Traditional Courses and Online Tests

There are several reasons for adopting online tests for a traditional (face-to-face) course.  The technology employs randomization to ensure each student receives a unique test and that the answer selections vary to prevent cheating.  The online nature also allows computers to increase accessibility for students, and accommodating ADA concerns is easier as well as more discrete.  Further, offering the test outside of class both can remove environmental factors that could impede student performance while freeing up more time for student-teacher interaction.  Finally, in developing successful online exams, we need to rethink exams to promote self-assessment which can be accomplished by treating the exam as an open-book exam.    Over all, this re-evaluation of evaluations assists us in developing a more pedagogically sound course.

 It is important to rethink the actual purpose of an assessment.  Are we trying to get a grade for the student or is the goal to teach the student?  If our goal is the latter you should definitely design the exam with feedback.  Having feedback to correct errors is critical in early stages.  Traditionally students have to wait days, if not weeks, to get feedback on their mistakes. This feedback is sometime not informative as well.  The benefit of online exams is that they can be created such that errors can been identified and students can be supplied with why they are incorrect and where they can go to discover the correct answers.  By empowering students with this knowledge, the test can motivate the student to review material that they have the weakest understanding. Consequently, the students will be working on learning the material better.

By developing tests that afford multiple attempts, students have an incentive to reflect on areas they need improvement and the opportunity to improve.  Swift feedback can encourage students to review areas that they have not yet mastered.  The exam becomes more of an active skill building tool, instead of a quick means to assign a grade.  Coincidentally, since an online environment may have several pitfalls, such as spotty WiFi, having multiple attempts to master the material also become best practices for both practical and pedagogical reasons.

If you haven’t considered adopting online exams instead of having an exam within your class, you should consider trying it once.  There is more work up-front in developing the question sets and the feedback. However, you will find that the adoption is very rewarding.  Besides not having to spend much energy on grading after the exams are taken, your students will better understand the material and succeed.