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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 8, No. 12
Publication Date: December 25, 2021
DOI:10.14738/assrj.812.11448. Karunarathne, G. D. D. T., & Wijewardene, L. (2021). Online Assessments: Their Importance in Higher Education. Advances in Social
Sciences Research Journal, 8(12). 308-316.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
Online Assessments: Their Importance in Higher Education
G. D. D. T. Karunarathne
Central Queensland University, Melbourne, Australia
Dr. L. Wijewardene
University of Sri Jayewardenepura, Nugegoda, Sri Lanka
ABSTRACT
The main purpose of this review article is to deliberate on online assessments, the
advantages and disadvantages of e-assessments, and their importance in the higher
education sector, in the post-COVID era. Online assessments are the collection of
tasks that are made by educational instructors in order to evaluate student
performance, using Information and Communication Technologies. There are
different types of techniques to conduct e-assessments, which result in different
rewards and shortcomings. However, this article delivers the strategies that can be
used to eliminate the downsides of online assessment.
Key words: Online Assessments, Advantages and Disadvantages of E-Assessments,
Strategies to Improve the E-Assessments System
INTRODUCTION
Across the globe the educational systems have plummeted due to the COVID-19 pandemic
(Wijewardene, 2021) and resulted in educational institutions being closed down to prevent the
spread of the virus, and, as a result, academic activities have been disrupted (UNESCO, 2020).
Education providers that cater to all levels of students are transitioning to remote learning and
online assessment despite the many challenges (Gamage, De Silva & Gunawardhana, 2020).
Remote learning and online teaching have affected all branches of education. Students are
overly dependent on teachers, and are faced with the challenge of completing their curricula
and preparing for benchmark examinations or final examinations in a short period of time
(Gamage et al., 2020). However, there looms uncertainty about conducting online
examinations, particularly in the secondary and higher education sectors, since they require
strict invigilation (Gamage et al., 2020). In this backdrop, among the challenges faced by
educators is academic integrity and student assessment when students are not physically in the
classroom. Periodical assessment and evaluation are possible through take-home assignments,
although they possess a threat to academic integrity in certain cases. Much of the writing
assignments in the higher education sector that happen without proctoring can still continue
to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic (Gamage et al., 2020). Examinations in all education
sectors have been postponed due to the pandemic [Cambridge Assessment International
Education (2020); The West African Examinations Council (2021); IELTS (2020)].
Universities, in general, use formative assessment and summative assessment for different
purposes (University of Greenwich, 2021). Formative assessment monitors student learning
and provides them with continuous feedback. This assists students in identifying their
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Karunarathne, G. D. D. T., & Wijewardene, L. (2021). Online Assessments: Their Importance in Higher Education. Advances in Social Sciences
Research Journal, 8(12). 308-316.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.812.11448
strengths and weaknesses and thereby improving their skills. Lecturers are able to provide
weak students with support.
Formative assessments are low-stake assessments and do not contribute to the final
grade/mark that students receive for the course. Some examples of formative assessments are
peer evaluation, in-class worksheets, quizzes, presentations, journals, and diagnostic tests
(Gamage et al., 2020). However, summative assessments evaluate student learning or meeting
learning outcomes at the end of an instructional unit by comparing it against some standard or
benchmark (Gamage et al., 2020). Summative assessments often have high stakes as they
contribute to the final grade of a student. These summative tests provide feedback to the course
constructors by helping them improve the course once it has concluded (Gamage et al., 2020).
Assessments can be defined as an ongoing process for collecting, analyzing and explaining
evidence, reflecting on findings and making informed to upsurge the student learning
(Department of Education and Training Victoria, Australia, 2021). Hence assessments have
been widely acknowledged as techniques in the education system to evaluate the student
process, find the curriculum of knowledge gaps of the students and increase the skills of the
students (Joshi, Virk, Saiyad, Mahajan & Singh, 2020). However, Skinner (1958) and Alruwais,
Wills & Wald (2018) mention that after 1920 most of the countries used technology to conduct
e-assessments through Sidney L. Pressey’s automatic testing method, and later they assessed
the student’s performance with the development of ICT (Information and Communication
Technology).
