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Formative assessment has increasingly been at the forefront of good learning practice since the 1990s. Assessing students in order to support their learning, rather than relying on tests to provide certification, provides learners and teachers with confidence that the relevant knowledge and skills are being retained and developed rather than being simply learnt for an exam.
Back in October 2018, we held an event at the IB Global Centre in Cardiff called 2020 and Beyond: Opportunities and Challenges for Assessment in the Digital Age. Little did we know at the time quite how pivotal this year would be in terms of accelerating the journey to e-learning and e-assessment for educational and awarding organisations worldwide. Educators and assessment specialists in 2020 have re-ignited conversations on the purpose of assessment and how we can deliver them in the fairest and most equitable way.
Exam security is a key priority for awarding organisations, with continuous work undertaken to clamp down on opportunities for cheating, malpractice, bias or grade interference during the assessment process. However, the administration of exam papers and completed scripts presents a number of vulnerabilities.
"Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I understand". This ancient Chinese proverb remains the truest principle of the process of learning. While we see this doctrine in practice across many areas of the education system, there is one huge element where it is often notably missing: assessment.
The coronavirus pandemic has caused mass disruption, with schools and universities shutting their doors worldwide. We do not know how long this will last, but we do know that education cannot simply stop. Over the recent weeks and months, educational institutions around the world have been turning to remote teaching and learning.
We are at a critical point in the development of education – the current education system faces the challenge of keeping up with the development of technology and preparing students for jobs of the future that may not even exist yet. Take a look into the future.
As a society, we have already embarked on what is known as the 'fourth industrial revolution'. Few industries remain untouched by the advent of new technologies, yet the pace of change has varied considerably within each. Where does assessment sit within this, and what can we learn from those ahead of us?
New technologies are shaping and reshaping our habits and working practices very rapidly. In a world of touch screen devices, instantaneous digital communication and agile working, examiners expect emarking systems to offer them the flexibility of touch gestures and the option to choose their working hours and location.