Comparative Study of Learner Perceptions towards Assessments in Traditional vs. Online Higher Education

Abstract

Assessment is one of the most important practices in universities and it is the design and implementation that has a greater impact on learning and academic performance. Due to advances in technology, online measures are steadily becoming competent to accompany-or even substitute-the conventional face-to-face processes, and hence the desire to know how the learners value the two evaluation models. This study carries out and compares the views of learners on traditional and web-based assessment by administering 406 higher-education respondents, who worked on identical questions of both designs. The criteria clarity, accessibility of the resources, quality of the feedback, equity, perceived stress, and technological effectiveness as the six dimensions that were marked as salient were rated using a 5-point scale. The findings reflect the more positive rating of online testing (mean difference 0.085, p < 0.001); an excellent positive correlation between the perceptions of the two assessments (r = 0.70) demonstrate that the modalities can be considered similar. Markedly, web-based assessment has an added advantage of larger accessibility, increased technological contribution and ease of smooth interchange between the assessment and course content, but there seems to be no significant difference in terms of perceived stress as well as feedback delay. Such findings provide the inkling that higher-educational institutions can maximize learning and satisfaction outcomes by perfecting the online assessment programs by involving timely responses (feedbacks), and stress acquisitions.