Saudi EFL Students’ Perceptions of Online English Achievement Exams in the Era of COVID-19

Abstract

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, assessment and testing processes have been shifted to an online environment. Therefore, this unexpected shift requires more recent research in the field of online assessment. Based on this requirement, the present research aimed to explore female EFL students’ perceptions of an online English achievement exam by focusing on these dimensions: availability and accessibility, instructions, and mode of delivery. The participants were preparatory year students at the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Jeddah. To serve the research aim, the research used a mixed-methods approach. Students (n =49) participated in the quantitative phase by answering an online survey and 2 students were interviewed in the qualitative phase. The quantitative data revealed that the students had a positive perception of the online exam availability, accessibility, instruction, and mode of delivery. More particularly, the qualitative data explained that the clear online exam instructions and suitable mode of delivery have significantly improved these positive perceptions.

An Investigation of Students’ Preferences, Satisfaction and Performance in Online Assessment Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic in Türkiye

“…In a literature review on online assessment methods used during the Covid-19 pandemic, we found that both students had problems with online testing systems, including technical problems and demanding access to necessary documents and materials in the system, and academics who had a lack of experience in online systems (e.g., Arslan, 2022;Ocak and Karakuş. 2021;Kılınç et al 2021;Aljohani et al 2021;Raje and Stitzel 2020;). Thus, it can be said that academics mostly preferred "homework" as a "security blanket."…”

“…The study results indicated that students' attitudes differed significantly by age and gender. Binnahedh (2022), Ayyoub & Jabali (2021), Rajeh et al (2022), Ahmet et al (2021), and Aljohani et al (2021 were other researchers dealing with online exams and found that university students generally had positive attitudes towards e-assessment methods including online tests, e-portfolios and blogs.…”

An Exploration of Online Test Anxiety During COVID-19: EFL Learners’ Perspectives

“…Numerous studies in the Saudi EFL context focused on students' attitudes and use of online learning (Ali et al, 2023;Al Shammari, 2021;Almekhlafy, 2020;Anas, 2020). Other studies highlighted the challenges that students/teachers face (Ja'ashan, 2020; Mahyoob, 2020), the impact of online learning on students' motivation (Ali et al, 2023;Oraif & Elyas, 2021), anxiety (Mohammed & Mudhsh, 2021), students' perceptions towards online learning (Al-Nofaie, 2020;Al-Sofi, 2020;Aljohani et al, 2021), language strategies (Mohammed, 2021;Shamsan et al, 2021) and informal digital learning (Mohammed & Ali, 2021). However, the study of Saudi EFL students' online test anxiety has remained an unexplored area of research.…”