Online Exams – Are they fit for purpose?

Dr Hayley Bugeja, (edited by Dr Daniel Andrews) School of BioSciences, The University of Melbourne

What is the value of an exam? Does this value remain if run in an online setting?

Even without considering the move to online exams, it’s time to question what purpose exams serve in today’s digital world, where information is literally at our fingertips.

Exams – then and now

Exams. The word itself is enough to elicit a nervous shudder and a feeling of foreboding, if not sheer terror, in all students. I still have visceral memories of the sound of pencils scratching on paper and the inevitable announcement of “Pens down”. Current students are likely less familiar with rows of desks in echoing examination halls. Students now sit their online exams in the comfort of their own homes on their PC, snug in their PJ’s and oodies.

You’d be easily forgiven for seeing this new online exam format as a luxury. But a closer look reveals the additional burden and inequities associated with online exams.

A tale of three students…. Harry, Hermione and Ron!!

Harry is reasonably well-prepared for his exam but has hastily needed to flee his house after upsetting his Uncle Vernon. He finds an internet café where he can complete his exam paper, but the background noise coupled with the upheaval of the mornings events, make his mind go completely blank. Before he even knows what he’s doing, he’s using google to look up information relating to the questions and is hastily pasting the searched responses into his online exam paper.

Anticipating that it will be an open book exam, Hermione has been practising the different style of highly applied exam questions that the lecturer prepared them for. She logs onto her computer to access her exam and is mortified to realise that the internet connection is down. Apparently, the internet company chose that day to upgrade the neighbourhoods NBN. She quickly sets her computer up to hot-spot from her mobile phone and tries her best to remain calm while dealing with the painstakingly slow internet.

Meanwhile, Ron is pleased with the fact that he has reviewed all of his notes and even looked over some past exam questions that he found from when his brother Percy took the subject a few years earlier. Feeling rather confident Ron logs in to start his online exam. His stomach drops after reading the first few questions. None of them are at all similar to the type of questions he’s been using to study. Instead of being asked to provide definitions for key terms and explain different processes, he is given information that he has to analyse and interpret, all within the next 2 hours….

Just some of the reasons to move away from online exams

While these tales include fantastical characters from the wonderful imagination of J.K. Rowling, they highlight some of the very real factors that have impacted student performance in online exams.

Oh Harry (face palm)!!

Harry’s tale reminds us of the inequities in the availability of technology or suitable study space or environments for students to engage in online learning and exams. It also highlights the potential increase in academic misconduct (aka cheating), given the ever-present temptation of the limitless information available on the internet, not to mention modes through which students can be in direct contact with each other during an exam.

Poor Hermione!

Even the most prepared and diligent student can fall victim to circumstances beyond their control. In this example it is a simple, and entirely relatable, occurrence of a poor or non-existent internet connection. It could equally be any other unexpected technological issue, such as a computer or printer malfunction or even a power outage. Even in the absence of an actual technological issue, the looming possibility (and in some cases high-probability) of a glitch is a cause for increased student stress that has an impact on performance.

Missed-the-memo Ron!

Finally, while we may not feel as much sympathy for Ron, who has clearly not prepared for his exam appropriately, it illustrates the trap that many students fall into. Given the unfettered access to resources that students can have with online assessments (see Harry’s story), educators have changed the rules of engagement for exams. This includes a shift away from knowledge recall to more heavily applied examinations where students have to use critical thinking and problem-solving skills. While this is a positive move, it highlights the need for assessors to prepare students by providing opportunities to practice and get feedback on question styles that involve application. Such exam formats may also need more time allowance or fewer questions in order to support the additional cognitive load.

Is the issue solely with exams being run online?

Some, who see the exam as the pinnacle of assessment, and a rite of passage, would say yes.

But the question that really needs to be asked is – what purpose is ‘The exam’ serving, regardless of if it is online or in person?

In today’s day and age, what do we value? Are we really concerned with what students know or what students can do? Should the final summative assessment item in a subject be an examination?

I’m throwing down the challenge for myself, and my fellow educators, to consider how we can design better, fit for purpose, assessments that focus on assessing what we truly value.

Authentic assessments that that require students to demonstrate ‘real-world’ learning outcomes. For a moment let’s pretend to ignore some of the perhaps legitimate issues, such as ensuring every students work is their own, and how we can assess at scale. Let’s instead be curious as to what authentic assessments may look like for our students.

 

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