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Assessor

The role of the assessor in the age of digital assessment

While technology is dramatically changing the world of digital review, human input remains essential. Although often overlooked, the test assessor or corrector is very important when assessing open-ended questions. In this article, we dive deeper into this role and show how Optimum Assessment’s testing software can support it.

Open questions in a world of closed questions

There is much to be said for closed questions in a digital testing environment: they are objective and quick to assess. But open-ended questions also offer unique value. Even in a digital test, they provide a more comprehensive understanding of the candidate’s level of knowledge and thought process.

The assessor’s role of open-ended questions

Correctors are an important pawn in ensuring fair and objective digital testing. The assessor (as with written tests) manually reviews the open-ended test questions and processes the score (and any feedback) into the system. In doing so, it is important to be as objective and consistent as possible.

Assessment software and the assessor

Digital testing software can greatly assist the assessor in their work. Take Optimum Marking: the central dashboard allows you to manage the correction process. Such as workflow-assistance options, which can be used to work with colleagues to efficiently and pragmatically divide the workload. Or the option to add comments for later rounds of correction. And of course AI support during the correction process!

Collaboration as a response to subjectivity

Don’t we all strive for accuracy and fairness in testing? One way to reduce subjectivity is to collaborate with other proofreaders. Our software’s innovative workflow management features allow different proofreaders to review specific sections of an exam. This helps to reduce potential biases in assessments. This allows you to focus on question 1 while a colleague focuses on question 2. This allows us to avoid the HORN or HALO effect when assessing open-ended questions.

Innovation while maintaining human value

Even though we live in the digital age, the assessor is still indispensable for open-ended questions. We understand that all too well at Optimum Assessment. That is why we developed Optimum Marking, a tool that does not replace the role of test assessor, but rather enhances it. Are you ready for the future of testing? If so, please contact us.

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