Alternative Forms of Assessment

You could instead consider using…

• “Take-away” exams, in which you set the questions or tasks virtually and ask the students to submit their responses electronically within a set period of time (see detailed advice leaflets from LSE4 and Manchester Met below5).

• Remote proctoring often relies on students being able to use technology that can be problematic for home use, so it’s not as straightforward.

• A Learning Management System (LMS) can support the timed release of examination papers.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• As with normal take-away papers where students have access to materials, the design of questions may need to be reframed to move away from recall-based tasks to questions that require students to demonstrate how they use information, rather than reiterate what they have learned. It will be important, therefore, to provide guidance for students with the change in orientation of the task. It is also good practice to re-run any changes to question formats through the usual moderation processes.

• Although various vendors are working hard to meet urgent demands, it is unlikely you will be able to put this in place for scalable numbers unless you already have systems in place.

• To deter cheating, you could advise students that you will run ‘spot checks’ with a sample of the student population, where you will discuss their reasoning for the answers they’ve provided.

You could instead consider using…

• Ask students (individually or in groups) to submit a narrated presentation in electronic form that can then be tutor-marked and peer-reviewed.

• PowerPoint is familiar to most students, and offers a slide-by-slide voice-narration recording facility.

• Ask students to prepare a podcast on the topic to be submitted electronically.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• You will need to take account of the fact that, given the recorded presentation format, students can have multiple opportunities to prepare the item they are submitting, rather than having to cope with the one-off nature of a live presentation.

You could instead consider using…

• It is likely that the best solution here is to move hard-copy portfolios to e-portfolios.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• Where these have already been partially completed, assessors will have to use professional judgement to decide whether sufficient evidence of achievement of the learning objectives has been achieved by the time of your educational institution’s closure.

• For some students without ready internet access or lacking digital confidence the move to e-portfolios might be quite challenging, and they may need extra guidance.

You could instead consider using…

• These could readily be undertaken by Webex or other electronic remote means (as they already are on occasions when Doctoral examinations are undertaken trans-nationally).

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• Students may need significant support in developing confidence to work virtually where they have no prior experience.

You could instead consider using…

• It is likely these could be held in an online platform already used within your educational institution, such as Webex.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• Staff as well as students may need to be supported to learn how to use this approach if it isn’t currently part of their normal learning experiences.

You could instead consider using…

• It may be possible to replicate some aspects of lab work through simulations where students are presented with data sets and required to interpret them. Often this means focusing on interpretation of data rather than working in the lab to achieve the results personally.

• Simulations can also be used remotely so students can ‘see’ data produced elsewhere and be asked to comment/interpret.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• If students can be provided with different data sets for personal interpretation, this can mitigate the risk of ‘over-sharing’ or personation.

You could instead consider using…

• You can potentially use a digital infographic, mind map or other visuals that can be submitted via your LMS, for example, or posted in shared spaces, particularly if peer review is required.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• To confirm authenticity of the submitter, you may wish to supplement this with a short online oral.

You could instead consider using…

• It may be possible for students to submit digital portfolios containing, for example, videos of themselves performing a range of practical tasks.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• This may be problematic in professional disciplines where the achievement of specific capabilities is required at 100% (e.g. Nursing, drugs calculations).

You could instead consider using…

• Peers can email each other drafts for comments or use a virtual space within the education institution’s LMS.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

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You could instead consider using…

• Individuals and groups can be asked to work off-site to prepare and submit videos of their work, alongside reflective commentaries/accounts.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

• Group performances may well be too complex to organize off-site.

• Videos cannot replicate the authentic live performance element but may suffice in crisis time.

You could instead consider using…

• Individual and generic group feedback can be delivered by tutors via audio or online means.

To ensure standards, you might need to consider…

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