit backtracking. It is also possible to enable randomization questions. Survey has display and settings capabilities similar to those of test.
• Test and Survey Availability: It is possible to modify the content and settings of an available test or survey. See below for Blackboard recommendations.

Adding a Test or Survey

In Blackboard 5.x, a test or survey is made available and options set (Duration, Availability, Feedback, and so forth) in the test or survey form. In Blackboard 6, a test or survey is made available by adding the test to one of the Content Areas. The icon for adding a test displays in the gray header bar alongside Add Item and Add Folder. The link for adding a survey displays in a dropdown box on the right side of the same header bar.

Test and Survey Options

It is no longer necessary to designate where a test or survey link will display because it will be made visible in the Content Area where it is added.
Test Feedback options in Blackboard 6 are as follows:

• Score only: Only the final score is presented.
• Detailed results: The student’s answers and final score are presented.
• Show correct answers: The student’s answers and final score are presented, as well as the correct answers.
• Detailed Results, Correct Answers and Feedback: Student is shown everything above.

Test Presentation is a new section with the following options:

• Presentation Mode: Questions may be presented all at once or one at a time. When presented one at a time, it is possible to prohibit backtracking. That is, students may not return to questions they have already answered.
• Randomize Questions: It is possible to have question order randomized for each assessment attempt.

Modifying an Available Test or Survey

In Blackboard 6, it is possible to modify the options for a test or survey as long as it has not been taken by a student. If it has been taken by a student, Blackboard says that it is possible to make textual changes such as rewording or correcting grammatical errors without violating the integrity of the test. Students taking the test or survey or viewing results will see the modified version of the test not the version they took.

Blackboard warns that the following kinds of changes should not be made as they will “invalidate existing assessment attempts and could corrupt the entire assessment and its Gradebook entries.”

• Number of points for a question
• Addition or removal of questions
• Addition or removal of answers or feedback
• Change in settings
• Change in attached files

Creation Settings

In Blackboard 5.x, there are two views for a question form: Normal and Advanced. In Blackboard 6, there is one view for a question form but the Advanced view functions can be enabled for all questions in Creation Settings.
The link for Creation Settings is found in the gray header bar to the right of the Add Question drop down box.

Test

Creation settings for Test questions are:

• Provide feedback for individual answers (new feature).
• Add images, files, and URLs to questions.
• Add images and files to answers.
• Add categories and keywords to questions.
• Specify default point values for questions (new feature).

Survey

Creation settings for Survey questions are:

• Add images, files, and URLs to questions.
• Add images and files to answers.
• Add categories and keywords to questions.