Alternative forms of assessment
The University of Manitoba holds the highest regard for Academic Integrity so the primary focus of grade assessments must be on adhering to the principles of Academic Integrity Best Practices.
Please refer to our extensive Academic Integrity section for complete details and resources.
Alternatives to final exams
Traditionally, a paper, time-constrained final exam has been the most common form a final assessment takes. However, this may not be the best way of assessing student learning, depending on the students and teaching context. Fortunately, there are numerous alternatives available.
This Quick Guide aims to offer some suggestions (and how they can be adjusted) that might be made to assure the standards of students’ achievements.
Why is it important to explore alternatives?
You may wish to evaluate your students using updated alternatives that better capture the skills and knowledge you’d like them to have and use. It is important to consider your students’ needs before deciding on a specific assessment. If possible, offer options and discuss the options with your students to empower them and include them in course decisions.
What can we do?
In our view there are two basic strategies instructors might adopt:
Change the mode of submission
Work that was formerly submitted in hard copy could now be submitted electronically, ideally through established university e-submission systems. Many of you are already using e-submission processes for coursework, including narrated PowerPoints or similar for submitting student presentations. Where students can make video recordings, these can be submitted electronically. The submission of some work electronically, such as artefacts, is still possible but students may require some additional support.
Offer alternative assessment formats
The table below provides some common assessments (in addition to time-constrained exams) and alternatives that you may wish to use, together with some important considerations. Below the table we have included some links to resources that you may find useful.
| If you currently use… | Consider using... | To ensure standards, you might need to consider… |
|---|---|---|
| Time-constrained unseen exams in invigilated exam rooms or in-class tests | “Take-away” exams, in which you set the questions or tasks and ask the students to submit their responses electronically within a set period of time. UM Learn can support the timed release of examination papers and corresponding submission facilities that can help support time-constrained exams. | As with take-away papers where students have access to materials, the design of questions may need to be reframed to move away from recall-based tasks to questions that require students to demonstrate how they use information, rather than reiterate what they have learned. It will be important, therefore, to provide guidance for students with the change in orientation of the task. It is also good practice to re-run any changes to question formats through the usual moderation processes. To deter cheating, you could advise students that you will run ‘spot checks’ with a sample of the student population, where you will discuss their reasoning for the answers they’ve provided. |
| In-class presentations where students speak to an audience of their peers/others and are assessed not only on the content but also their presentation techniques | Ask students (individually or in groups) to submit a narrated presentation in electronic form that can then be tutor-marked and peer-reviewed. PowerPoint is familiar to most students and offers a slide-by-slide voice-narration recording facility. Ask students to prepare a podcast on the topic, to be submitted electronically. | You will need to take account that, given the recorded presentation format, students can have multiple opportunities to prepare the item they are submitting, rather than having to cope with the one-off nature of a live presentation. |
| Portfolio, logbook or assessment notebook | An option is to move hard-copy portfolios to e-portfolios, for example, in UMLearn. | For some students with ready internet access or who lack digital confidence, the move to e-portfolios might be quite challenging, and they may need extra guidance. |
| Oral assessments | These could readily be undertaken by Zoom or other electronic remote means. | Students may need support. |
| Assessed seminars, group discussions and other similar activities | In person and/or via UM Learn. | Staff as well as students may need be supported to learn how to use this approach if it isn’t currently part of their normal learning experiences. |
| Lab work | It may be possible to replicate some aspects of lab work through simulations in which students are presented with data sets and required to interpret them. Often this means focusing on interpretation of data rather than working in the lab to achieve the results personally. Simulations can also be used remotely so students can ‘see’ data produced elsewhere and be asked to comment/interpret. | If students can be provided with different data sets for personal interpretation, this can mitigate the risk of ‘over-sharing’ or personation. |
| Posters | You can potentially use a digital infographic, mind map or other visuals which can be submitted via UM Learn, for example, or posted in shared spaces, particularly if peer review is required. | Students may need support if they are unfamiliar with the use and creation of posters. |
| Theatre, dance and other performances | Individuals and groups can be asked to work off-site to prepare and submit videos of their work, alongside reflective commentaries/accounts. | Videos cannot replicate the authentic live performance element but may suffice in certain circumstances. |
Best practices for open-book final exams delivered online
If you decide to have students take an open-book online exam, here are some tips and suggestions:
- Prior to the exam, explain clearly to your students that they have access to their resources (clarify what resources those will be – textbook, study notes, ppts, etc.).
- With open book exams, students often think they don’t need to study, but that’s not the case. Consider giving a practice exam with a few questions (5-10) to demonstrate that students do need to study and also to help set expectations of how time consuming it can be to look for answers when you don’t know where to look. Place emphasis on students needing to understand the context of the material to be able to answer questions.
- Along with the previous point, give enough questions that completing the exam within the time period will be tight, so that students don’t have ample time to randomly search their books for the answers. In UM Learn, enforce the time limit (See the Restrictions tab in the Quiz set up.)
- Write challenging questions that require students to use application and analysis so they have to show they understand, and can apply, the concepts, rather than testing students on basic information that simply requires memorization and that can be easily Googled.
- If you have a large class, make questions all auto-gradable (no Long Answer). For example, multiple choice, true/false and multi-select types of questions can all be auto-graded. Rather than spending time grading, spend the extra effort upfront to write good, challenging questions with strong distractors.
- Consider randomizing your questions and/or using question pools to help vary the questions each student gets. This will limit opportunities for sharing questions and answers, especially if students will not all be taking the exam at the exact same time.
- Provide clear instructions at the beginning of the exam (on the starting page) to reiterate what resources they can use, how long they have, how many questions will be asked, and what type of questions. This helps students manage their own time.
Here’s a really good resource, Exam Prep: Strategies for open book exams, to pass along to students, to help them be more successful when taking open book exams.
Adapted from: Higher Education, Lyndsay Duncan.
Key takeaways
With hard work and imagination and the co-operation of students, alternative assessment can certainly equal, and may even improve on, the current methodology. However, it is crucial that decisions are based on sound pedagogic considerations and that assessments used match the scale and level of course learning outcomes. As with using any form of assessment, you will need to ensure that assessments are inclusive and meet the needs of a diverse student population.
References and resources principally on assessment
Alternative Assessment Worldwide - Exploring Alternative Methods of Assessing Students
Brown University advice on supportive approaches in times of disruption
Edinburgh Napier quick guides on assessment and feedback matters: see particularly ‘Alternatives to traditional exams’ which has some useful ideas
London School of Economics (LSE) Toolkit advice on Take- Home Assessment
Microsoft office advice (scroll down for assessment-specific guidance)
(Adapted from: Contingency planning: exploring rapid alternatives to face-to-face assessment by Sally Brown and Kay Sambell)
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