Shifting to online assessment: The diverse assessment experience across faculties during lockdown at a Hong Kong University

Abstract

<p>Universities around the globe had to move a big proportion of their teaching and learning activities or entirely online upon the outbreak of the pandemic. In many cases, the shifts had to be conducted in the middle of a semester which seriously disrupted teachers’ original teaching plans including assessment, one of the greatest concerns among students. This study investigated: 1) what kind of assessment tasks did the teachers shift to during the pandemic? 2) what were the major changes they made? 3) what were the major challenges they encountered? The study collected data at the faculty level first. When such data were not available at the faculty level, surveys containing open-ended questions were sent out to individual programme leaders in those faculties. Faculty level data were received from five faculties. 46 responses were obtained from individual programme leaders from the other five faculties. The data were analysed using thematic analysis based on the previous literature on assessment. The study found the online assessment tasks teachers used can be classified along a continuum from closed, timed assessment on individual students for selected-/constructed-responses to open assessment on collaboratively constructed responses completed over a long time. The changes teachers made in assessment varied from no change at all, to the procedural adjustment, and to the pedagogical change in the design of the assessment. The key challenges teachers encountered during the lockdown included the need for professional development in assessment design, challenges in implementing assessment, and conducting the authentic assessment.</p>