Traditional Vs Online Assessment

Traditional Assessment

Traditional assessment is what we are used to in the class setup, this is the use of teacher-made quizzes and tests and it can also involve Essay questions, homework and projects. This kind of assessment are made physical by the teacher. This method can be more authentic and standardized tests, depending on how they are used to get results.

They are elements that are looked at  when come to Traditional assessment, such as the  Learning outcomes and Content, on this the assessment will be done looking at the content that was suppose to be covered in a certain subject, knowledge and skills will be the assessment points.

Quality of Test Items and Reliability, Bangert (2004), Standardized assessments produced by commercial publishers typically contain test items that are of high technical quality. The rigorous review process that preliminary forms of standardized achievement tests undergo is primarily responsible for the superior level of item characteristics. In this quality is  key for the assessment to be archived.

Administration and Scoring, Bangert (2004) states  The specificity of administration and scoring rules provides the basis for score comparability across large student groups of similar grade levels and ages. The test administration guides provide detailed information related to time limits for subtests, acceptable instructions for clarifying questions students have about test items, and procedures for completing answer documents.

The two methods of assessment mentioned have advantage and disadvantage. The major advantage of traditional assessment is that, it is easy when it comes to analyzing and comparing learner score after a test. Tests which are standardized relies entirely on quantifiable responses from the learners, with this to produce an assessment becomes easy to score. When creating tests, test developers can put  questions in categories to determine which areas learners excel in and which is hard . Learners' results can be compared with ease over time and across a large, diverse group of learners.

There is the other side face of the coin, which are the disadvantage of traditional assessment. Traditional assessment make and forces educators to spend time teaching students how to manage tests, including strategies for selecting correct answers from a listed group. When using Traditional assessment educators fail to take into account learner’s growth and development and their progress in the work that they are doing.
Looking at the educators side it can be frustrating when try to have accurate summarize of what the learners have achievement with  just simple letter grades and a few words, which are suppose to be a constructive commentary. Also with the Traditional assessment there is no involved discussions, classroom projects that are designed to stimulate the knowledge from the learner only the educator can observe and measure the learner. With this said as an educator you will not get the chance to evaluate the learner thinking skills, attitude and problem solving abilities. 

Online Assessment

Online Assessment are a form assessment which is done on the computer and is usually automated also based on networked computer to the internet and can deliver scores of the test as soon as an individual is finished. There are different question formats that can be  used within the same test, such as multiple choice, multiple response, fill in the blank, match and true/false.

With the coming of the new age technology online assessment methods is being adopted mostly on distance education mode of learning, this make assessment faster and in your finger tips. The use of the computer software are there to automate the scoring and report generation tasks, these will eliminate transcription errors.

Online assessment allows educators to focus on critical reasoning skills, which students will be able to apply naturally to long-form test questions.  In situations where online assessment replaces traditional assessment, this means educators need to learn new skills of test preparation and schools need to develop alternative forms of performance assessment for their learners and educators. These changes to accommodate a new form of assessment mean added cost for schools and a disruptive change in teaching methods for current learners.

Online Assessment has it own issues, the good part of Online assessments is that it can give you instant feedback, by just pressing the button, unlike paper examinations in a traditional classroom. Automated online assessments give you the option of taking practice tests whenever you want. Learners don't always have to be in a classroom setting to take assessments. Some assessments are Internet based or online, which allows the learner to take the test at home or anywhere and anytime.