Abstract:

The COVID-19 pandemic, originating in China in December 2019, had a great impact in teaching, learning and assessment globally. Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) faced unprecedented challenges due to the pandemic, including the sudden shift from traditional face-to-face assessments to online modes of assessment. This paper reviews research on the barriers to quality online assessment during and post-COVID-19. It also explores possible solutions for improved online assessment. The study encompasses a literature review, theoretical framework, discussion of the reviewed results, recommendations and conclusions.

During COVID-19, assessment, especially the quality of online assessment of learning became a critical topic among academics in different institutions. HEIs were expected to adapt, moving from invigilated assessments to online unsupervised assessments. However, this shift introduced barriers related to the quality of online assessment. The barriers to quality online assessment identified in this paper include preparedness of lecturers and students for online assessment, inexperience of both lecturers and students with the new formats of online assessment, academic dishonesty, and technical problems.

The possible solutions proposed by the different scholars include training lecturers to be effective in online assessment, changing the focus of assessment in online assessment and the use of e-proctoring software to prevent the students’ dishonest behavior. Key areas of focus for future research include persisting barriers experienced in relation to the quality of online assessment. These barriers include academic dishonesty and the technical problems that hinder quality online assessment. More still needs to be done to address these two persisting barriers to quality online assessment.

Keywords:

COVID19, Assessment, Online assessment, Quality, Barriers.