Using e-assessments Dublin – 13 October, 2005 Suzana Lopes – Director, Sales and Marketing Assessment Tomorrow

Promissor Background >Over 20 years experience in the assessment industry >More than 200 customers in 45 countries >2.5 million tests a year >68 million revenue per year >Over 3,000 test Centres in the UK

Before e-assessment : P&P >Assessing has always been a key part of learning >e-learning increases the need for assessments >Technology brings new tools for assessments

Paper and pencil testing : still used ! >Universities, schools, companies, vocational training … >Drawbacks associated with paper and pencil testing :  Labour intensive  Complex maintenance  Difficult localization  Heavy logistics  Low availability  Long processing time  Difficult data collection / demographics

Move to e-assessments ? >Reinvent the wheel … Excel, Flash, Word >Buy the tools, manage the infrastructure … Niche software vendors  Integration with content / LMS / … >Use a complete solution at your fingertips … Test delivery providers like Promissor  Complete solution  Infrastructure availability  Service level agreement

Keep it Simple Approach >Maintain most of the current program as possible, item types, presentation style, navigation, scoring and report. Advantages of this approach:  Familiarity with the process often eases candidate anxiety  Leveraging existing tests minimizes conversion costs  Historical results can be readily analyzed and compared  Stakeholder acceptance is often more easily achieved

Completely New Program >Usually done with other initiatives such as geographic expansion, use of innovation. Advantages:  Concentrated effort yields greater program stability and reduced overall cost  Provides a “clean break” between the old and new methodologies  Stakeholder excitement can stimulate candidate interest and drive testing demand  Enhanced value justifies potential increase in testing fees

From the need to the test Analysis of the business need Development of training program Development of assessment blueprint Development of item bank Development of assessment Assessment administration Evaluation of training effectiveness

Why use e-assessments ?

Benefits for all the stakeholders Candidates / learners Test designers Organisations

E-assessment advantages Flexibility Consistency Security Engaging Presentation Scoring Availability Streamlined Logistics Advanced Item Types Data Rich Test Results

Benefits to candidates / learners  On-demand  Immediate score reporting  Prevention of transcription errors (no answer sheet)  Answers are easy to change or mark for review

Benefits to test designers >Assessment design :  Item creation Item banking design time reduction : from 50 to 80% Reusability and management of items Ease of correction/updates  On line testing allows better quality of assessment >Ease of creation  Diversity of available questions  Innovative item types  Localization (easy to go global) >Quality of psychometric design  Increased accuracy of measurement  Innovative item types  Results data & trends with no data entry

Benefits to test centres  Scheduling on demand  No scoring costs  Standardised administration

Benefits to organizations >Easy access to tests : on demand 24*7 >Content security : encryption >Standardized administration >On line registration >Cost reduction >Assessment analysis  Automatic collection of demographic data database  Results data

Customer example : City and Guilds >Over 3,000 testing locations in the UK >Over 600,000 e-assessment in the past 18 months >Over 500 different test – vocational areas >Benefits  On demand testing  Results are delivered in immediately instead of 2 weeks  Lower cost of test administration

Customer example : >Teacher and Development Agency for Schools - TDA >Qualified Teacher Status  Literacy  Numeracy  Introduction of Computer Technology >Over 155,000 tests per year >Benefits  On demand testing  Testing close to home  Results are delivered immediately instead of 6 weeks  More teachers available in the classrooms

Questions & Discussion