Online examinations: Everything you need to know about going digital

Online examination, also known as e-examination, enables examiners to conduct exams using the internet or a company-wide intranet for remote candidates. It requires candidates to answer questions within a pre-decided timeframe. The test window collapses once the exam is over, and institutes get real-time reports. Evaluators then assess the answers and grade accordingly. The fully automated system supports objective evaluation and helps generate results faster than in a traditional exam format.

Most online exams include answer processing modules, allowing evaluators to issue results moments after the candidates complete the test. However, evaluators assess the answers in-person for long-answer-type questions where results are not automated. The result of online exams is then conveyed to the candidates via email or published on the institute’s website.

Types of online exams

With advanced proctoring and custom exam solutions, it is now possible to host a variety of exams using the online mode. A few of the prominent online exam types include:

• Semester and entrance exams for educational ins
• Coding/programming assessments
• Aptitude tests and personality profiling
• Video interviews and viva
• Mock practice tests
• Image-based or media-based online exams
• Open-book tests
• Competitive exams and contests

The advent of technology has steadily digitized all services and offerings, taking them to the online platform, and education has been no exception. With the ubiquitous high-speed internet and laptops, the pervasiveness of technology has enabled a seamless transition to the online ecosystem.

Universities, schools and various educational institutions have progressed and adapted to Learning Management Systems (LMSs), where software applications track, report, administer and document materials that are shared with students. This teaching and evaluation system facilitates a balanced approach toward imparting knowledge and easy grading of the candidates.

Online exams aim to ensure that assessment givers can undertake the paradigm shift from offline to online processes. The online exam software industry is snowballing, and factors such as convenience, scalability, increased reach, and customization are shaping its adoption. Hence, established evaluation techniques are now nearing saturation and will soon become obsolete. In the following section, we discuss the extent of the spread of online exams in the education sector.

The need for computer-based tests

“Computer-based test” is an umbrella term covering any test given and taken using computers, with or without using the internet. Therefore, online exams are a subset of computer-based tests (CBTs). The benefits of CBTs include:

• Convenience
• Adaptive testing with varying difficulty levels
• High integrity
• Wide reach
• Scalability
• Auto-grading features
• Inclusivity
• Time and energy savings

CBTs are helpful for academic assessment and conducting certification programs.

Using Artificial Intelligence to improve the online test experience

AI’s (Artificial Intelligence) infusion in the education ecosystem has revolutionized higher education. Universities have wholeheartedly embraced the change as AI-based exam technology enables them to:

      a. Advance their curriculum

      b. Offer students greater flexibility in taking exams

      c. Improve the examination experience for both evaluators and test-takers

AI-based exams, also known as AI-proctored tests, eliminate the need for deploying onsite invigilators and provide a cheating-free environment. The AI proctoring software monitors the live feed through the candidate’s webcam and flags or reports any suspicious movement during the exam. Furthermore, AI-based exams make it easy to monitor many candidates simultaneously.

AI-based exam software also equips institutions with advanced solutions like:

• Image/facial recognition
• Voice recognition
• Cheating-prevention measures
• Advanced proctoring
• Browser security and lockdown
• Session reviews

The education sector has steadily realized the need to shift to the online ecosystem. The success stories of renowned institutions such as the Indian School of Business and Howard University further underline the importance of online examinations.

Benefits of conducting online tests

Why choose online exams over traditional pen-and-paper tests

Process of an online test

The online test process usually includes five steps.

Step 1: System setup 

Examiners or admins set up the testing environment and upload questions to the online exam platform. LMS integration and result configuration also happen at this stage.

Step 2: Test link sharing

Examiners upload bulk candidate data to the platform, select time slots and share the test link with students via email.

Step 3: Candidate authentication

Test-takers use the link to login and attempt the test via three-step authentication. The tests are usually recorded and can be proctored for high-stakes examinations via AI-based or human proctors.

Step 4: Evaluation and report generation

Once the user submits the test, it is auto-evaluated for real-time report generation. The results can be customized and shared in PDF or HTML formats.

Step 5: Analytics

An in-depth analysis of the overall online examination test can be done in the form of group-level analysis and can be customized as needed.

Monitoring online exams

Online exams are monitored via proctoring technology and classified into three categories.

The first step to choosing the right online examination software involves outlining your specific requirements. That makes it easier to select the software that best suits you. There are several options to explore, but before choosing a vendor, you should consider the following aspects.

• The vendors’ market experience
• Their service fee for online exam services
• The features offered by their online test platform
• User-friendliness and contours of the software’s user interface
• The vendor’s clientele and standing in the market

Most valuable features of an online exam platform

It is ideal to choose an online exam platform that promises the following.

• The provision to create engaging online exams by adding images, text, video, complex equations, etc., to the questionnaire.
• Ease of use and high test credibility.
• Support for multiple question types: multiple-choice image questions, multiple-choice text questions, audio-video questions, fill-in-the-blanks, etc.
• Flexibility to create a comprehensive question bank with a variety of questions as part of online exams. Moreover, it should allow examiners to randomize problems to maintain the uniqueness and relevance of the test’s content.
• Room for end-users to use tags for their question banks, create new tags and assign the proper tags to each question for analysis.
• Possibility to set pass-fail rules for exams. For instance, the software should enable the administration to set the time limit and the number of attempts for each question. Also, candidates should be allowed to review their answers before submitting them.
• Custom styling and personal branding options (white label solutions) to create a lasting impression on test-takers.

Mercer | Mettl’s online examination platform helps securely conduct high-stakes assessments using advanced online proctoring features. In addition, the tool enables end-users to manage the end-to-end online assessment process. From online registration and test creation to center management, and real-time reporting, the entire process is centered on assisting clients in conducting assessments with the utmost ease.

The platform eliminates any impersonation risk using multi-factor authentication using OTP, Aadhar/biometric or IP, followed by ID authentication. It also involves facial recognition by taking the candidates’ pictures and ID proof to avoid impersonation.

Mercer | Mettl’s Safe Exam Browser prevents candidates from accessing the internet. Once enabled, this feature detects and ends the test for the examinees who browse away from the test window and open multiple tabs on the browser.

It enables monitoring of candidates’ behavior and actions for suspicious activities. With cheating prediction abilities as high as 95%, Mercer | Mettl’s proctoring technologies combine the latest advances in AI-based and remote live proctoring to eliminate the risk of cheating.

Online tests unquestionably become a more efficient medium of assessing candidates’ knowledge and aptitude. They allow flexibility to educational institutes to create, manage and evaluate examinees effortlessly. With quick assessment and real-time report generation, results can be declared immediately after the students have completed the test. Online examinations have revolutionized the education industry by automating in-person, tedious and cumbersome processes.