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Online assessments present unique challenges
Online assessments present unique challenges
Testing remote students can create new challenges for faculty and students. Consider the following unique factors that come with online assessments:
Online exams are almost always "open book" by default, since students will have to have access to a computer and the internet in order to take the exam.
"Lockdown" tools for restricting students' access to the web tend to be both invasive and ineffective.
The growing sophistication of generative AI tools means that those that are tempted to cheat have powerful tools for doing so.
Digital environments can lead to logistical problems (readability of student submitted images, unreliable internet access, and other technical problems).
Given all of the above, it's important to be thoughtful about your assessment strategy as a whole. While no single testing method can eliminate cheating or solve every logistical problem, utilizing the recommendations below have been shown to lead to better outcomes. Faculty can also reinforce the importance to students of approaching assessments ethically by cultivating a fair and respectful classroom that values integrity.
For a deep dive on assessment strategies in the AI era, visit the Teaching and Learning with Generative AI at NYU Stern page using the button below.
Online exam recommendations
Online exam recommendations
- Hold exams during scheduled class time
When you need to hold an exam in an online course, using your scheduled class time is the most straightforward facilitation method. While it may seem like an exam in an online class should try and provide more test taking flexibility, it will be more difficult to manage a test where students can take it at different times. Granting exceptions to a few students is manageable, but offering all students a large window of exam availability will require more technical setup and tends to lead to technical hurdles later on.
- Use Zoom "all screens mode" as a proctoring tool
Zoom recently added an "all screens mode" option for hosts which allows the instructor to monitor all student screens at once. This is a close approximation to a common in-person practice of circulating throughout the room while students take a test, and is much less invasive and typically more effective then using "lockdown" software to try and restrict student's devices.
Please note: this tool requires some setup before the exam, and we recommend you test it with us before using it!
You can learn more about the tool in the LSL quick setup guide for Zoom all screens mode, or schedule a consultation with us so we can walk through it together.
- Use the Assignments tool for a simple "file upload" style exam
The Brightspace Assignments tool offers the simplest user experience for allowing students to download one or more instructor provided exam files and then upload their answer document. The Brightspace Tests and Quizzes tool is more useful only if you want to build more standardized question (i.e. multiple choice, true false) in order to benefit from auto-grading. Tests and Quizzes is *not* a good option for a file upload exam, as the user experience for uploading files and (more importantly) for efficiently grading can be challenging.
- Vary your assessment methods and types, and avoid "high stakes" exams.
One of the best ways to increase student learning outcomes while decreasing the likelihood of cheating is to offer students more assessments, especially "low stakes" assessments. Often called "formative assessments," small quizzes where students can get credit for their attempts rather than their performance create opportunities for students to self evaluate and provide faculty with data on how the class is going. They also increase student confidence and lower the incentives for cheating.
Some examples of formative assessment include:
Practice problems (partially solved, or with full solutions provided)
Short quizzes (with immediate feedback)
Small group problem solving live in class
Exit tickets / weekly memos
Required discussion forum posts before or after class
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