Assessment à la Mode: Implementing an Adaptable Large-Scale Multivariant Online Deferred-Grade Exam for Virtual Learning

Abstract

The COVID pandemic forced many higher education institutions to pivot and switch to an online learning environment with minimal preparation. This transition was put in place during the middle of the spring semester, in March. During this transition, instructors had to quickly learn the tools of online teaching, navigate platforms like Webex and Zoom, and adapt their lectures to an online format. One of the biggest challenges during this transition was to administer common online exams to high enrollment undergraduate classes, such as general chemistry and organic chemistry, without compromising the integrity of the exam. The in-person chemistry common exam that is normally administered to students at New Jersey Institute of Technology (NJIT) had both multiple-choice and open-ended questions. In order to replicate this online, and to reduce the potential temptation to cheat, a robust multiple-choice and open-ended exam with multiple versions was required. Furthermore, this online exam had to be easily administered through our learning management system. What was developed included a blueprint for an online exam intended for large-scale distribution over multiple days with safeguards in place to protect the integrity of the examination. The exam employed deferred grading, a lockdown browser, multiple question variants, time controls, and controlled access to the completed exam to combat potential cheating. The exam resulted in average scores that were comparable to in-person exam scores from previous semesters, validating the proposed approach. In addition, polling results after administration of the exam showed strong student satisfaction with exam design and directions and student preference for webcam proctored exams.

Flipped Online Active Learning Environment for Large General Chemistry Courses

“…Others expressed concerns regarding cheating in the online learning environment, − including us, when we first reported on our experiences in GC-I . After careful consideration of examination data from Spring 2020, we believed that most factors that evidently contributed to academic misconduct during the online exams were at least somewhat eliminated by the time of the Final Exam.…”

Data-Driven Decision-Making (DDDM) for Higher Education Assessments: A Case Study

“…Many issues due to workload and time management adaptations surfaced with the need to provide student learning and assessment feedback through online platforms. Some of the written exam-type summative assessments were replaced by other forms such as team-based assignments, oral exams, and take-home exams, without compromising on the learning outcomes based on similar practices reported in the literature [45][46][47][48][49]. In this paper, using a DDDM approach, we focused on the impact of two major types of assessment methods, namely exam-based and nonexam assessments adopted in BIT subjects of an HE program undertaken as a case study.…”

In the nexus of integrity and surveillance: Proctoring (re)considered

“…Several papers adopted a case study approach. Balasubramanian et al (2020) from the US report on a number of institutional initiatives in response to the pandemic such as ‘deferred grading, a lockdown browser, multiple question variants, time controls, and controlled access to the completed exam to combat potential cheating’ (p. 4297). The institution decided against one system (ProctorU) on the grounds that ‘it was not clear how comfortable students would be with an unknown person watching them during the exam’, concerns about technical issues, and the additional pressures on students at a time of increased challenges (p. 4298).…”