E-assessment for SQA qualifications: what are the issues for the school sector?

As we seek to transform the curriculum in Scotland through Curriculum for Excellence, we are also inevitably re-thinking assessment in terms of its purpose and the forms and methods of assessment we will use in future. Building the Curriculum 5 makes it clear that we need to look closely at current practices to ensure that assessment supports learning and is not a barrier to it. Research suggests technology-supported assessment could offer benefits for formative assessment, including helping to clarify good performance (goals, criteria, expected standards); facilitating the development of reflection and self-assessment; and delivering high quality feedback (Nicol and Milligan, 2006). What benefits though could e-assessment offer for summative assessment? And what are the challenges and issues that would arise if schools use tools such as online testing, e-portfolios, blogs, wikis and games-based assessment to deliver SQA qualifications?

Last year a survey on this issue within the college sector provided a snapshot of e-assessment usage and issues for colleges in Scotland. Select this link to view more on the FE Report. The findings are summarised below to stimulate discussion and hopefully allow us to identify related issues for schools.

Summary of survey findings
About two thirds of college teaching professionals who responded to the survey had used online testing and/or VLEs to support assessment, and most were satisfied with these tools. However only a third of respondents had used e-portfolios and even fewer had used social networking, mobile devices or games based assessment.

Respondents identified barriers which could have an impact on the use of e-assessment, including the college’s IT capacity and staff IT skills/knowledge. Other issues mentioned were: SQA quality assurance; lack of staff time/development to produce and use e-assessment; concerns about supporting candidates with additional needs; and the suitability of e-assessment for some courses. Benefits of e-assessment were also highlighted. These included: faster turnaround of assessment results; assessment on demand; and enhanced security and standardisation.

The perceived benefits may have contributed to increasing confidence among college staff. Most of those who responded were confident about running online tests and also with the robustness of online testing systems for summative assessment. Some would have liked to be able to take the test before the learner, but others thought this would only be appropriate for formative assessment. Almost half though, thought teaching professionals should have the option to question students who narrowly fail summative online tests, in order to confirm or moderate the result.

When college staff were asked about e-portfolios, only a small percentage reported they used them regularly. The survey responses suggested that guidance on e-portfolios would be welcomed and that it should address issues such as: security/ensuring learners do the work themselves; monitoring learners’ work including messages between students; ensuring learners’ work is portable if they move to a different institution; and dealing with candidates with limited IT skills.

It will be interesting to find out the views of school teachers on these findings. Are schools more, or are they less, willing and ready to embrace e-assessment? What are the specific challenges for schools and how do they differ from those faced by colleges? What specific things can SQA do to encourage and support the use of e-assessment in schools?