Contributed by Izaak Diefenbach, Instructional Designer I (COE)
When you are setting up a test or quiz in your Blackboard course, there are many options you can set in the Edit Test Options menu. Force Completion is one of the options you can check in the Test Availability section of the menu. Force Completion requires the student to finish the test or quiz in one sitting, which sounds like a good idea and is used by many instructors. When it is selected, if the student leaves the test at any point, for any reason, the test will automatically submit, and any unfinished questions will be counted as wrong.
Even though Force Completion doesn’t sound like a bad idea, we do not recommend that you use it. It can cause a lot of problems. For example, if a student is connected to Blackboard via Wi-Fi and loses connection, even for just a few seconds, the test will submit (and unfinished questions will be counted wrong). The same goes for other types of technical issues. If they experience a software issue, like their browser crashing or locking up, the test will submit. Even a simple user error, like accidentally closing a browser window, can cause the test to submit. There are many ways that an inadvertent test submission could occur if the Force Completion box is checked.
There are other ways to achieve the same goal without using the Force Completion option. My first recommendation is to set a time limit on the test. When you set a time limit, you can also set the test to Auto-Submit, which will automatically submit the test when the timer expires, counting all of the incomplete questions wrong, just like with Force Completion, but it removes the issues caused by any technical problems because Blackboard will allow the student to continue the test when they log back into the system. Another suggestion is to set the test to only allow the students to have one attempt at taking the test.
The good thing about both of these suggestions is that you can allow individual students more time or additional attempts if you would like. Also, if you have students with accommodations, you can set individual test exceptions ahead of time, allowing individual students to have extra time or extra attempts, etc., as their accommodations require. If you have any questions about using Force Completion or how to set up alternatives in your tests and quizzes, contact your designated Instructional Designer.
