The use of digital environments for both learning and assessment is becoming prevalent. This often leads to incongruent situations, in which the study medium (eg, printed textbook) is different from the testing medium (eg, online multiple-choice exams). Despite some evidence that incongruent study-test situations are associated with inferior…

Virtual Learning Environments (VLEs) appear to be one of the most widely used computer-based technologies for teaching and learning, and may emerge as a potential tool for e-assessment. However, little is known about how VLE tools are used in various forms of assessment and what kinds of teaching practice the use of such technologies brings about.…

The focus of this paper is on the use of e-technologies to enable higher education to better assess aspects of learning that have proved difficult to assess using more conventional means. Higher education describes the knowledge and abilities it intends its graduates to have acquired before graduation, and it has a wide range of approaches to…

A natural language based system has been used to author and mark short-answer free-text assessment tasks. Students attempt the questions online and are given tailored and relatively detailed feedback on incorrect and incomplete responses, and have the opportunity to repeat the task immediately so as to learn from the feedback provided. The answer…

e-Assessment cannot benefit learners, and so education, unless it supports them in doing something differently in future. What, however, are learners trying to do better? This paper adopts a perspective in which learners simultaneously self-regulate multiple variables that are relevant to learning, and develops a theoretical argument that a key…

While a number of studies have been conducted on the impact of online assessment and teaching methods on student learning, the field does not seem settled around the promised benefits of such approaches. It is argued that the reason for this state of affairs is that few studies have been able to control for a number of confounding factors in…

Translation of questionnaire instruments to digital administration systems, both self-contained and web-based, is widespread and increasing daily. However, the literature is lean on controlled empirical studies investigating the potential for differential effects of administrative methods. In this study, two university student samples were…

Educators have long debated the usefulness (or otherwise) of final examinations; a debate that has typically revolved around the relative merits of closed-book exams, open-book exams, take-home exams or their substitution by some other assessment format (e.g., project work). This paper adds a new dimension to the debate by considering how the…

According to the Quality Assurance Agency, "Assessment describes any processes that appraise an individual's knowledge, understanding, abilities or skills", and is inextricably linked to a course or programme's intended learning outcomes. It also has a fundamental effect on students' learning where it serves a variety of purposes including…

The purpose of this study was to investigate problems and potentials of new technologies in English writing education. The effectiveness of automated writing evaluation (AWE) ("MY Access") and of peer evaluation (PE) was compared. Twenty-two English as a foreign language (EFL) learners in Taiwan participated in this study. They submitted…

A new computerised testing system was used at home to promote learning and also to save classroom instruction time. The testing system combined the features of short-answer and multiple-choice formats. The questions of the multiple-choice problems were presented without the options so that students had to generate answers for themselves; they…

Attitude, experience and competence (broadly covered by the European Computer Driving Licence syllabus) in information technology (IT) were assessed in 846 1st-year Medical Sciences Division undergraduates (2003-06) at the start of their first term. Online assessments delivered during induction workshops were presented as an opportunity for…

A trial of pen-and-paper and online modes of a computing skills test was conducted for volunteer students of ages 15-16 in New South Wales, Australia. The tests comprised Matching, True/False and 4-option Multiple-Choice items. The aims were to determine whether gender, socio economic status (SES), or the type of item interacted with testing mode.…

This article presents results of a comparison between paper and computer tests of ability in Chemistry and Computing. A statistical model is employed to analyse the experimental data from almost 200 candidates. It is shown that there is no medium effect when specific traditional paper examinations in Chemistry and Computing are transferred into…