PSP-IT works with several clients from the professional and awarding body sectors. We have examined how the online marking landscape has changed, and the current trends that are shaping the examination marking sector.

Test-centre based exams were unable to go ahead since the start of the pandemic, which saw a surge in demand for online assessment and moderation software.

How will this shape the future of examination marking?

No more pen and paper

One of the biggest changes in the world of examinations is the shift to digital. As well as being slower than online processes, pen and paper is more prone to errors and security vulnerabilities.

Online marking is an invaluable tool for marking large cohorts, especially when more than one academic is involved in the marking process.

Marking online can sometimes be a struggle to set up, but eMarking gives examiners making guides, criteria and past papers all on their portal. Also, physical storage space for the papers is no longer required, and they are easier to distribute to markers.

The main advantage of online marking for students is obvious: they receive their grades and feedback within a timely manner.

Technology is constantly evolving, and candidates expect the technology they use day-to-day to reflect the technology your organisation has available.

Candidate-focused

At PSP, our clients come from a range of sectors. In particular, education institutes, professional bodies and membership organisations. The common value they all hold is the importance of candidate experience.

Providing your candidates with the latest in technology is all part of supplying a candidate-focused service.

Particularly with the marking stage, the speed in turnaround of results and offering thorough feedback are all part of increasing your user experience. Feedback is also important to students as they want to know why they got the mark they did, and how it can be improved next time.

eMarking users have said that the use of the software has reduced their workload by well over 50%. This makes it easy to deliver a high quality, professional candidate experience and speed up the marking process.

Remote marking (Fancy working on the beach?)

Yes, marking physical papers has always typically been a work from home job. So while there’s not much new here, the focus is all about how markers can remotely access papers to grade.

Online exam paper marking tools (such as eMarking) allow examiners to access their paper on any device, wherever they are. Gone are the days when a marker would have a desk set up in their study with piles of exam papers.

With online marking, they just need to log into their secure online portal on their device and everything will be loaded up in front of their eyes. This also eradicates fears over safely securing papers outside of the office.

Giving examiners the flexibility to mark papers anywhere at anytime can speed up the exam process.

Instant Moderation

How long is your moderation process? As a result of remote working and the closure of test centres, a lot of attention turned to online, instant moderation.

The benefits of online moderation is that it is instant; exam administrators can send a script for moderating with just the click of a mouse. Being able to easily re-allocate and moderate scripts helps to avoid overdue papers, and ensures a high-quality standard of marking for every student.

Speeding up the turnaround time of marking papers for students falls under the all important candidate-focused bracket that is so important for awarding bodies.

Automation

Rather expectantly, there is a significant movement to increase levels of automation within assessments.

The benefits to automation are almost endless: reduced workload, improved candidate experience, or a personalised service for users.

There are many exciting ways this is being delivered through the examination process.

One example was the Online Competency Assessment PSP developed for the Chartered Institute of Procurement and Supply (CIPS).

The client required a bespoke CRM module to manage their Competency Assessment Question Bank.

One of the features of the solution was a Questionnaire Processing Module which creates an Excel database of all he contacts and their answers. This document is imported into the VISION CRM and automatically calculates whether the answers are correct. The user is then able to access the module and view the results.

The reporting functionality is highly capable. The combination of correct answers per theme is translated into a unique identifier and joined to a Response Table which used by the external reporting tool, creates tailored feedback based on the profile of the correctly answered questions.

Want to streamline your examination process and enjoy real-time tracking of every paper out for marking? Visit: www.emarking.com and request a free demo today.