Tips for Successfully Completing Online Assessments

Assessments are usually configured to allow each student one attempt. When a link is clicked to take an assessment the next screen will prompt "Click Ok to begin ... Click Cancel to return." If you are not ready to take the assessment then click on Cancel. If you click on Ok then you are committed. There is no going back. The assessment must be completed.

It may take a moment for the assessment page to download on your screen. Do not answer any questions until the page has fully loaded. How do you know if the page has fully loaded? Scroll down and look for the Submit button after the last question. If you can see the Submit button then it is okay to scroll up and begin the assessment. After answering the last question, click on Submit to finalize the assessment and send the results to your instructor.

Once an assessment is started DO NOT click on links in the Course Menu. DO NOT use the buttons in the toolbar to reload a page or back up to a prior web page. If you exit the assessment web page then you will be locked out of it.

Before you take the test, please be sure:

You are well prepared
Close any other programs.
If you have been logged into Blackboard for a while, log out, log back in and open your test. This action will refresh your activity time out.

Some of the common problems encountered taking Blackboard tests including the following:

Problem	Tip
Inactivity	When taking a test, you are essentially just viewing one web page. This makes it appear as though you are inactive, and may find yourself disconnected due to inactivity. One way to prevent disconnection is prior to taking the test to open a second browser window and use it to generate Internet activity every now and then.
Quitting by accident	If power is lost, the window is accidentally closed or the browser crashes, students will need to contact the instructor.
Double-clicking to access or submit a test	If a student double-clicks on the link to a test, Blackboard reads the first click as an attempt to take the test and the second click as a second attempt, and will therefore block access. Students will need to contact the instructor. Students should not double-click on either the Save or Submit button. This can lock students out of the test environment and access can only be cleared by the lecturer.
Clicking the “Back” or “Forward” buttons	The web browser's "Back" or "Forward" buttons should never be used within Blackboard, and particularly when taking a test. If these buttons are used, a student will be locked out of the test and won't be able to re-take it until the instructor clears their attempt.
Clicking outside the test area	Clicking the course outside the test area (for example, on the "Announcements", "Course Information", etc) will cause the system to prematurely "Submit" the test before the student is finished.
Resizing the browser window may erase data	Be careful not to close or resize the window. Select a comfortable window size prior to clicking on the test link. In Netscape, resizing the test window will cause information entered up to that point to be erased. All answers will need to be re-entered.
Pop-up Blockers	Ensure you disable any pop-up blockers as these may affect tests in Blackboard. Pop-up blockers come as a part of many software products such as Windows XP, Service Pack 2, Norton Antivirus, Yahoo and Google Toolbars.
Firewalls	If a firewall is installed on a computer and/or network system, an error message may be generated informing you that your system was configured to deny access to this URL. The solution is to take the test somewhere that doesn't have a firewall.
Pressing “Enter" on the keyboard rather than clicking “Next"	For tests that present one question at a time, students should click the Next button rather than hit Enter on the keyboard.
The test timer disappears when using Firefox brower.	Students should change the firefox browser setting. Here is the path: Tools > Options > Web Features > Advanced > Check on Change Status Bar text.
The test timer disappears when using Internet Explorer 7.	Students should change the browser setting. Here is the path: Tools > Internet Options > Security > Internet > Custom Level > Enable Allow status bar updates via script > OK.