Exploring creativity, innovation and validity on screen assessment: Multimodal and optionality

Nathan Evans, of our modernising assessment team, explores the findings from a recent series of digital assessment workshops in this four-part blog series.

When we think about examinations, lots of us will probably think of them as fairly silent experiences. But our workshop attendees asked the question: what if exams didn’t have to be taken quietly and what could this mean for assessment design?

Digital examinations can include a variety of stimulus material – which can include audio or audio-visual material. But they can also allow learners to input responses with their voices and, with remote invigilation technologies being used more widely, there may be opportunities for responding to questions in this way in the future.

Our teacher participants explored how to create test items that allowed vocal inputs, enabling learners to explain processes, analyse evidence and express their opinions orally. Teachers noted that they could easily set limits on aspects such as the recording length and the number of attempts learners could make. This flexibility allows assessments to be customised, giving learners more time and unlimited attempts for low-stakes tests, while higher-stakes exams can have stricter limits to offer a clearer picture of a learner’s knowledge. Additional digital features, like on-screen notepads, can help learners to organise their thoughts, improving the response quality. Teachers also liked how digital platforms could integrate videos and images to boost learner engagement.

One standout example from our workshops came from a music teacher who designed an audio input task to assess a learner’s ability to read and perform sheet music. The teacher noted that, given that both of these skills are fundamental in authentic, performance-based contexts, assessing them together in this way could be a highly valid way to include these skills as part of a standardised assessment, promoting reliability. The teacher also suggested items of this type could be included within on-screen assessments which are offered flexibly, and therefore able to be taken at a time or in a place which is convenient for learners and centres.

A design and technology (D&T) teacher created an assessment question using a different type of stimulus material, asking learners to watch a video demonstration of line bending and to identify three health and safety procedures that should be carried out. With the focus on identification, the teacher included a notepad for students to jot down key points and organise their thoughts prior to speaking their answer.

Interestingly, this teacher gave learners the option to respond either in writing or verbally, depending on which method they more comfortable with. When asked why, the teacher noted that some learners are more comfortable explaining D&T processes aloud, rather than writing them up, and vice versa. Furthermore, the teacher explained that the focus of the assessment was on understanding the D&T process, not on communication skills, so providing this choice could help to level the playing field between candidates. Other teachers agreed that providing these kinds of options in digital assessments could be a fairer way to let learners show their knowledge and understanding when communication isn’t the primary focus.

These examples suggest that digital platforms can provide us with the opportunity to gather assessment evidence in different ways, and allow learners to engage with assessment in ways that best suit their learning preferences. Most importantly, digital assessments allow us to consider how to best enable learners to demonstrate what they know, understand and can do.