An online test is an on-screen test that students take from their own devices or in a PC lab in the case of an online exam. Students need to be connected to the internet to be able to open, take and submit the assessment. This assessment itself could be diagnostic, formative, or summative and the test can be developed using a variety of question types including; multiple-choice (and variants) interactive questions (drag and drop or hotspot) or gap fills (numeric or text). To find out more about the different question types and try them out visit the generic Example questions from Bristol page.
The advantages of online assessment can include:
Saving staff time can be a driver for implementing online assessment. Online assessment can provide efficiency gains once the assessment is established, but it requires an investment of time up front to establish the materials and processes. Arrangements have to be put in place to ensure that the assessment is secure, reliable and valid, especially for credit-bearing assessments or if students are not monitored when they complete the assessment.
The assessment lifecycle provides useful guidance on the implementation of online assessment. The main steps include;
Thinking about these stages helps to plan staff input. Also see Running assessments online for good practice and guidance.
Below is a list of typical tasks required when planning and implementing online assessment, including exams. This gives you an idea of what it is involved, roles and responsibilities, and support provided by the Digital Education Office:
Digital Education Office support. DEO will:
School responsibilities: Schools will:
To find out more about the process, see Planning online tests.
There are two centrally supported systems. Staff getting started with online assessment are advised to look at Blackboard tests in the first instance (see Planning online tests for more details)
Our case studies page has a number of examples of the use of online assessment for diagnostic, formative and summative purposes.