Online Testing

ReggieNet's Test & Quizzes tool can be used to assess students both during the semester and for final exams. Effectively using this tool requires instructors to consider several variables.

Optimize Your Exam

Lengthy exams presented on one page can cause problems, especially if students' internet connections are not reliable. In the past, some students' testing scores have not been recorded properly and have shown "zero" even though they have completed an exam. If you are using the Tests & Quizzes tool for your final exam, take steps to ensure that students can complete and submit exams without technical difficulties:

Use multiple pages: Use "Each Question is on a separate Web page" option when it's possible - if the one question per page option doesn't work for your instructional purpose, please break your assessment into parts and use "Each Part is on a separate Web page" option. This should help students save the answers frequently so that their assessment scores are recorded properly.
Be aware of time limits: ReggieNet will time out after 2 hours. Also, students sometimes encounter connectivity issues. So, even if the time limit for your test is less than 2 hours, we encourage you to use multiple pages, which will encourage students to save their answers frequently.

A complete guide to what you and your students should be aware of when using Test & Quizzes:

Academic Integrity

Because there is always a concern that students may cheat on an online exam, you may want to think about other ways of assessing the students. Reflecting on why you're giving a particular test and what you'd like to have students learn from the test may help you come up with different types of assessments or assignments.

If you do choose to administer an exam using the Tests & Quizzes tool in ReggieNet, there are some things you can do to enhance academic integrity. However, there is no perfect solution that will inhibit cheating. You should operate under the assumption that an online assessment is, in effect, an open book assessment.

Creating Questions and Parts

Randomize answer order within multiple-choice questions
Randomize question order within a part (even when all students are getting the same questions)
Use Question Pools to create sets of questions that you can then do random draws from (so students will not all receive the same questions)

Adjusting Settings

You can adjust several settings in the ReggieNet Tests & Quizzes tool to help maintain academic integrity.

Enable the honor pledge

Some research suggests that reminding students about academic integrity at the beginning of an assessment results in less self-reported cheating. Various ReggieNet tools include the option to include a basic honor pledge. When activated, it displays a message, "I will neither give nor receive aid on this assessment," and requires the student to acknowledge before they continue.

Limit date availability (Delivery Dates)

Instructors can limit the dates when assessments can be taken. This reduces the amount of time students have to share information.

Limit exam duration (Timed Assessment)

Instructors can limit the amount of time students have to complete an assessment. Reasonable time limits can force students to rely on their own learning rather than looking up answers. Note: Time limits of 15 minutes or less may cause delays in grades being reported in the ReggieNet Gradebook.

Limit feedback availability

The Tests & Quizzes tool can allow students to see correct answers immediately upon completing a question or upon submitting an exam. However, limiting the amount of feedback while the assessment is in progress can prevent students from sharing answers.

Adjust the exam layout

Putting each question on a separate page not only allows students to save their progress more often, it makes it more difficult for students to copy/paste questions and share them with others.

Communicate with Your Students

Communicating expectations and test-taking strategies to your students is critical. Share these important tips and this YouTube tutorial with your students:

Do not log in to ReggieNet from multiple tabs, multiple browsers or multiple devices (e.g., computer AND mobile devices). Students should be looking at only the testing screen and not be clicking Lessons, Resources, or any other tools in ReggieNet while taking a test.
Save your answers as often as possible. If the questions are all displayed on one page, the “Save” button will be at the bottom of the page. Students should periodically click “Save” and then scroll back up to answer the questions.
Do not use any mobile devices.
Do not use your browser’s Back and Forward buttons.
Wait for a confirmation number. After clicking “Submit for Grading,” wait for the submission screen that includes the confirmation number. If you close ReggieNet before seeing this screen, your test may not be recorded.