Preferences and Scores of Different Types of Exams during COVID-19 Pandemic in Faculty of Veterinary Medicine in Spain: A Cross-Sectional Study of Paper and E-exams

Abstract

The World Health Organization (WHO) officially declared the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) as a pandemic on 11 March 2020, and educational institutions have had to modify most of their activities (face-to-face activities were suspended). This situation forced academic institutions to modify the evaluation format of students. The use of proctoring systems quickly became widespread, although some controversies arose. The two main discussions regarding these systems are the integrity of the assessment and the capacity of the students to adapt to this new assessment method, without changes in theirs scores. To elucidate two controversies, we have analyzed the preferences and the scores obtained from a trial of 660 scores from 332 students of the third grade of Veterinary Medicine. The experiment involved three modalities of exam: an online format from home using the Respondus Lockdown Browser system (Modality 1), online in person using the Respondus Lockdown Browser system with the supervision of a teacher (Modality 2), or paper format in person with the supervision of a teacher (Modality 3). The results obtained showed that the students preferred Modality 1 (online at home with Respondus Lockdown Browser system). No statistical differences between the scores obtained by students were found between the three modalities analyzed. The proctoring system is a good method to adjudicate exams in higher education institutions, and the scores of students are similar to those obtained through traditional evaluation and control systems.

Dental students' and faculty perception of online exams with e‐invigilation in Cyprus

“…However, the pandemic and the subsequent need to safeguard the health of students and staff forced universities to use alternative approaches and implement online learning, along with the online summative assessment as the only evaluation method for students and courses 16,19,25 . Although there were reports of less successful implementations of online exams 37,38 and valid scepticism on its suitability for assessing clinical competencies (e‐OSCEs) was expressed, 3,17–19 the majority of reports appreciate the advantages of e‐assessment, while not underestimating its challenges and disadvantages 4,20,21,25,28 …”

“…Online assessment poses several challenges such as remote invigilation, technical difficulties such as interruption of the student or faculty internet connection, computer crashes, difficulty in finding a quiet place to take the exam, need to master the technology so that the focus is on the exam and not on the hardware or software used, and many other obstacles 14 . A number of recent studies exist that show the effectiveness and student perceptions of online exams (with or without e‐invigilation) 14–20 . Online assessment has been implemented and evaluated, among others, for pre‐clinical fixed prosthodontics, 21,22 oral radiology, 23 dental anatomy, 24 periodontology 25 and for online OSCEs to test students' clinical competencies 17–19,25 .…”

Use of Alternative Methodologies in Veterinary Medicine Learning and Acceptance of Students

“…On the other hand, the recent COVID-19 pandemic has caused higher education institutions to modify most of their activities, since face-to-face activities were suspended. Adaptation to this situation has been a challenge throughout the world, and faculties have had to adapt their teaching and evaluation systems [28], with satisfactory results [17]. One of the alternative-teaching methods has been educational videos [25].…”

“…Furthermore, "new technologies" was an educational term that was widely studied and implemented in the time before the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, and this outbreak has increased the need to reach our students in an alternative way to the physical face-to-face development of classes (as we are becoming used to) or even evaluations [17]. There are studies that ensure that this new trend will not only be used during the duration of the pandemic, but that new generations will value this type of education (albeit in a complementary way).…”

Confronting Assessment Integrity of Higher Education Institutions during COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Enhancing assessment integrity using technological means while preserving the current system is a must (Lakshminarayanan & Rao, 2022). Remote computer tests using a proctoring system may be an effective method for evaluating university students and that, when they get used to it, it may eventually replace more conventional methods (Marín García, Arnau-Bonachera, & Llobat, 2021;Verheof et al, 2022). Technology firms that provide solutions for institutions thrive with highly developed proctoring and cheating measurement systems.…”