Digital Exams

Let’s make it happen: The case for digital exams

AQA has published a new report outlining why now is the right time to start moving towards digital exams in some subjects. Making It Click: The case for digital examinations in England argues that far from being a revolutionary move, moving some exams off paper and onto the computer screen is the latest evolution in education in the same way that fountain pens replaced quills and scrolls morphed into printed books. In this blog, Adam Steedman-Thake, AQA’s Policy and Evidence Manager, gives the highlights of his report. He outlines the research that informed AQAs position and shows the benefits of digitally examining some subjects for learners, teachers and the education sector as a whole.

Date19/10/23

AuthorAdam Steedman Thake

Digital exams reflect the way students learn and helps develops future workplace skills

Effectively delivered, well-designed assessments are crucial for students to demonstrate what they have learned and what they can do.

At AQA, we believe that now is the right time to start transitioning towards fully digital exams in some subjects which is why we have published our report Making it Click: The case for digital exams in England.

We came to this conclusion after years of academic research, talking to students, parents, educators and the general population.

The potential opportunities digital exams offer are huge. But we are aware of the need to move at a sensible, well-considered pace.

While paper-based exams are still useful assessment tools, and will remain in use for some time, the range of media available today means we should broaden methods accordingly.

Continuing to use tools that have remained pretty much unchanged for a century while the world evolves means the benefits of an increasingly digital education system remain untapped.

So what are the reasons for moving to digital exams?

Digital exams are better preparation for the real world

Digital assessments offer an opportunity for students to solve more authentic problems that are closer to tasks they will do in the outside world. This will make them more equipped to be a part of our digitally connected world.

Digitising exams presents an opportunity to increase assessment authenticity making them closer to future work experiences as well as developing skills and knowledge required after formal education.

Digital exams are more inclusive

Digital exams are already used to help assess students with additional needs.

More than 114,000 computer readers or readers were approved for use in 2021/22. Moving exams on-screen means more students who need assistive technologies – such as the hearing or visually impaired - can get them.

Digital exams are more environmentally sustainable

AQA works hard to ensure our exams are sustainable, but the fact remains that millions of exam papers need transporting across the country every exam season.

With energy coming from increasingly green sources, digitising exams could cut our carbon footprint and environmental impact.

The longer term benefits

The benefits of digital exams already outlined can be realised in a relatively short amount of time. But they are also a gateway to a suite of longer-term benefits.

Adaptive, flexible assessments

Online adaptive assessments feed questions to the student tailored to their knowledge level. Correctly answered questions lead to more complex ones and vice versa. This can provide finely tuned feedback on their ability.

Increased efficiency and reduced teacher workloads

Digital assessments have tremendous potential to reduce teacher workload. Digital devices can auto-mark work and provide personalised insights on student strengths and weaknesses.

Improved resilience

Electronic examinations can be more secure by reducing the need for paper handling. They can also help flag up plagiarism more easily. Obviously, any digital system is vulnerable to hacking. We are acutely aware of the need for robust and secure IT infrastructure to ensure stability and reliability.

Implementation considerations and mitigations

There are of course many things to consider to ensure implementing digital exams is a success.

We need to make sure that no students are disadvantaged by prior access to laptops or digital devices.

There are also considerations around the infrastructure needed to deliver exams in schools – put simply, schools need electronic devices for students to sit digital exams.

We also realise the need to take an evolutionary approach, not a revolutionary one, and allow sufficient time for these changes to take place without rushing.

We are acutely aware of all of these factors and will be working hard to mitigate any risks as we move forwards.

Moving to a fully digital exam system is right for students and right for the education system.

As the nation’s leading exam board, we are profoundly aware of the immense responsibility that comes with making digital exams a success for the candidates, their teachers, and the education system.

We look forward to taking the next step in evolving our examination system and will be working closely teachers and students to make it a success.

To try out our demo online exam click here

Education Policy

Through the looking glass: How polling the public can help policymakers learn about themselves

Public attitude data is key to effective policymaking. Proper polling can reveal what people think about existing policies and what they want for the future. But, if looked at from a different angle, it can also help policymakers question themselves and their assumptions about the public. In this blog, AQA’s Policy and Evidence Manager Adam Steedman-Thake, reveals the lessons he learned about himself while reading a recent public attitude survey.

Assessment

Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?

Oracy skills are vital to success in school and life. And yet, for many children, opportunities to develop them are missed. Educationalists are engaging in a growing debate about where oracy fits into the school system. Labour has put it at the heart of its plans to improve social mobility and an independent commission is looking at how it is taught in the classroom. This renewed focus on oracy means it is more important than ever that teachers have a way to reliably assess and understand their students’ attainment and progression. Amanda Moorghen of oracy education charity Voice 21 explains how Comparative Judgement can help with that and why it may be a game changer.

