Towards a Quality Assurance Framework for Online Assessments for Business Education Subjects in the FET Phase
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.38140/obp2-2024-01Keywords:
Meta-study, online assessment, proctored assessment, summative assessment, quality assuranceAbstract
The COVID-19 pandemic has precipitated a shift to online assessments for educational institutions worldwide and exacerbated challenges related to assessment implementation and processes. In South Africa, the quality of online assessments in schools remains a central concern, partly due to the lack of consensus on the criteria that establish such quality. The objective of this study is to establish a framework to create transparency and consistency when summative online assessments are applied in the FET band (Grades 10 to 12). The methodology employed consists of a preliminary meta-study of research related to online (summative) assessment, with a focus on quality assurance over a five-year period from 2018 to 2023, using one search engine.The main findings suggest that four dimensions are required to ensure quality assurance for online assessments: a policy dimension, which represents specific regulatory or statutory bodies to ensure quality assurance processes; presage factors, which are mainly concerned with infrastructure; the people involved (examination bodies, teachers, learners, and school management teams); and the processes applied to ensure continuous collection of information and monitoring of the strengths and weaknesses of the assessment process. The value of the proposed framework lies in the implementation of online assessments that are learner-centred, authentic, trustworthy, and reliable. Moreover, it supports quality assurance in the review and evaluation of online assessment procedures.
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