The Results
Over the past fifteen years, the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford has built up expertise in designing and delivering objective computer-marked assessments (largely multiple-choice). From early on, the goal was to improve marking objectivity, the availability of questions, and assessment times. Every year, the Medical Sciences Division of the University of Oxford runs more than 160 online assessments for over 17,000 participants.
When entering into partnership with Inspera in 2018, the division requested and helped develop a new analytics feature. The feedback from both teachers and students has been positive. The journey towards full implementation of online assessment is an ongoing process with far-reaching ambitions for the University of Oxford.
Looking Ahead
The Digital Education Strategy consultation with academic staff and students has identified increasing interest in trialling the use of technology for assessments. In 2017-18, the University of Oxford undertook a small-scale trial of e-exams, based on formative exams. The e-exams phase 2 has been reviewed and approved by the Education IT Board, and the Project Initiation Documentation has now been passed to the IT Committee for further consideration. If funded, the phase 2 trial will build up the university’s expertise and confidence in running e-exams. It will have a particular focus on scale when a large number of students sit for collections exams at the same time.
In the meantime, the Medical Sciences Division continues to expand the number of departments using online assessment and is trialling online essay questions in Summer 2020.
Learn more about how progressive universities in the UK have adopted digital assessment:
