Bo van der Rhee Lists The 5 Mistakes to Avoid in Online Assessment
Early 2020, instructors across the globe were forced to hit the ground running and learn how to implement online assessments on a whim. Across higher education institutions, it was certainly a hectic ride, but now that everyone has had some time to catch their breath and are begin looking at plans for the next academic year, it’s time for instructors to reflect.
What went right? What failed? And how can you
improve your online assessments for the next term?
These are all important questions that Bo van der Rhee has been asking himself. He’s a Professor of Operations Management at the Nyenrode Business University in The Netherlands and an advocate for online assessment. We spoke with him following his McGraw Hill webinar about his own experiences with online testing amidst COVID-19, and what mistakes instructors need to avoid if they want to get it right in the future.
You will need to change your assessments
The move to online education caused by the global pandemic resulted in sweeping changes many institutions were not necessarily prepared for. A recent survey of more than 600 U.S. higher education institutions states that in 97% of schools, faculty with no experience teaching online were required to move their classes into the digital realm. More than half of faculty used new teaching methods, while 46% dropped their assignments or exams all together.
“The sudden shift from face-to-face instruction to distance-learning has been disruptive, forcing a sea change in behaviors and practices in academia,” states the survey. “In order to survive and thrive during this pandemic and beyond, educators and institutions need concrete plans on how to develop and distribute “modern” learning methodologies.”
And when it comes to online assessment, said Bo, many instructors will have to make a major pivot. “Let go of what you’re used to. You have to rethink how you're going to test,” he said.
So, let's get onto the tips!
5 key tips on how you should approach the move to online assessment
1.
Don’t minimise the challenge. Be prepared
As instructors around the world discovered last month, bringing assessment and exams online is no easy task. Bo pointed to a faculty member he knows in the U.S. who alone, spent dozens of hours trying to move their assessment online. But without wider support from the institution they worked for, the online exam had some major faults - and the online proctoring platform actually failed in the end.
“If you want to do this right, don’t underestimate this,” said Bo. Going forward, it’s essential for institutions to support faculty by bringing together a team of people to advise and oversee new online testing, as well as closely analyse and understand the digital testing tools on the market.
“You need to have a system in place with a lot of people who have thought about this long and hard,” said Bo. “Only then can you implement online assessment.”
2.
Don’t just put pen-and-paper exams online. This will usually not work.
For many instructors, it won’t be effective to simply move the pen-and-paper exams online, that they’ve used for years. Tasks like drawing diagrams or writing equations are difficult to do online and would be impractical to ask students to do in exams. Instead, Bo suggested that, “you have to change the way you ask the questions” to ensure that you are paving the way to success with your students.
This will require a little more thought from instructors, but online testing platforms provide plenty of assessment support. For example, our own online learning and assessment platform Connect gives instructors access to ready-made test banks containing questions labelled by Bloom's Taxonomy which can then be customised, pooled and randomised for designing effective exams.
3.
Don’t overlook students - they are your key stakeholders
“What I find by and large is that students are receptive to the changes going on right now, because they would rather not get delayed in their studies,” Bo stated.
But that doesn’t mean there there haven’t been challenges. In the Netherlands, there’s been a lot of discussion around the privacy of students taking their tests online, with some students claiming that they have felt uncomfortable with being recorded during their exams and not knowing where this data is held. Other students pushed back on the fact that bathroom breaks were at first, not allowed.
“We have a system in place and it works. But if students refuse to take exams like that, then we have a problem,” said Bo. That’s why, he has specified that it is important to treat students as stakeholders from the beginning. Instructors and institutions need to bring their pupils into discussions around online assessment from the outset to make sure that they are on board, and are able to give suggestions.
As an example, at Bo’s institution, after speaking to pupils, instructors allowed students to take 5 minute bathroom breaks - but not in the first or last 30 minutes of the exam. To address privacy concerns some students might have, Bo recommends instructors look at a variety of assessment types - like take home or open book exams. These cover the learning objectives of the course, but don’t require students to be observed while working.
4.
Don’t assume students won’t cheat
“It’s not going to be everyone. Not all students are inherent cheaters,” said Bo. But there will be a handful of students in each class do always find a way - particularly when exams are taken in online environments. And, it’s happened to Bo. Once during an assessment, a group of his students logged into Chegg.com, which is an online tutoring platform that lets learners post questions and get a response within two hours - just enough time for pupils to cheat.
In short: it’s important for instructors to run their exams in controlled online environments using lockdown browsers or remote proctors, if students are taking exams from home.
Additionally, instructors should “design the exam in such a way that cheating is really difficult,” said Bo. For example, with online assessment platforms, there is the opportunity for instructors to randomise the order of questions, add a timer, or pull questions out of a pool to ensure no two exams are the same. All this makes it harder for students to communicate with each other about their answers while the exam is taking place.
Want to learn more? All these features are available through our adaptive online platform Connect, which you can inquire about here.
5.
Don’t forget to watch out for VPNs
Earlier this year Bo heard about an exam during which three students were flagged by an online proctoring tool. It appeared they were coming from the same IP address - something that likely meant they were taking the test from the same location, which isn’t allowed. But suddenly, the students collectively jumped to Madrid. Then, it seemed like they were all writing the exam from across the world in Los Angeles.
The students were using a virtual private network (VPN). But during the live exam, proctors were stumped. The online proctoring tool kept kicking students out of their tests for cheating - and their exams ended up having to be rescheduled all together. It’s a bit of a quirky story, but does come with a real lesson: warn students not to use VPNs while their exams are in process.
Looking ahead to the future of online testing
For Bo, digital assessment just makes sense. “Why go through all the trouble of printing exams, scanning exams - and doing all that sort of nonsense - if we can just do online testing?” he said.
“We should be more concerned about what people are able to do, rather than what people are able to remember,” Bo stated. “That’s something I think we will be moving toward anyway - and this might put it into a little higher gear.”
Want to learn more? You may be interested in a related blog, Is there an alternative to formal assessment? Read it here.
If you have any questions about how to put online assessment into action during the COVID-19 pandemic, we’re always here for support. Reach out to us here.
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