Adaptive Release for Timed Tests
Thursday, February 25th, 2010Q. I have a student in class who has a disability and as such, needs extra time to take tests on Blackboard. Is it possible for me to make a test available for one student longer than the other students? If so, how do I do this?
A. If you want the student to take the test at the same time as the other students you must create a separate test (give this test a unique name – do not name it the same as your original test) and deploy it in the same content area as the original test. This will create two columns in your grade center which means that you will have to decide how you want to treat that extra column for the special needs student – one option is to take that column out of Grade Center calculations and then manually enter the score the student received into the original test column – the one containing all the other grades.
In addition to creating a separate test you should also create two groups of students: one group will be all your students who can take the regular test; the other group will consist of the student(s) who will take the longer test. Visit this link for instructions on how to create groups: Creating Student Groups.
Then you must create an adaptive release rule for both tests such that only the students in the appropriate group will see the test assigned to them. To set an adaptive release rule, find the test that you deployed in a content area and select Manage then Adaptive release. Under Membership, choose which group will have access to the test you are managing.
This is the basic process for simultaneous testing. You could have the special needs students take the test at a different time — you would still need to create groups and rules but you would not have to create a separate test. You would simply make the test available at a different time for each group and then modify the amount of time for the test when it was time for your special needs group to take it.