One of the interesting things that has arisen out of remote learning, due to the covid-19 pandemic, is that the idea of having supervised testing has become problematic.

This isn’t just the case for teachers new to online learning, I run the district’s online school and until now we have relied on supervised tests to ensure there is some consistency in work handed in. For example, a student might only hand in high quality essays because of considerable tutor support, or even intervention, and that would show up when the student does a written test in a supervised environment. Note: this isn’t just an issue with online learning, anyone can have a tutor help them ‘too much’, but rather it’s something that any teacher might have to consider when they can’t see who is doing the work.

Math is a challenge in the same way. Homework can come in that is 100% correct, but without help at home a student might only have enough understanding to achieve a 60% in a supervised test. But then again, maybe they can get over 75% based on understanding, but time limits and test anxiety make the test itself a less than ideal demonstration of understanding in a subject.

I’m making two points here:

1. Supervised tests have been used to ensure integrity of work.

2. Supervised tests create a less than ideal environment for ensuring understanding of learning.

So where does that leave teachers, teaching remotely, when it comes to assessment of learning, without opportunities for supervised testing?

One suggestion is to focus more on competencies rather than content. My online math teacher would typically spend over 10 minutes marking a single test. What if, instead of marking this test, she watched a student video of that student teaching her how to solve a challenging question? What if an English teacher watched four or six students debate a topic, while other students followed along, note taking in a public, digital discussion forum? What if students did a timed problem solving challenge where they all got to collaborate, but they had to put their answers into their own words?

What if we assume that students will get support, have access to their notes, and can’t be fully supervised, how does and should that affect our assessment practices?