How Technology Has Improved Testing Around the World

​Blog Author: Billy Walton

As the years pass, more technologies have been adopted into classrooms, both virtual and in-person. In
fact, Campus Technology’s report on edtech adoption talks about some of the technologies that have seen an
increase in use within the past three years. These include video-recording and distribution tools, accessibility tools, as well as virtual labs and simulations. The edtech experts from New Globe suggest that these technologies can improve student learning capabilities because of the added engagement. Technology also generates data that helps teachers create better lessons for their students.

Incidentally, one of the major applications of tech in education is in testing. From e-proctoring to test simulations, below are some of the ways technology has improved testing.

​Assistance from e-proctoring software

The pandemic has caused many classrooms to shift online, therefore making tests difficult to supervise. In
fact, Texas A&M University has found 800 cases of academic fraud online. Luckily, there is curated software nowadays that monitor students’ tests like ProctorU, which has online remote proctoring services that offer features like auto proctoring and live proctoring. They use an AI-based system to oversee examinations. Another choice for monitoring tests is Examus, which is software that analyzes online user behaviour through a webcam for facial recognition and emotion detection.

​Ready to use test-making programs

​Manually making tests is time-consuming. A study by the University of Washington reveals that standardized
assessments take up teachers’ time and focus away from quality lesson planning. However, with test-making
programs, they can still formulate and administer exams without it consuming most of their time.

Some examples of test-making programs include Edulastic and Crowdsignal. Edulastic allows teachers to make standard-aligned assessments and get feedback as soon as possible. Likewise, Crowdisgnal has features that permit the creation of online polls, quizzes, and questions. Students can use devices like smartphones, tablets, or computers to answer, and the results can be collected to provide statistics for educators.

​Immediately accessible test data

Checking each students’ paper is a laborious process. Fortunately, there are programs that collect and provide data on students’ test answers like Formative and GoSoapBox. Formative permits educators to assign activities, receive students’ results in real-time and provide immediate individual feedback. Test data will inform teachers where students experience difficulty, thus allowing them to adjust and steer discussions as needed.

On the other hand, GoSoapBox has a unique feature called a confusion meter. This enables students to indicate when and where they’re confused with the material to let the teacher know when to slow down. It also has options to create polls and Q&A features for better communication.

​Easily available online resources

Finally, materials that can help teachers in making tests become more accessible online have been even more
important. As previously stated, creating tests demands a lot of time from teachers. To combat this, testing guides are provided here at TomRichey.net for you to use at your convenience. There are even ready-made exams that can test students’ knowledge and how they retain information. We've also included Document-Based Question rubrics, multiple-choice questions, and Long Essay Question rubrics that can serve as a test-making guide.

With the support from technology, students’ learning capabilities can improve, and teachers’ instructing abilities can be heightened. The way tests are created, conducted, and supervised has also been enhanced for the benefit of both students and educators. Through the appropriate application of technology in the classroom, education will continue to progress.