Why don’t we just put our high stakes exams on screen?
At Cambridge International – and throughout Cambridge University Press & Assessment – we have an archive of thousands of assessments which have been developed using research evidence and quality assured through our principled approaches. So, given all the work which has gone into creating these assessments, why don’t we just put our existing assessments on screen? The pandemic has accelerated the take up of technology in education, so wouldn’t this be the obvious next step?
Migration of existing assessments to screen has value: our experiences of developing Cambridge IGCSE Progression Tests[1] (and GCSE Topic tests developed by our UK exam board, OCR) show that migration can improve accessibility, release teacher time, provide rich data and recognise the digital literacy of learners as well as build our organisational capabilities.
But simply migrating paper tests to screen – without changing the assessment models, the curricula or the teaching and learning – can miss opportunities and comes with risks.
Missed opportunities
"While migration has its merits, this approach does not use technology to its full potential. By designing digital assessments from scratch – going back to the beginning and taking a transformational approach to assessment – we can:".
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reflect effective teaching and learning in the internet age
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design curricula and assessments which develop skills and behaviours which better reflect real life and work
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use technology to assess constructs in ways not possible with paper assessments
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embed technology in teaching, learning and assessment to add value to the educational experience.
