Quality Assessment In The Education System: Why Is It Important?
"The ability to understand the different purposes and types of assessment in order to select the most appropriate type of assessment is to meet a specific purpose."Larry Ainsworth, 2006
What Is Assessment Literacy?
Assessment is an inevitable part of our education system—it is the most accurate way for learners to measure their success. Learning is hypothetical in nature which means that it can’t be demonstrated with the mere use of words. Its visual evidence can only be obtained by assigning an estimate in the form of assessment. Nobody would burn their cholesterol for obtaining absolutely nothing; same goes with education—assessment acts as a catalyst in bringing out positive outcome by encouraging the learner in terms of better performance.
Education being an integral part of shaping the future of our country, it is a compulsion to associate it with quality assessment techniques that are devoid of error and inaccuracy.
What Is A Quality Assessment?
Quality assessment basically focuses on the targeted areas with complete precision. It does not go haywire in extracting the knowledge of the learner with its faulty agenda. Assessment in the education industry should have the following characteristics in order to be stated as a "quality assessment":
- The validity of the content
The test content should be highly organized and should come across as clear and simple to the candidates attempting the test. It should not comprise of faulty language or spelling defaults. The content should be in accordance with the subject that is being assessed and should not be out of the syllabus or topic. - Reliability
Reliability with reference to assessment simply means that the test should have a measurable outcome. Each and every aspect of the assessment should have the quality of being accurately measured without the buildup of any flaw. - Generating interest by the student
This is the reason why tests should be objective in nature. Subjective tests are lengthy in nature not even generating interest of the teachers, leave alone the students. So, assessments should be explicit and creative which does not give a sense of boredom to the candidates. - Consequential relevance
Conducting an assessment requires a lot of time, dedication, and resources; nobody would want so much of hard work to go in vain. The assessment result should be so exact so that it can be used as a tool to compare and analyze the data for future reference of the candidate’s performance.
What Are The Types Of Quality Assessment?
Since long, we are living in a notion that assessments can only be performed in a restricted area with the dependency on the paper-based test. But we have come a long way on the journey of development where technology is improvising in every field including the field of education. With the latest technology of online assessment, it is possible to break the stereotype of a rudimentary education system.
Let us take a deep dive into the classification of online assessment:
Online Quiz
The online quiz is a convenient medium to assess the candidates through objective type questions. With a varied range of online assessment software in the market, selecting one that is in accordance with your requirement, is not a tedious task. Such platforms are highly equipped with diversified features that make them an efficient partner in creating a quiz that is entirely your choice.
Now, let’s take a sneak peek of its advantages:
- You can administer the quiz on a large number of candidates irrespective of space and time
An online quiz is not bound by infrastructure or availability of logistics. You can conduct it on as many candidates as you want who will be participating from their own respective places according to the availability of time. - Randomization of questions as well as answers- an ultimate way to restrict cheating
Randomization is a feature that is mostly available in the entire online quiz making software. This feature ensures cheat protection by designing a unique quiz for every candidate through the process of picking up random questions and arranging their particular answers in random series. - No need for any invigilator
Online quizzes are virtual in nature so they are conducted by the medium of gadgets which does not require any invigilation. - Availability of instant records
The data acquired after testing the candidates are systematically recorded in the system which is easily accessible for future use. The digital education market is filled with numerous online quiz building software.
Βut to mention a few top-level ones that will serve as a perfect partner to your quiz building endeavor are:
- Think Exam
- Mettl
- Classmarker
- ProProfs
- Onlineexambuilder
Computer-Based Test (CBT)
The Computer-Based Test is a favorable way to administer an assessment. We have many organizations in the market that provide the facility of conducting CBT. In a Computer-Based Test or, say Center-Based Test, the complete assessment process is carried out with full diligence by an organization. Providing a high-tech infra enabled with all the optimum features necessary in carrying out the test, CBT is a right choice for schools/universities/organizations/Government and PSU exams.
Below mentioned are the advantages that you can avail by selecting the CBT way of testing:
- Fully maintained infrastructure
Test administrators can sit back and confidently rely on the chosen organization for carrying out the CBT with full diligence. The test center is well furnished with all the facilities of sitting arrangement and proper ventilation. For undertaking identification formalities the centers are available with the Biometric authentication system. - Cheat-proof
The Computer-Based Test is administered on a computer thanks to which every candidate gets a unique question paper that is made by the technique of randomization of questions. Random questions for every candidate make cheating next to impossible. - CCTV Surveillance
Continuous recording through CCTV cameras is a plus point for the exam center as the administrator can have recorded proof to every activity taking place in the examination center. - Web Cam invigilation
Every applicant who sits in the test is provided with a system through which he/she delivers the test. The system is facilitated by the technology of a webcam that gives live photo feed of the candidate.
Now, to mention some of the best CBT service providers in the industry, the list can go quite long but let's mention the top 5 best ones then. Here goes the selective list:
- Ginger Webs
- TCS
- Pearsonvue
- merittrac
- Brainvalley
OMR - Optical Mark Reader
Paper-based tests are not extinct but have developed to be more advanced in form by applying the technology of OMR. The full form of OMR is Optical Mark Reader and is also famous for another name Optical Mark Recognition. OMR software is an adequate form of paper-based assessment as it nullifies the errors that can be obtained in a subjective-based test. This test is performed on an OMR sheet or we can also say bubble sheet, and then the test result is obtained by the implementation of OMR software, which has got the perfect features to support printing, scanning, and data obtaining through simple resources.
Now, let’s put a light on its advantages:
- Use any printer and scanner
No need to search for specialized printer or OMR scanner. OMR software supports any printer to turn any size of a simple sheet into a bubble sheet same is the case with the scanner, you can use any scanner to read the OMR sheet. This makes it cost-effective and easy to use. - Artificial Intelligence
OMR Software comes with Artificial Intelligence that easily detects cheating in a test by indicating recurrence of the same mark for every candidate. It can also identify faulty questions because of which the data can be hampered. - User-friendly
Easily accessible features make this software user-friendly and helpful for the administrator. It does not cost any extra money to procure any added tool. The software is already so diverse in nature with inbuilt supportive features.It is not necessary that all the OMR software available in the market are equipped with all the above-mentioned benefits.
But this article is a perfect guide to your decision making and it refers to the top 5 OMR software:
- OMR Home
- Remark Software
- Admengroup
- Yoctel
- Omrsolutions
Conclusion
With so much of advancement in the educational field, quality assessment procedures are easily available. Now it depends on your choice that which one you opt for according to your requirement. The educational online market is a repository of unlimited assessment options to meet everybody’s demand accordingly, so now it’s your call!