Online Assessment: How Effectively Do They Measure Student Learning at the Tertiary Level?

Abstract

[...]many HEIs have identified with and embraced e-learning's benefits incorporating them into their daily learning, teaching and assessment activities (Jalali et al., 2018). While previously the focus of education could be predominantly on the inculcation of an existing canon of knowledge, now it must reflect new priorities...Creativity, problem-solving, adaptability, resilience, resourcefulness, even spiritual and moral 'literacies', are found in the curriculum aspirations of countries and organisations across the world where such competencies are seen to be essential for success in future society. (p.187) How content knowledge and these particular skills related to "creativity, problem-solving, adaptability, resilience, resourcefulness, even spiritual and moral literacies" (Waller et al., 2019, p. 187) are factored into the delivery and assessed over the online platform is therefore of crucial importance in any discussion involving the effectiveness of using online assessments to measure student achievement. In other words, assessment can be considered the springboard for a student's professional trajectory and future success. Since assessment is integral to the teaching learning process as it is the only way to gauge student attainment of learning objectives, "educators must establish the purpose of assessment, the criteria being measured, and the intended outcomes before meaningful assessment methods can be achieved because "the purpose of assessment is to monitor student learning, improve academic programs, and enhance teaching and learning" (Gaytan, 2004, p. 25). According to Synder (2019): literature reviews are useful when the aim is to provide an overview of a certain issue or research problem.