Online Testing for Instructors (Best Practices)

Below are things to consider about using digitally proctored online testing:

• Reduces paper cost for printing exams or purchasing bubble sheets. 
• Increases testing efficiencies by offering some automation for grading and collections of assessment statistics.
• Supports the facilitation of consistent feedback to students.
• Allows for digital proctoring (Example: using Respondus LockDown Browser (LDB) with or without Respondus Monitor).
• Allows for the option between asynchronous and synchronous testing.
• Has features to support academic integrity and reduce motivations in cheating in online testing.
• Encourages the mastery of building online tests which do differ from paper exams. A learning curve for instructors should be expected.

Recommendation: If you use question types that have a clear correct answer (for example, multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, etc.), Blackboard will grade the test questions for you and include predetermined feedback you have entered.

Explanation: The LMS is built for online testing which pedagogically differs from paper and pencil testing due to the tools available. The concepts of assessing learners on learning objectives remains. When using online testing, you can offer additional setting features that are not available with paper and pencil testing. Results can be immediate if you design the test with an immediate feedback option. Predetermined feedback can also be offered for questions and automatically provided for students.

Recommendation: Allow multiple attempts for a test and/or don't count the test as part of the student's final grade.

Explanation: This pedagogical approach allows students to use the test for self-assessment purposes, allowing them to determine (based on the test results) which materials they need to study further.

Recommendation: Provide feedback for correct and incorrect answers (or even for individual responses) so students can receive feedback after they submit their quiz/test/exam, which promotes student learning.

Explanation: Providing feedback for questions can allow students an opportunity to take a test multiple times and learn from the feedback received. This takes time to prepare and develop, but it is worth it for the independent learning gained. Test banks and question sets can be used for randomizing questions could be very useful for tests with multiple attempts. This way you have several questions covering the same learning objective which prevents peers from receiving the same question.

Recommendation: Don't give long tests via Blackboard. Although there is no exact rule here, if your test will take longer than an hour for students to complete, you might want to consider dividing the test into two (or more) parts, with each part created as a separate test.

Explanation: The longer the test, the greater the possibility for session time-outs and network interruptions. With outages and interruptions, students are unable to submit their tests when completed and testing responses can be lost. 

One way to reduce cheating is to better understand why students cheat. Every student has a different motivation for cheating, and instructors need to try to reduce motivations rather than prevent the act of cheating itself. Students working from remote locations could use two computers at once (one for taking the exam, the other for accessing other applications). Students could use digital cameras to capture the screen content, send text messages on mobile phones or wearable technology, or simply refer to notes kept on any number of media (desktop background images, wearable technology, mobile devices, invisible ink, etc.).

One suggestion for addressing cheating:

• Use specifically designed tech tools and educate your students. Some instructors use Respondus LockDown Browser, but that doesn't address student motivations for cheating. Learn more about why students cheat, by reading James Lang’s work on Cheating Lessons.

Advanced assessment design can be employed to further reduce the risk of cheating and ensure that students know the course material. Each approach below provides another hurdle to overcome in the process of assessment. Even one or two of these suggestions can provide sufficient security for most assessments:

1. Write questions that can't be searched. By writing authentic assessment questions, students can then be informed that the answers cannot be searched using the Internet for assistance. The students will have to know the material and derive the answers on their own.

2. Use Large Test Banks and Question Pools. Create a large bank of questions from which to select questions for each test. Many textbooks supply test banks as a foundation for developing your own test bank. Employing question pools allows you to choose more questions for an exam that the assessment only has to display a few of to each student. Using question pools ensures that students in close proximity to one another are unlikely to get the exact same questions, which reduces the ability to share work.

3. Use Proctors. Having students take an exam in a room being monitored by a proctor is a major deterrent to most forms of cheating. Enhance this method by having the proctor check the identification of the student prior to the start the exam, or using a “test password” (see next item). For distance courses, proctored locations can be established in other cities, even other countries. Because of the time and expense required for a proctored setting, proctors are sometimes used only with high-stake assessments (e.g., midterms, finals). Digital proctoring is an option when using Respondus Lockdown Browser.

4. Set Assessment Passwords (Blackboard of Respondus advanced setting). An assessment password prevents students from accessing the exam until a password has been supplied. Assessment passwords can be typed by the proctors themselves (for added security) or shared with students at the start of the assessment. If you use Respondus LockDown Browser, it will create an auto-generated password. You can, however, add another password for the students or proctor to enter before taking the exam. You can enter the second password in the Respondus LockDown Browser Dashboard (more information about this found later in this document).

5. Don't allow multiple attempts (Bb setting). By only allowing one attempt for an assessment, students can't review questions in the assessment, look up the answers later, and then retake the assessment. However, if there is a network outage, students are not always allowed back in to finish their initial attempt.

