Running assessments online

This guidance aims to assist staff in Schools who are involved in supporting online summative assessments before, during, and after they take place.

Before

Check assessment content and format thoroughly. Use the tryout options (eg test account) to ensure that the digital format of any material displays correctly and works as expected.
Wherever possible, ensure that students have an alternative way to access additional content such as images or videos (eg an external link below the content to OneDrive) in case these do not render properly.
Prepare contingency plans / a ‘plan B’ for the event of technical failure (e.g., wait for the issue to resolve and proceed with the exam, reschedule the assessment, use an alternative format such as a downloadable copy of the assessment).

Ensure that students can access exam content if they are abroad (certain countries may block content).
Configure assessments to allow students to submit late / after a due date or deadline in the event of a major technical issue, and to accommodate late submissions and extensions (where these are permitted).
Ensure that any dates and timings for the assessment allow for AEAs as indicated and for large groups of students located in different time zones.
Use a familiar, secure and reliable way of releasing assessments, eg release conditions.
If running a Blackboard test, choose a consistent start time for assessments taken by the same cohort, but stagger start times between different cohorts or year groups.

Prepare communications that may be required in the event of issues. Ensure students are aware before the assessment starts of where to report issues they experience during the assessment.
Provide clear instructions and guidance for students on the format of the assessment, both in advance and with the assessment itself.
Communicate to your students before the assessment starts what they should do in the event of a technical failure (e.g. wait for the system to come back and continue as normal, await further instructions).
Be clear about the format of any documents that you expect students to submit. Put the responsibility on students to submit in the correct format.
Encourage staff to sign up to the DEO blog to ensure they receive immediate notifications of any suspected issues.

Run a practice with students, ensuring that the setup is as similar to the real assessment as possible.
Advise students to keep a local copy of their work.
Encourage students to follow communicated procedures in the event of technical issues.

Agree on troubleshooting options for both technical and procedural issues. Decide what types of problems you will try to resolve before you implement your plan B, and who will be responsible for troubleshooting.
Provide clear guidance to staff on how to advise students who have problems and cannot complete the assessment.
Communicate your backup plan to your students before the exam starts, and explain what, if anything, they should do (e.g. wait for the system to come back and continue as normal).
For Blackboard tests, remind students that if they suspect that there is an error in a question, they should answer the question to the best of their ability and make a note in their answer, or take a screenshot and email this to the school office after submission.

Encourage students to follow communicated procedures in the event of technical issues.
Direct students who encounter issues to relevant contacts in the School Office.
Follow your plan B if necessary.
For online tests, do not make changes to the technical configuration of tests while they are open, apart from to allow additional attempts if required.
Monitor progress (eg by checking the Blackboard Gradebook).
Check the DEO blog for any live updates on problems or incidents.
Follow your School guidance on queries over possible errors in assessments.

Send out communication, acknowledging the issue and providing re-assurance to students.
Review submission/ completion data to assess the impact of any issue.
Document any issues and their impact as soon as possible.

Check that the submission process has been completed before allowing markers to start marking.
Ensure that markers provide sufficient annotation on student work to indicate how and/or why marks have been awarded.