How do I manage question pools in Blackboard Tests? (Staff)

A question pool is a collection of questions that can be can be used in multiple tests or surveys. They can be re-used within existing modules and exported for use on other modules. They are an effective way of building up a bank of questions and of organising your questions (for example, by topic).  

Create a question pool

In the relevant module select:

• Control Panel
• Course Tools, Tests, Surveys and Pools
• Pools
• Build Pool

Give the pool a name and description and click Submit.

Add questions

• Reuse questions
• Create questions

Reuse existing questions

To use questions from other tests or pools:

• Select Find Questions. You will see a list of all the tests and pools in your Blackboard module. (Surveys are not included, see note below).
• Select the tests or pools you want, and choose which questions to add by checking the boxes on the left. To add all questions, tick the box at the top.
• Click Submit.

Note: Only questions from tests can be used to generate pools, but questions from pools may be used in either tests or surveys. (As you add a question you will always be prompted to add a correct answer, but once deployed as a survey the correct answer will be ignored).

Create new questions

To add new questions:

• Select Create Question and select the desired question type.
• See the Blackboard guidance for detailed information about each question type and how to create them.
• If you are copying text from another source into the text box, first copy it into a plain text document (such as Notepad), to avoid any formatting and display issues.
• Add images into the question using the Insert Image button in the text editor area.
• Click Submit.

                        

• Your Pool Manager page will now show your pool. Questions can be added or modified as desired. (How do I do this?)
• When you have finished, click OK.

Questions from existing Blackboard pools can also be exported for use in another module. (How can I do that?)

When you have finished editing your question pools you can use the questions to create a test or survey in your Blackboard module. (How do I do this?)