6. Limit initial feedback to "Score Only" (Bb setting). Selecting “Score Only” for the initial Feedback Mode will prevent students from viewing, printing or copying questions after they have completed the exam. Once all students have completed the exam, the Feedback Mode can be changed so that more detailed feedback can be seen by the student. It also protects questions for future terms.

7. Use Randomize Answers (Bb setting). When you create a question, use this setting to randomize answer choices to multiple choice, multiple answer, and matching questions.

8. Randomize Questions (Bb setting). Question randomization is a good deterrent for assessments in a classroom setting. Some versions of Blackboard allow you to select question randomization for an entire assessment with a single check box. An alternative approach is to create a “question set” or “random block” which will also display grouped questions in random order.

9. Question Pools (Bb Settings). “Question Pools” are groups of questions that generally assess similar content. During an assessment, questions are randomly drawn from the pool so that each student sees a different set of questions. For example, the first question in an exam might be drawn from a pool of 5 questions, making the odds only 1 in 5 that students will see the same question. They are also good for working with case study questions. The case study should be entered as text prior to the question pool. This way the case description is available for all questions.  Case text and questions should appear on the same page if the 'page' function is used on an exam.

10. Calculated Questions (Bb Question Type). Calculated questions, typically used in math and science courses, include variables in the question wording. The values for these variables are randomly generated, so students encountering the same question must give unique answers.

• Learn more at:
  • Calculated Formula Questions
  • Calculated Numeric Questions

11. Time Limits (Bb Setting). By limiting the time a student can spend on an assessment, students can be discouraged from consulting other sources since they won't have time. (Accommodations are available for students who need time limit adjustments.)

    1. Submission Rules (Bb Setting).

    2. "Work is automatically saved and submitted when time expires" will force the student submission when the time limit expires. 

    3. "Students have extra time to work after the time limit expires" will not automatically force a submission and the students will have to Save and Submit the responses to get credit. 

12. Conditional Release for Dates and Times (Bb Setting). This setting restricts the availability of the assessment to a specific date/time range. (Exceptions are available for students who cannot meet the availability range.)

13. Deliver Questions One at a Time (Bb Setting). By having exam questions delivered one at a time, it makes it more difficult for students to capture the exam contents using a digital camera (e.g., 50 questions requires 50 pictures). This also causes the website to refresh more often. NOTE: If students are using questionable Internet connections, this could cause additional technical errors and could also keep their browsers from timing out for very long tests.

14. Create a Code of Conduct. Create an assignment that shares the Code of Conduct. Have students create an honesty statement that summarizes the expectations and requirements for academic honesty before allowing the exam to be released. This requires you use the Release Conditions for “Performance” option on the exam and have it refer to a code of conduct assignment upon completion. Students will be required to “Mark Reviewed” before the exam link is available.

15. Mix Online Exams with Other Methods of Assessment (a.k.a. Authentic Assessment). Combine objective tests with other methods of assessment, such as group projects and writing assignments. Essay questions also make it difficult for students to cheat on a traditional assessment, knowing that the instructor may recognize an answer copied from another student.

16. Learn More about Tests, Surveys and Pools. Blackboard help has many resources to help you create Tests, Pools, and Surveys.

• It is important to be well versed in the possible settings available for both tests and test questions. To learn more, visit the information about Tests, Pools, and Surveys.
• Test length may vary and allow options as well as extra credit, but heed the previous warning about long tests as they could timeout due to Internet interruptions. 
• The audience can vary from Individuals to groups. Using Release Conditions and/or Groups, tests can be provided to different audiences with different due dates and testing times.
• Randomize Questions may be selected but be cautious of questions that should be linked together. Make sure they are paired by using question pools and selecting that all questions should show first, if needed, before randomizing question order.

Faculty may want to consider bringing a printed copy of the test or answer key in case there is a technological issue. 

There are two options to print information from the Learning Management System from the instructor perspective only. Please navigate to the test in Blackboard and there is an option to print.  You may print the test - for students - without answers (randomization does not yet occur with this feature). Or, you can print the test with an answer key.

• Review LockDown Browser for Instructors
• Resolve Issues with Tests, resetting attempts, and 
• Create Availability Exceptions for individual students or groups of students.
• Mark Accommodations for students.
• Mark students attempts as Exemptions.

Guides on using the Gradebook in regards to Tests.

Guides on grading Tests using Flexible Grading tools.

If an error occurs, you may go to the Gradebook in Blackboard > Student tab > identify the student and find the exam > use the "..." menu and add an exception and increase the number of attempts. With this approach, you do not lose data, but offer the student an alternate opportunity to complete the assessment. 

If you need further assistance with designing digital tests to meet course outcomes, please submit a Blackboard Ultra Request request.