Setting up Blackboard LTI for paper assessments

Blackboard Learn is dominant in higher education and many K-12 districts. Integrating PaperScorer means paper tests grade into the Blackboard gradebook directly — but getting there requires one institutional step upfront.

The setup overview

Blackboard LTI 1.3 requires your institution's admin to register PaperScorer at the system level. Once registered, any instructor on your Blackboard instance can add the tool to their course without additional admin involvement.

Teacher reading this: forward to your LMS admin for Step 1. Return to Step 2 once registration is complete.

Admin reading this: you'll do Step 1 once. It takes about 15 minutes.

Step 1: Admin — Register PaperScorer at the system level

In Blackboard's admin panel:

1. Navigate to System Admin → LTI Tool Providers
2. Click Register LTI 1.3/Advantage Tool
3. In the Client ID field, enter the PaperScorer client ID (request this from integrations@paperscorer.com — it's institution-specific)
4. PaperScorer's team will pre-configure the tool metadata on our side; you'll receive:
   • Deployment ID
   • Public key endpoint
   • Tool URL
5. Paste these into the Blackboard configuration form
6. Set the tool status to Approved
7. Set availability to Yes at the course level

The tool is now available institution-wide for instructors to add.

Step 2: Instructor — Add PaperScorer to your course

In your Blackboard course:

1. Navigate to Course Tools → PaperScorer (or wherever your admin placed the tool)
2. If PaperScorer isn't in your tool list, add it via Customization → Tool Availability
3. Click to launch the tool
4. You'll be prompted to sign in with your PaperScorer account (or create one)

On first launch, the LTI handshake completes and your Blackboard course is linked to PaperScorer.

Step 3: Sync your roster

In PaperScorer (linked via LTI), click Sync Roster. Your Blackboard enrollment flows into PaperScorer with the correct LIS person sourcedIds — these are what let grades post back correctly.

Step 4: Create a linked assignment

Two approaches:

Create in Blackboard, link in PaperScorer:

1. Add a new assignment in the Blackboard course as usual
2. In PaperScorer, when creating the assessment, select the linked Blackboard assignment

Create in PaperScorer, post back to Blackboard:

1. Build the assessment in PaperScorer
2. Click Post to Blackboard — PaperScorer creates the gradebook column for you

Either path results in a Blackboard gradebook column that receives scores.

Step 5: Administer, scan, grades flow

Paper test workflow is standard:

• Print bubble sheets
• Administer in class
• Scan via mobile, scanner, or email

Grades post to the Blackboard column automatically as scans complete. Students see their scores in My Grades.

Handling Blackboard's grading schemes

Blackboard supports multiple grading schemes (percentages, letter grades, points). PaperScorer posts raw scores scaled to the Blackboard column's point value. If your column is configured as "Letter" display, Blackboard converts the points to letters using your institution's scheme.

For institutions using custom grading schemes (common in nursing programs, law schools, etc.), verify the scheme is applied correctly on the first linked assignment. Configuration is on the Blackboard side — PaperScorer just posts the raw score.

Known gotchas

Grade posting is silently rejected. This happens when the assignment is in a "closed" grading period. Check the assignment's date restrictions.

LTI launch fails with an SSL error. Some older Blackboard instances have SSL certificate validation issues with LTI 1.3. This requires institutional remediation. Contact your admin.

Students appear in Blackboard but not PaperScorer after sync. Usually an LIS source ID issue — some students in the class don't have one populated. The admin can backfill these from the SIS.

Administering across multiple sections

For instructors teaching multiple sections:

• Each Blackboard section is a separate course in PaperScorer
• You can duplicate assessments across sections with one click
• Grades sync independently per section

For cross-listed courses (one Blackboard course containing multiple registrar sections), the integration treats it as one course and one roster — standard Blackboard behavior applies.

Institution-wide deployments

For large deployments (hundreds of instructors, thousands of students), PaperScorer's integration team works directly with your LMS admin on:

• Bulk user provisioning
• Custom metadata for institution-specific reporting
• Dedicated deployment IDs for different campuses or colleges
• SSO integration if using SAML or similar

Reach out to integrations@paperscorer.com for coordinated enterprise setup.

The payoff

Setup is front-loaded. After the one-time institutional registration, every subsequent instructor adds PaperScorer to a course in minutes. Every subsequent test grade posts to Blackboard automatically. The gradebook stays current without anyone entering scores manually.

For large institutions giving thousands of paper tests a term, the aggregate time saved is substantial — often cited as a primary justification for the initial setup investment.