On-screen exams could replace written tests under watchdog Ofqual’s future-proofing plans
ON-SCREEN exams and other digital forms of assessment could be introduced for future A-level and GCSE students, the exam watchdog said today.
Ofqual announced it will carry out research into how technology can be better used to assess students’ work, in its three-year plan. This will include exploring the use of online adaptive testing — where digital exams automatically adjust to suit a candidate’s ability level — and “remote invigilation”.
Teachers welcomed the move, saying the current pen-and-paper exam system is “hopelessly outdated”.
Ofqual chair Ian Bauckham said: “The pandemic has, rightly, catalysed questions about not if, but when, and how, greater use of technology and on-screen assessment should be adopted. It is right that we use research and evidence to challenge existing practice so that we continue to improve what we offer.”
He said proposals must be carefully assessed for the impact on students with disabilities and special educational needs. Today’s report said: “New approaches to assessment, including the use of technology, have the potential to improve quality and fairness for students and apprentices and to strengthen the resilience of how qualifications and assessments are delivered.”
It said Ofqual will promote, and “where appropriate, require” the adoption of new approaches to exams. It comes after exams were cancelled for two years due to the pandemic and grades were based on teacher assessment. GCSEs and A-levels are due to take place again this summer for the first time since the start of the pandemic.
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of School and College Leaders, said: “Our current reliance on a pen-and-paper exam system, organised at an industrial scale with Fort Knoxstyle security arrangements around the transportation and storing of papers, is hopelessly outdated and ripe for reform.”
Mary Bousted, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, said: “A greater role for technology is worth researching.”
It comes after data shows complaints about university courses were the highest on record last year, with some reporting technology issues during online exams. The Office of the Independent Adjudicator for Higher Education received 2,763 complaints from students in 2021, up six per cent on 2020.
Our current reliance on a pen-and-paper exam system is hopelessly outdated and ripe for reform Geoff Barton