Key Findings

• Online teaching and assessment in some form was now a mandatory component of the workload of many teachers in tertiary education and one that was only likely to increase in size and significance.
• Tertiary teachers were increasingly expected to assess students using online tasks and tools and frequently adapt these from traditional methods.
• Effective online assessment offered a range of benefits to both students and teachers including more interactive assessment and feedback, increased efficiency and reduced workload, the ability to meet the needs of increasingly diverse learners, and the opportunity to use new technical and pedagogical skills.

Key Recommendations

Be clear about the purpose of online assessment | Identify the value of online assessment for your learners and how it relates to their learning.

Make the best use of technology | Use as many of the special functions and affordances of, or opportunities provided by, online environments and tools as will enhance your students’ learning experience.

Design for student learning | In online environments, ensure that students are sufficiently supported without depending on face-to-face input around assessments. Spend time on designing tasks that maximise students' learning. Ensure that support mechanisms are explicit, accessible and give 'just-in-time' information.

Ensure teachers are present in online environments | Teacher presence is a crucial aspect not only of online learning but also of sustainable assessment.

Make use of support from colleagues and institutional resources | Developing work in online environments is time-consuming and requires specific skills that may be outside standard job descriptions. Don’t expect to save time initially when setting up online assessments. Alleviate stress by knowing where to go for help.

Find out about current practice | Knowing what other teachers do for online assessments will facilitate your own developing practice. Talk to colleagues about what they do. Read research papers. Make use of the case studies in the report. Many of these principles apply to good teaching, learning and assessment generally and are not specific to online assessment.