There has been considerable interest in the possible development of online tests and examinations by the government and the regulatory authorities. Following discussions between Edexcel and the Northern Ireland Council for the Curriculum, Examinations and Assessment (CCEA), the Paperless Examinations Project was initiated.

Both organisations recognise the increasing developments in using technology to deliver tests and the likelihood that, in the medium term, there will be initiatives to use technology within public examinations. This project was designed to address the issues, both pedagogical and technological, that CCEA and Edexcel were likely to face in implementing online examinations.

For the pilot:

• seven schools were recruited
• Chemistry, Biology and Physics tests were developed
• 120 students were tested online
• about half of the questions were marked online
• remaining questions were marked online by six markers at a marking centre.

Issues raised included:

• training implications of asking question developers to prepare materials for online assessment
• navigation and design of online tests
• test supervision and appropriate test environments
• implications of asking markers to mark online.

Overall, however, the experience suggested that:

• there are no insurmountable technological difficulties to setting up an online delivery system to schools
• significant IT support mechanisms will be needed in any larger scale use of online delivery
• there are specific aspects of the software used in Phase I that would need to be adapted to meet current UK examination system practices
• students found the tests accessible and there were no apparent IT barriers to completion

A 7-page document Paperless Examinations Project: Executive Summary (656KB PDF) is now available, providing more detail on:

• the background
• the project plan for Phase 1
• the outcomes of Phase 1
• key issues and conclusions
• a summary of recommendations.