CS1 and CS2 programming exams for assessing learning and teaching

Abstract

In the Computer Science and Engineering Department at Michigan State University (CSE/MSU), we use timed programming exams in our introductory programming courses to assess both individual student programming skills and course instruction. Administration and design of these exams presented challenging problems. In this paper, we describe these problems and how we solved them in our programming exam system. Additionally, we describe the exams themselves and the particular outcomes under assessment. These courses at CSE/MSU use C++ for programming; however, the issues and methods discussed apply to any programming language.