Reasons for Using e-Assessment
As e-assessment is part of the e-learning strategy of the DfES, it should be part of our College or University Learning and Teaching Strategy. The DfES also recognises the importance of aligning assessment to the needs of pedagogy and subjects in terms of e-assessment methods for specific subjects.
e-Assessment can act as a catalyst for rethinking the whole curriculum, as well as current assessment systems (Ridgway & McCuster, 2003). The Qualifications and Curriculum Authority (QCA)in its 'The Basic & Key Skills e-assessment Experience' report is quite clear that e-assessment must not simply invent new technologies which recycle our current, perhaps ineffective, practices.
Bull and McKenna (2004: page 3) suggest a number of reasons that academics may wish to use CAA:
To increase the frequency of assessment, thereby:
motivating students to learn,
encouraging students to practice skills.
To broaden the range of knowledge assessed.
To increase feedback to students and lecturers.
To extend the range of assessment methods.
To increase objectivity and consistency.
To decrease marking loads.
To aid administrative efficiency.
Nichol and Macfarlane-Dick (2005; 2004) identified from the research literature seven principles of good feedback practice that could support learner self-regulation - active control by students of some aspects of their own learning. and Nichol and Milligan (in press) have taken this further to show how e-assessment can support these seven principles by providing:
timely feedback,
opportunities for re-assessment and continuous formative assessment to encourage students' self-esteem,
statistics to help tutors evaluate the effectiveness of the assessment - questions answered very poorly can be re-examined in case poorly specified,
timely information for tutors to be able to help shape teaching.
They also discuss how each of the principles might be implemented in blended learning contexts.
e-Assessment can be used diagnostically at any point in an academic course. It can be used to show how much students already know when they arrive, or can be used as a means of determining how effective the teaching is during a course, and can be related to content and skills. Drew et al (2002) provide an example of a system of 'Skill Check Questionnaires' which are being used at Sheffield Hallam University providing diagnostic testing for key skills. The computer-based system was private to students, which encouraged them to be honest, which then directed the students to the specific support that they required.
Instant and tailored feedback can be provided for students from e-assessment, providing students with more, and more timely feedback than can be provided by tutors. Boud (1995) emphasises the importance of timely feedback for supporting student learning.
Brosnan (1999) has provided evidence of computer anxiety in students affecting exam performance, and Ricketts and Wilks (2002) concur with some students feeling disadvantaged by online examinations. However, Ricketts and Wilks (2002) have also found that some dyslexic students prefer online examinations, finding them less stressful than other examination types.
e-Assessment provides the potential for students to be provided with more complex scenarios than can be provided in paper-based tests including computer simulations, images and sounds, with which students can interact (James, et al., 2002). Interactive assessment activities are time-intensive to produce in much the same way as interactive learning activities are, and make additional demands on institutional resources and support.
Summative e-assessment requires a larger degree of institutional support than formative or diagnostic assessment. The latter can generally be managed by individual academics or departments, whereas there are additional considerations for summative assessment, which are considered within the sections on policy considerations and choosing the software.