For example, after 1920, schools started to follow standardized assessments such as Multiple- Choice Questions (MCQ) and used automatic scoring technology to evaluate the student’s
knowledge (Audette, 2005). As a result of this, education institutes conducted cost-effective
exams, and later they developed their unique E-assessment systems (Audette, 2005).
Nevertheless, those education institutes did not fully incorporate ICT into the education system
and they used the mix methods to conduct the exams. Education institutes used ICT to conduct
mid-semester exams via MCQs or quizzes, and they conducted the final exams through paper- based exams. However, after 2019 with the COVID-19 global pandemic descending on the
world, all educational institutes, schools and universities converted their paper-based exams
into a fully digital platform and now they are conducting lectures and exams online.
ROLE OF ONLINE ASSESSMENTS
Assessments are an assortment of different tasks that teachers make use of, to measure the
performance of the students (Gronlund, 2006). There are two main goals of student
assessments, namely, for students’ self-learning purposes and the certification purposes
respectively (Carless, 2015; Rawlusyk, 2018). Further, Jacoby, Heugh, Bax, & Branford-White
(2014) stated that assessments should support students to study the subject matters and be
familiar with the information that they are learning. Moreover, Jacoby et al., (2014) explained
that the success of the assessments depend on the active participation of the student and
teacher towards the completion of the assessments.
As mentioned earlier, there are two main types of assessments, namely, formative assessments
and summative assessments.
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 8, Issue 12, December-2021
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
• Formative assessments arise continuously throughout the course (Rawlusyk, 2018).
Through this type of assessment, lecturers can discover the level of knowledge that
students possess with regard to the subject. Moreover, formative assessments directly
observe the student behavior and provide oral feedback (Wood, 2007). Therefore, the
main purpose of the formative assessment is to provide feedback and correctives of the
learning process via the assignments (Baleni, 2015) and monitor the students.
• Summative assessments, on the other hand, are used for arbitrating student
achievement by using unit tests, mid or end exams, presentations, and projects (Baleni,
2015) and this method is followed and implemented at the end of a course (Gronlund,
2006).
However, the online assessment platform can be easily adopted to conduct formative
assessments because formative assessment methods are straightforward and they facilitate
students to do their self-assessments (Dennick, Wilkinson & Purcell, 2010). For example,
students can do online past papers before the real exam and adjust their answers according to
the feedback given by the system.
Meanwhile, the purpose and idea of online assessments are not different from the traditional
assessments, because online assessments are also used for evaluating the student’s
performance, and through the online assessments, students can engage in self-study. Finally,
lecturers can give feedback to students by evaluating the students’ online assessments.
However, compared to the traditional assessments, e-assessments have been developed with
the e-Learning system, and according to the Joshi et al., (2020) e-assessments have been
established by altering paper-based versions of assessments such as multiple-choice, true-false,
multiple responses, and extended matching questions into the digital platform. As a result, the
current assessment-making process became a more relevant, valid, and meaningful process.
TYPES OF ONLINE ASSESSMENTS
In 1999, Morgan and O'Reilly stated that universities and higher education institutes can use
online essays, reports, text-based scenarios, multiple-choice, true/false matching, short answer
tests, and online conferencing debates to evaluate the students’ critical thinking
ability, problem-solving skills, communication skills and teamwork skills. Then, in 2002, Robles
and Braathen explained that through the online tests and quizzes, lecturers can develop the
assessment plan. Further, Robles and Braathen (2002) revealed that universities can use
emails, drop boxes, external links, discussion groups and self-texts to assess online
assessments.
Nevertheless, as a result of the COVID 19 pandemic, online assessment methods became more
creative and innovative with the use of the following ICT tools:
1. Computer-Assisted e-Assessments: Now universities are using multiple choice
multiple answers (MCMA), multiple-choice single answers (MCSA), true-false questions
as online assessment methods by using advanced database systems. Examination
departments are developing a common database with more than 1000 questions which
are relating to a particular subject, and throughout those 1000 questions, one student
can answer 20 to 50 questions (Taylor, 1953).