What is a question pool? It is a question bank you create for a specific chapter or unit. Generally, it will contain more questions than you would include on any one assessment. Suppose you put 30 questions in the pool. You can then create an assessment in Blackboard that would randomly select 20 questions for each student. You can also draw on this pool to create the midterm or final.

Blackboard gives you the option of creating pools of questions. Pools offer these advantages:

• Being portable from once class to another.
• Staying with the course when it is recycled from one semester to the next.
• Allowing you to use the questions in more than one quiz or test. You can select from the chapter or unit tests to create a midterm or final.
• Allowing random selection of questions so each student sees a different version of the test

In another link on the CELT site, you will see a way to use Blackboard to create the midterm and final course evaluations using pools already created. You just need to upload the pool and create the survey using the pool. The advantage is the pool was created once, and now all faculty using Blackboard can make use of that pool.

In section 1, provide a name for the pool. This name will be the name under which it is saved in Blackboard. You can also add a description of the pool and instructions if you so desire . Once the items are entered, click Submit in section 2.

From this point on, the process of creating the questions is exactly the same as the process for creating a stand-alone test. Follow the directions as found in the tutorial on the CELT site called Creating a Blackboard Test. Create all the questions you intend to have in the pool. After you have created the last question, click OK at the bottom of the preview screen. You can always add additional questions later.

Since the real advantage of a pool is in creating random tests, you should plan for at least 50% more questions in the pool than you plan to use on the test. Thus, if you have a 20 question test, create a pool of at least 30 questions. This will sufficiently randomize the test that is pulled by the computer from the pool.

After you finish creating the pool, you will come back to this screen. You have several options:

• Export will allow you to send the pool to your computer. From there you can import it to other Blackboard courses.
• Modify will allow you to edit existing questions and add new ones.
• Remove will allow you to delete the pool from this course.
• OK will send you to the control panel.

Why isn't there a Remove option for the Test Pool? It is in use by one of the tests that have been created. You need to delete the test and then you can delete the pool. It is a safety net so you don't delete something that is in use.

Creating a Test from a Question Pool

Click on Test Manager.

Click on Add Test

Name the test, type in the description and directions. Then click OK at the bottom of the page.

For this test, you are not creating new questions. Thus you will go down the list to Random Block. When this phrase is in the Add Question: box, click GO.

You might think the choice is From a Question Pool or Assessment. This won't pick random questions, but will allow you to select exactly which questions from any of the previous tests or pools to put on the test.

Now you will see your options. Click on the source (in this case Chapter6 Pool) and they type of question you want (in this case ALL). Fill in the Number of questions to import: box and the Points per question: box, and then click Import.

The next screen is a summary of what you have done. If this is the entire test, click OK. If you want to add more, go through steps 9 and 10 again using a different pool or test as the source for questions using the Add Questions: option at the top of the screen.

One confusing issue is that the page seems to indicate that you have only Question 1, and your conclusion is that the student will see only 1 question. In reality, when you give the test, they will see 4 questions from the pool as indicated on the screen, and each one will be worth 1 point for a total of 4 points.