My Studies: How to provide an additional attempt on a test/exam

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) > > My Studies: How to provide an additional attempt on a test/exam

Question/scenario:
Student has lost connectivity during a test/exam activity in My Studies. You have checked the test access log to confirm that this is what happened. Therefore you want to provide the student with a second attempt at the test/exam.

  1. To add an exeption to the test/exam. Go to the activity itself, typically in the Assessment and Marks area of the module. Then click on the chevron next to the activity and select: ‘Edit the Test Options’
    screenshot of the test options menu in a My Studies module
  2. Scroll down the page to the ‘Test Availability Exceptions’ section and click on the ‘Add User or Group’ button. This will trigger a pop-up, allowing you to select the student who needs a second attempt from the list.
    Screenshot the 'add user or group' button in the Test Options
  3. Once the student is added, click the drop-down on the right to select ‘Multiple Attempts’.
    Screenshot showing the options for setting multiple attempts in the Test Options settings
  4. Then you will be given a field to specify the number of attempts. This should be set to ‘2’. The first attempt where the issues occurred should be kept for record keeping purposes. The second attempt will allow the student to take the test again. You may also need to edit the ‘Availability’ to allow the student extended time to take the test if the standard availability period has passed for the test activity.
    Screenshot showing the attempts number entry field and the option to edit the test availability for one student
  5. Recommended: if you have set availability exceptions, check the due date section to ensure that the checkbox labelled – ‘do not allow students to start the Test if the due date has passed’ is not checked. If this is checked and the due date has passed, the availability exception will not function.
  6. Click the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page to save your changes.

Scenario: You attempt steps 1-4 above, but encounter an warning message when adding the student exception. The error message is due to the student already being a member of an exception group.

Screenshot showing a warning message about conflicting test exceptions

In this situation the most permissive exception will be given preference, however there is a chance that the student will encounter problems. In addition to the warning message you will also see a small exclamation mark next to the student’s name and next to the group. We recommend removing the student from the group and then re-adding them with an individual exception to avoid any potential conflicts.

If you are mid-process, as shown above, ‘cancel’ and do not ‘submit’ so that the changes are not saved.

Then go to Users & Groups > Groups. Select the chevron next to the group and click on ‘Edit group’.
Screenshot showing the edit group options

Scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the X next to the student who needs the exception settings. Press ‘Submit’ to save this change. Return to the guidance outlined in steps 1-6 above to set the exceptions for the student.
Screenshot showing how to remove a specific student from a group

 

I have been working in the Educational Technology field within Higher Education for eleven years. A big part of my job is finding new and innovative ways of integrating technology into current teaching and learning methodology. This can include assisting academic staff with Virtual Learning Environments/Learning Management Systems (Blackboard), implementing specific software packages, maximising current technologies and championing new ones. I find this profession both riveting and rewarding. I really enjoy life on the cutting edge, but I also enjoy being able to help staff achieve small and meaningful efficiencies; sometimes that makes all the difference.

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