Computer Aided Assessment (CAA) is described as “any instance in which some aspect of computer technology is deployed as part of the assessment process” (Atkinson & Davies, 2000). Therefore, if a computer is involved in any way with an assessment, it can be called a Computer Aided Assessment. CAA also comes under the umbrella of eAssessment as defined by Joint Information Systems Committee (JISC). Other labels which relate to eAssessment include Computer Assisted Assessment and Computer Based Testing. CAA can be applied to provide a range of assessment types including summative (in which the mark contributes to a course result), formative (which provides a learning experience which is not graded), diagnostic (by which a teacher can assess the current understanding of students), and self-assessment (to provide the student with a measure of their own understanding).
Why use CAA?
CAA can further the student learning process; students can see from feedback and results if their assessment performance is improving and in turn diagnose problems straight away. Teaching staff can observe group or individual student results and are in a strong position to address any problems accordingly.
For today’s student, the ability to access learning materials beyond the class room or library is of great benefit to the learning process. Mobility is an important part of modern teaching, the ability for the student to access assessments via computer, personal digital assistant (PDA) or smart phone, from any location and at any time adds to the students ability to study when they have an opportunity.
Benefits of CAA
- Instant feedback to students;
- Greater flexibility with respect to location and timing;
- Enhanced question styles which incorporate interactivity and multimedia;
- Assessments can be repeatedly taken by students for revision purposes;
- Banks of questions can be created and re-used/shared;
- Instant machine marking;
- Lower long-term costs;
- Online storage of papers.
CAA Tools
A wide variety of tools are available to enable tests and quizzes to be delivered online. Some are provided as services supported by the university (Tulip survey, Perception), whilst many more can be found on the Internet. The tool that will be most useful to you varies depending on the context in which it is used and the outcomes required. For example, a survey tool is primarily for data collection, i.e. it only collects the responses to questions and provides no feedback to those answering the questions. This is fine for diagnostic tests whereby a teacher wishes to assess the level of understanding their students may have before and/or after a teaching session or course. Other forms of assessment are more beneficial to students, particularly through the use of feedback in formative and self-assessment quizzes, and even in summative computer aided examinations. Being able to give feedback tends to be a feature of tools specifically designed to create and deliver quizzes and tests, e.g. QuestionMark Perception.
CAA Tools Matrix
Attributes within CAA Tools
CAA at Plymouth University
The primary assessment tool within the University is QuestionMark Perception (QMP). QMP is a comprehensive CAA tool that allows authoring, scheduling and the retrieval of results. The delivery of tests and examinations can be varied according to the number of attempts given and the number of random questions taken from question libraries. A test can also be limited to a specific time and date in order to complete it, which may be suitable for summative examinations. Several question types can be created which can include media such as images and video.
We currently support other CAA tools such as Hot Potatoes and Xerte, but if you know of a CAA tool that could help you with your eLearning and does not have the features of the other CAA tools, then please let us know, we may be able to support you in their use.
What can we do for you
If you are new to CAA or revisiting after a break, then we can help you get started with QMP, helping every step of the way until you are confident in its use. For further details see Help and Support.
Help and Support
If you wish to discuss CAA further or want to start incorporating CAA into your teaching, please email the Learning Technologies team at tel@plymouth.ac.uk , call on 01752 587600, or talk to your local faculty based Learning Technologist. For further information about CAA Tools see this CAA two page guide.
