The assessment triad and e-exams: integrity, authenticity and scalability

The assessment triad between integrity, authenticity and scalability has been shot into stark relief in recent times. The publicised rate of contract cheating in the media is leading towards the use of more exams. Meanwhile the increasingly ICT intensive world in which we live leaves current pen-on-paper testing looking increasingly antiquated. Yet, institutions are struggling to find a way forward that works in the large scale, budget constrained world of higher education.

Many have probably heard the saying in complex technical problem solving "Good, quick, cheap – pick two", and it appears ring true for those seeking to modernise high stakes assessment in higher education. In attempting to drag exams into the 21st century, institutions are looking at computerising the exam room. However when selecting an e-exam solution from a managerial or technical support perspective, there is a tendency to focus on scalability and integrity with the capacity for authentic assessments often left out in the pedagogical cold. This could potentially lead an institution to merely computerise poor testing pedagogies or the foreseeable future. On the other side of the campus, the graduate needs of the modern world see academic policies encouraging more authenticity in assessment, with integrity also high on the minds of academic leaders. Solutions that meet these needs are rarely scalable when applied to the increasingly large classes of today.

This session will explore how we can work towards assuring integrity, authenticity and scalability for examinations. The experiences of an Australian funded project on authentic eexams and stories from European institutions will highlight issues and possibly solutions. Much remains to be done with significantly more investment needed in shared research and development to bring the vision to fruition – join us in finding a solution.