Abstract:

Debates about purposes and driving principles of assessment are not new. There seems to be a general agreement that assessment is to be focused on learning outcomes, be authentic, accessible, appropriately automated, continuous, and secure Due to the rapid transition to remote instruction resulting from COVID-19, teaching and learning were modified, often necessitating changes in assessment. Thus, assessment was moved from face-to-face to online, faculty had to adapt to assessing learning online and find meaningful alternatives to traditional tests and exams representing accurate assessment of student learning. Instructors had to rethink the assessment scope, time limits, deadlines, use of resources during the exams, grading, moving to pass/fail, academic integrity issues, etc. Academic integrity is a hot topic any day. With emergency remote learning it became an even bigger issue. Universities expanded their use of LMS-built-in plagiarism detection tools, technology-enhanced exam live proctoring, and even videoconferencing.

This paper will provide a comprehensive overview of higher education assessment practices and tools in the first year of COVID-19 and explore changes in assessment that should continue to support learning including, but not limited to increasing flexibility, using technology, devising alternative measures, and addressing inequities.

Keywords:

COVID, higher education, assessment, academic integrity.