This research set out to enhance our understanding of the exam techniques and types of written annotations or markings that learners may wish to use to support their thinking when taking digital multiple-choice exams. Additionally, we aimed to further explore issues around the factors that contribute to learners writing less rough work and…

The Centre for Evaluation and Monitoring (CEM), based in the North of England, recently celebrated its 40th birthday. Arising from an evaluation project at Newcastle University, and a subsequent move to Durham University, it rapidly grew in scope and influence, developing a series of highly regarded school assessments. For a relatively small…

Teachers, examiners and assessment experts know from experience that some candidates annotate exam questions. "Annotation" includes anything the candidate writes or draws outside of the designated response space, such as underlining, jotting, circling, sketching and calculating. Annotations are of interest because they may evidence…

Despite the increasing ubiquity of computer-based tests, many general qualifications examinations remain in a paper-based mode. Insufficient and unequal digital provision across schools is often identified as a major barrier to a full adoption of computer-based exams for general qualifications. One way to overcome this barrier is a gradual…

For assessment contexts where both a paper-based test and an on-screen assessment are available as alternatives, it is still common for the paper-based test to be prepared first with questions later transferred into an on-screen testing platform. One challenge with this is that some questions cannot be transferred. One solution might be for…

Computer adaptive testing is intended to make assessment more reliable by tailoring the difficulty of the questions a student has to answer to their level of ability. Most commonly, this benefit is used to justify the length of tests being shortened whilst retaining the reliability of a longer, non-adaptive test. Improvements due to adaptive…