Tests & Quizzes
What Does It Do?
The Tests & Quizzes tool helps professors conduct asynchronous online assessments. It offers many useful features: timed tests, auto-grading and feedback for objective-style questions, randomization of questions or answers, and much more. There are many available question types such as: multiple choice, true/false, fill-in-the-blank, matching, and more.
Whether you are looking for a formative or summative assessment tool, Tests & Quizzes can deliver.
How You Can Use It
- Promote student preparation (or even take attendance) through small quizzes before or at the beginning of a class session.
- Administer surveys to evaluate student attitudes or even conduct midterm course evaluations to help guide your instruction.
- Use it more traditionally as an assessment tool for an exam to measure various levels of student learning, ranging from recalling information to demonstrating critical thinking.
Recommendations:
- Always offer students a practice quiz before administering a high-stakes exam. This will help them feel comfortable with the format of the online assessment and also help you iron out any wrinkles.
- Use a guest account or enroll a colleague as a "student" in a class to review an assessment before you release it to your students.
- Sign up for a one-on-one consultation to learn more about the tool and how it can meet your assessment goals.
Instructions
- Click the tab for the course or project site.
- Click Tests & Quizzes in the tools menu. If the tool is not listed, add it by navigating to Site Info > Manage Tools.
- Click the "Add" tab at the top of the tool to begin creating a new assessment.
- In the "Create from Scratch" box, type in an Assessment Title (e.g. Quiz 1).
- Select "Create using assessment builder."
- Click Create.
- Select the type of question you would like to use from the "Add Question" drop down list. Note: you can view more detailed guides on question types by clicking here.
- Fill out the form. As an example, we'll use "Multiple Choice" and "Single Correct."
- Enter the "Answer Point Value" for the question (e.g. 2).
- Enter the "Question Text." For example: "What color is the sky on a cloudless day at the equator?"
- Enter answer values in each box. To remove one of the option boxes, click the respective "Remove" link. To add additional choice boxes, use the "Insert Additional Answers" drop-down list and select the desired number.
- Select the "Correct Answer" in the radio button next to the correct answer.
- (Optional) Select whether to "Randomize Answers." We recommend this to display a different order of answers to each student.
- (Optional) Enter any optional feedback to offer automated guidance to the student after after assessment feedback has been released.
- Click Save when finished.
- Continue to add questions to your exam. Note: you can leave and come back to your assessment draft at any time.
- When you have finished adding questions, click "Settings." Note: you may see more detailed guides and notes on assessment settings by clicking here.
- Within the "Availability and Submissions" drop-down tab, be sure to establish the following:
- Submissions. Set the number of submissions allowed (e.g. 1).
- Delivery Dates. Set the "available" and "due" dates. Will you allow late submissions to be accepted? If "yes," then adjust the "until" date/time accordingly.
- Timed Assessment. Decide whether there is a time limit on the assessment. This is a fixed time and once the student begins the exam, the clock starts. To specify a time limit, click the "and has a time limit of" checkbox and then specify the hours and minutes. Tip: For timed assessments, we recommend allowing late submissions to be accepted. This way, a student that begins the assessment 5 minutes before the deadline will have a chance to complete the entire assessment without an error.
- On the "Grading and Feedback" drop-down tab, make note of the following items:
- Decide on whether to send grades to the Gradebook tool.
- Decide on feedback authoring (question-level, selection-level, or both).
- Decide on feedback delivery (this is critical!). We recommend "Feedback will be displayed to the student at a specific date" and set a date a few days after the deadline so you have time to offer make-up exams to students who are absent due to illness or other excuses. Never select "Immediate Feedback" unless you are creating a practice exam and want students to see answers during the exam.
- Decide on what feedback will be shared with your students. We recommend selecting all options except statistics and histograms.
- Within the "Layout and Appearance" drop-down tab, we generally recommend:
- Random access to questions from a Table of Contents
- Each Question is on a separate Web page, and
- Continuous numbering between parts
- Click Save Settings and Publish.
- Confirm that you are ready to release and publish the test. NOTE: Once students begin the assessment you will not be able to edit questions or point values.
- Click Publish. Be sure to mark if you would like to notify your students that this test or quiz
is now available.
See Also:
- Webinar: Go Green! Create Online Tests and Quizzes in Courses
- Question Types - learn more about the available question types in Tests & Quizzes
- Settings - learn more about the settings in Tests & Quizzes
- "Midnight Assignments - How do you set the date and time?"
- Handout: Top Faculty Gotchas to Avoid