Grading Tests in Blackboard

While Blackboard is able to automatically grade most question types, this page will explain the circumstances that prevent Blackboard from automatically grading tests, and what you can do about it.

How Will I Know a Test has Not Been Graded Automatically?

You should be aware that any test that includes essay, short answer, or file response question types cannot be auto-graded by Blackboard and will require manual grading before any score registers in the Grade Center. Any test that has not been graded automatically will appear in the Needs Grading view under the Grade Center. Additionally, the Needs Grading icon will appear in the grade center to indicate a test that has been submitted but that Blackboard cannot grade. When a test cannot be automatically graded, you can begin grading from the Needs grading view or from the test's Grade Center grade column. Learn how to access the grading area from each of these entry points.

In Progress

The In Progress icon will appear in the grade center for any student while they are taking a test. This is normal. However, if a student neglects to Submit at the end of their test, a test may remain In Progress for days or weeks, even though the student has long since closed their test. A test that is In Progress cannot be scored. In this case, you may need to manually submit a student's work.

How to Manually Submit an In Progress Test

1. 1. Find the test grade column in your Grade Center
   2. Where you see an In Progress icon, click the action link to the right of it
   3. Click the Attempt with the In Progress icon
   4. When the attempt opens, you may see an informative message at the top stating "The attempt is currently in progress. To grade this attempt, you must choose Submit Attempt (Expand Test Information below) to submit it on behalf of the student."
   5. Click Test Information to expand
   6. Click Submit Attempt to manually submit the attempt
   7. Click Save at the bottom right of the page (this button may say Save and Exit or similar, based on the outstanding attempts in the grade center)

How to Avoid this Situation

This situation does not occur very often. But you can eliminate it using test options. When you set your test options, make sure to enable auto submit, which also requires a timer to be used. This will automatically submit a test attempt.

Needs Grading

The Needs Grading will appear in the grade center when the test requires instructor review before releasing the score to students. Likewise, they will be listed when you click the Needs Grading view.

Why do Tests Appear as Needs Grading?

Tests in Blackboard appear in the Needs Grading view for several reasons, including these:

• When a test is submitted late∗
• When a test attempt goes beyond allotted time. ∗ * These settings are established when you Edit the Test Options after deploying from the test tool.
• When the test includes question types that need manual grading. Skip to Manually Grade Questions section below for more details.

Tests Submitted Late and Tests Submitted Beyond Time Limit

Blackboard will not automatically grade a test that is submitted late or that goes beyond the allotted time. However, it is very easy for you to trigger the grading of the test.

1. Open a test Attempt that is in Needs Grading status. You can do this from the Needs Grading view, or the Full Grade Center or Tests smart view.
2. Once the Attempt page loads, simply go to the bottom of the page and click Submit
3. Blackboard will instantly grade all question types that can be automatically graded

How to Avoid this Situation

• Late submissions can be prevented by adding an Available Until date in the Test Options. Solving the "problem" in this way can create new difficulties, such as a need to re-open tests for special circumstances.
• You can prevent students from submitting beyond the allotted time by turning on auto-submit when using a timer.

Manually Grade Questions

Blackboard can automatically grade most question types. Some question types, such as essay, short answer, and file response, require manual grading.

Fill-in-the-blank questions can be automatically graded, but we recommend the instructor check the results. (See TIP below for a great time saver!)

If you have a test made up of both manual- and auto-graded question types, Blackboard will show the test as Needs Grading until you manually grade the portion of the test that cannot be auto graded.

A Note about Multiple Attempts

When you deploy a test, you can allow students to take the test multiple times (multiple attempts). You must then choose which of these attempts will be show up as the student's grade in the grade column: highest grade, first grade, last grade or average grade.

• For automatically graded tests, whatever you select in the Test Options determines which attempt automatically registers in the grade column.
• For manually graded tests (or tests with manually graded question types) allowing multiple attempts means the instructor must grade ALL manual question attempts in order for a score to register in the grade center. We DO NOT recommend allowing multiple attempts this way.

More Help

Visit Blackboard's Grade Tests page for instructors for more information.