Essay and Short-Answer Test Questions
Lose Keyboard Focus When Autosaved
Faculty Support
eLearning
Blackboard Known Issue
When a student is typing an answer to an essay or short answer question in a test, the test’s auto-save feature
will save the student’s text entry and move the student’s cursor to the next available essay or short answer
question on the test. Blackboard has confirmed that this is a known bug that will be resolved in a future
update.
UPDATE 9/19/16 - Blackboard has resolved the issue in the Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox web browsers,
but it may still occur when using Internet Explorer.
WORKAROUND OPTIONS
Option 1: Advise students to use Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome to access Blackboard and complete tests.
Option 2: Set your test’s question display to “One at a Time” in order to avoid this issue.
1. In the course containing the test, turn EDIT MODE on.
2. Navigate to the content area or folder where the test is available to students. Roll your mouse over the
name of the test. Click the gray context arrow that appears and select EDIT TEST OPTIONS.
3. On the TEST OPTIONS page, scroll down to TEST PRESENTATION. Select ONE AT A TIME. Do not select
“prohibit backtracking”.
4. Click SUBMIT at the bottom of the page to save this setting.
When students complete the test, one question
will be presented on the screen at a time, allowing
the student to type a response into an essay or
short answer question without interruption.
The student may navigate to the next question
using the provided buttons.
9/20/16