Education

TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?

Jack Black is probably best known in educational circles for playing a renegade substitute teacher in School of Rock. But the Hollywood star has made a more conventional foray into education by backing the use of TV subtitles to improve child literacy. Stephen Fry and the World Literacy Foundation also want parents to use their TV remotes to get children reading. So, could this simple click of a button be a solution to boost pupils’ reading skills? AQA’s resident expert on language teaching, Dr Katy Finch, casts her eye over the research to see whether it stacks up.

Data Analysis

What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?

Is data the solution to all education’s issues? About a decade ago the prevailing wisdom said it was. Advocates of this Data Wave argued that harvesting internal statistics would help schools solve issues such as teacher accountability and attainment gaps. As with all waves, after crashing onto the beach they recede, leaving space for another to roll in. In this blog, teacher, author and data analyst Richard Selfridge looks at the legacy of the Data Wave to see what schools can take from it.

International Approaches

Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?

Finland was once recognised as one of the most successful educational systems in the world. At the turn of the millennium, it topped the PISA rankings in reading, maths and science. But by 2012, decline set in. The last set of results showed performances in maths, reading and science were at an all-time low. In this blog Dr Jonathan Doherty of Leeds Trinity University outlines some reasons that may account for the slide.

Briefing

PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?

According to the latest PISA results, England’s science scores are still on a downward trajectory that started a decade ago. Yet TIMSS, another respected study, has science performances rising. Which of them is right? Is one more valid than the other? In this blog AQi examines three International Large-Scale Assessments and finds that, although they may look the same from a distance, get up close and you’ll find they are very different beasts.

Adaptive Assessment

Adaptive Assessment: A missing ingredient in the resit recipe?

The number of students resitting their maths GCSE is growing, but the proportion getting a grade 4 or higher is falling. This situation is not only dispiriting for the young people striving to get the qualifications they need, but also for the teachers working hard to help them. How can outcomes for this cohort be improved? Bart Crisp, associate director at the Centre for the Use of Research and Evidence in Education, thinks adaptive assessment may be part of the solution.

SEND

Student success: Every milestone matters

Baroness Morgan is calling for students to be given ‘self-belief’ lessons as a way of developing their characters and preparing them for the future. She is not the first to notice that a student’s sense of their own ability and their level of success are part of a virtuous circle. But how can teachers get the snowball rolling for students with SEND or in alternative provision? In this blog, former headteacher, John Tomsett, pulls out a swimming certificate he earned more than half a century ago to use as an inspiration for others.

Assessment

Progress 8 – How much can it flex?

Progress 8 has come in for criticism in recent months for the way it combines with the Ebacc to skew schools’ focus towards academic subjects at the expense of creative and technical options. Both Labour and a Lords committee have called for reform to boost uptake of declining subjects such as D&T, dance and drama. In the second of two blogs looking at Progress 8, AQi examines whether the accountability measure could be realigned to address these concerns and if so, how could that be done?

Assessment

Progress 8 – Schools’ flexible friend?

Eight years after Progress 8 came into existence it is facing calls to be updated. Some say reforming the schools accountability measure can halt the decline in take up of the arts, while others want it to boost numbers taking vocational and technical subjects. Are its shoulders broad enough to take on such a load? In the first of two blogs on Progress 8, AQi looks at how it came into being, what problems it was designed to solve and whether it is flexible enough to be reformed.

Download a PDF version.

Download a copy of this content to your device as a PDF file. We generate PDF versions for the convenience of offline reading, but we recommend sharing this link if you'd like to send it to someone else.

Let’s make it happen: The case for digital exams

Digital exams are better preparation for the real world

Digital exams are more inclusive

Digital exams are more environmentally sustainable

The longer term benefits

Adaptive, flexible assessments

Increased efficiency and reduced teacher workloads

Improved resilience

Implementation considerations and mitigations

Through the looking glass: How polling the public can help policymakers learn about themselves

Assessing oracy: Is Comparative Judgement the answer?

TV subtitles as an aid to literacy: What does the research say?

What is left behind now education’s Data Wave has receded?

Finland & PISA – A fall from grace but still a high performer?

PISA, TIMSS and PIRLS: What actually are they and what do they tell us?

Adaptive Assessment: A missing ingredient in the resit recipe?

Student success: Every milestone matters

Progress 8 – How much can it flex?

Progress 8 – Schools’ flexible friend?

Join the conversation on Twitter

Download a PDF version.

Sign up to our newsletter