Online examination practices in higher education institutions: learners’ perspectives

Abstract

Online examinations, commonly known as electronic examinations (e-exams), are becoming increasingly implemented in higher education institutions in Palestine. However, learners’ perspectives on these exams remain unexplored. This study therefore examines learners’ perceptions of the online examination practices at Palestine Technical University-Kadoorie. An online questionnaire survey of 342 undergraduate students elicited their perceptions of the relative advantages of online examinations in terms of pedagogy, validity, reliability, affective factors, practicality and security. The results show that online exams were perceived to have significant benefits over traditional, paper-based examinations, including reliability of grading and efficiency in terms of time, effort and money spent on the exam process. Conversely, participants identified many challenges facing the successful implementation of online exams regarding security, validity and fairness issues. The findings also indicate that e-exams are particularly suitable for formative assessment, for measuring learning rather than the summative assessment of learning. The successful implementation of online exams depends on designing them to be valid, reliable, secure and flexible.