Assessments
Blackboard Academic Suite

Tests, Surveys & Pools…Oh My!
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Blackboard allows instructors to create online
assessments which students can take and submit directly
within their Blackboard course.
Two Types
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Tests: Graded assessments
Surveys: Assessments which receive no grade
Pools: Why reinvent the wheel? Pools allow you to save
questions and reuse them in different exams.

Creating Tests
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To create your first test, visit Test,
Surveys, and Pools
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Click Tests
Click Build Test (or you can Import a Test)
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Under the Course Tools section of the
Control Panel menu click Test, Surveys,
and Pools
Fill out the form appropriately and click submit
To begin adding questions
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Hovering your mouse over the Create
Question button, select the type of question
you would like to add from the dropdown list
and click it.

Make the Test Available
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Open a Course area, hover over Evaluate and select
Create Test.
Select the Test to add and click Submit.
Set the Information, Availability, Feedback, and
Presentation options for the Test. Then press submit!

Add a Question
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To add a question, hover
over Create Question and
select the type of question
you would like.

Re-Arrange Questions
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To re-arrange questions, place your mouse over the
arrows, click AND hold and drag to where you would
like it.

Change Test Settings
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To adjust the default point value, options for
question feedback and the inclusion of images, click
Question Settings.

Change the Test Name, Description or
Instructions
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To change the test name, description or instructions,
press the dropdown arrows next to header and click
Edit.

Modify a Question
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To modify a question, click the dropdown arrows next to
the question and select Edit

Remove a Question
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To remove a question, click the dropdown arrows next
to the question and select Delete

Survey Manager
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Creating tests and surveys are very similar. The significant difference
is a survey does not contain “right” or “wrong” answers
To create your first survey, visit Tests, Surveys, and Pools
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Under the Course Tools section of the Control
Panel menu click Test, Surveys, and Pools
Click Surveys
Click Build Survey (or you can Import a
Survey)
Fill out the form appropriately and click
submit
To begin adding questions
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Hovering your mouse over the Create Question
button, select the type of question you would like
to add from the dropdown list and click it.

Make the Survey Available
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Similar to the test, Open a Course area, hover over
Evaluate and select Create Survey.
Select the Survey to add and click Submit.
Set the Information, Availability, Feedback, and
Presentation options for the Test. Then press submit!

Pools Are Not Just for Swimming!
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The Pool Manager allows instructors to store
questions for repeated use.
Pools from other courses can be imported through Pool
Manager
A pool SHOULD NOT be modified if students have
already begun taking an assessment that draws questions
from the pool.
When creating questions for pools, instructors must add
correct answers as if they are creating questions for
Tests. These answers will be ignored once the question
is copied into a Survey.

How does Creating a Pool Differ from Creating a Test?
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Pool questions do not have point values associated with
them. When a pool question is added to a test, the
instructor can assign a point value
A file of pool questions may be imported from the pool
manager page

Creating a Pool
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Creating a Pool is done the same way as the Tests and Surveys with
the exception you do not release a pool to the students.
To create your first pool, visit Tests, Surveys, and Pools
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Under the Course Tools section of the Control
Panel menu click Test, Surveys, and Pools
Click Pools
Click Build Pool (or you can Import a
Pool)
Fill out the form appropriately and click
submit
To begin adding questions
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Hovering your mouse over the Create Question
button, select the type of question you would like
to add from the dropdown list and click it.

Using a Pool
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To use a Pool, first you need to create a test.
Once the test is created and you are at the screen where
you can create questions, Hover over the Reuse
Question button.
Select Find Questions

Find Question Mode
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In the pop up box, select whether you would like to
copy or link the questions.
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Copying the question creates a new instance of the question
so any edits do not affect the original
Linking the question will carry any changes over to any other
instance of that question

Select Your Questions
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If you have multiple questions in your pool, you can sort
them by clicking the column title.
You can search through your questions
You can also filter the
results using the
criteria on the left

Select Your Pool Questions
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Select the question(s) that you wish to add to the test
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Press the Submit button.
The selected question(s) are added to the test.
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Questions?
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Contact the IT Call Center at 203-365-7575 for
immediate assistance.
Email Blackboard@sacredheart.edu.