As academic institutions enter midterm exam season, teaching staff may be thinking of ways to ensure that their online assessments encourage authentic and thoughtful responses to questions. Many instructors understand the importance of giving students the option to use scratch-paper, whether it be to document their mathematical proofs, scientific diagrams, outline notes, or drawings. This documentation helps instructors understand their students’ thought processes, enabling them to address any areas of concern. With typical online proctored assessments, proof-work may appear to be too difficult to collect consistently, especially if an institution’s learning management system (LMS) does not incorporate the ability to create scratch-paper notes within the established testing environment.
The benefits of scratch-paper for instructors and test-takers
A 2023 study from Pengelley et al. proposed that secondary students may be less inclined to use scratch-paper during computer-based tests due to the burden of having to balance their attention between their paper-based notes and the assessment on the screen. The ability to use scratch-paper seamlessly within an online testing environment helps test-takers organize their thoughts coherently, and lets them show evidence of the reasoning behind their answers.
Online assessment submissions that exclude scratch-paper provide instructors with the response, score, and timestamps, but not the reasoning trail behind them. Submitting scratch-paper as proof-work provides instructors with the assurance that their test-takers created their own, authentic answers for an assessment. Furthermore, submitted notes, calculations, and diagrams help instructors identify gaps in their students’ understanding of course material, giving them the opportunity to plan for future lessons accordingly, and encourage one-on-one discussions with students whose performance may require additional attention.
A solution for an online environment
The YuJa Verity Test Proctoring Platform allows students to create their text-based notes or drawings via the platform’s digital Whiteboard feature to be included alongside their proctored assessment. The platform provides instructors with the ability to review and interpret those submissions directly within the context of the entire proctoring session, and make informed decisions about next steps to take. With YuJa Verity’s recent v26.7.0 release, test-takers can also access assessment resources in an upgraded draggable toolbar, which streamlines and centralizes their assessment completion workflow.
YuJa Verity’s various tools and features helps users feel more confident that their proctoring environment facilitates an accessible space for students to roughly draft, visualize, and work through test answers. This solution both supports student success in an online assessment environment, and helps instructors in their endeavors to ensure academic integrity and course content comprehension in a virtual environment.
Citations:
Pengelley, J., Whipp, P. R., & Rovis-Hermann, N. (2023). A testing load: Investigating test mode effects on test score, cognitive load and scratch paper use with secondary school students. Educational Psychology Review, 35(3), 67. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09781-x
