Beyond the Blue Book.
Electronic Assessment Software
by Dr. Greg Robinson

In an effort to support the Carolina Computing Initiative (CCI), the UNC-CH College of Arts and Sciences Information Services (OASIS) has sought applications that fulfill the needs of both faculty and students. Instructors have increasingly expressed an interest in the topic of electronic assessment: How may students take tests using laptops in such a manner that faculty can rest assured students aren't cheating?

Like most schools, UNC-CH requires students to submit written assignments in electronic format. Whether during long afternoons in the library or late nights in their dorm rooms, students type their assignments using the keyboard on their computers. However, when exam time comes, students show up to their classroom with pens and the all too familiar paper bluebook. The reason for this is obvious: instructors try to minimize cheating as much as possible. It's just too easy to bring in cheat notes in files on their computer's hard drive.

Enter Securexam Student - software designed for cheat-proof computer usage. With this software, students can take exams on their laptops in the familiar environment of Microsoft Word or Excel, and faculty can rest assured that students cannot receive aid from pre-prepared files or the Internet during the exam.

The result: the vast majority of students have said they preferred to edit essays using their laptops. The cut/copy/paste features of word-processing enabled them to organize their thoughts effectively and more coherently. Typing responses enabled them to respond more quickly and more legibly.

From the instructor's standpoint, typewritten papers and/or electronic versions are more legible than paper Blue Books and thus easier to grade. For this reason alone, even faculty members who aren't using any other type of technology in their classrooms have expressed considerable interest. Moreover, instructors have commented that the quality of exam essays has improved significantly.

In the past year, the UNC-CH departments of English, Music, Political Science, and Communication Studies have required students to use laptops for in-class testing. In the most extensive implementation on campus, the 2004 English Composition Placement Exam was conducted exclusively using laptops. Nearly 200 students brought their laptops and composed essays using Microsoft Word and Securexam. In this past term alone, students in 14 classes used their laptops to take midterms or finals. Student impressions were captured on videotape (see sidebar).

We at OASIS consider this software to serve an essential role for the College. Although instructional technology is increasingly present in various forms, instructors currently cannot use laptops for assessment. We believe this technology can help us get beyond the blue book.

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For more information about Securexam Student testing software, see the vendor's website. A demo version is available.

To hear more about its use in the Triangle, listen to WB22's broadcast about its use at Meredith College in Raleigh.

If you're an instructor interested in using Securexam Student at UNC-Chapel Hill, please contact softwaresecure@unc.edu for more information.