Switching online assessment systems? A partnership is key

There are often multiple software systems to integrate, terabytes of precious data to move, and ingrained business processes that must mould with the new system or be adapted entirely. For organisations that set thousands of assessments each year, this is quite the challenge.

That’s why the team behind a new online assessment system needs to be a partner, not a vendor. They must be ready and willing to provide the extensive support and expertise needed to help you make the switch, to provide the training and ongoing help to settle comfortably into the platform, and to continue offering guidance on how to get the most out of their assessment solution.

Let’s get down to the details: if you’re thinking of switching online assessment systems, here are the most important reasons why it’s better to work with a co-operative partner rather than a vendor.

You’ll need plenty of support to ensure the online assessment system is suitable

Choosing a new online assessment system can be equally as challenging as integrating one. So before the choice is made, the team offering the new assessment solution will need take extensive time in helping you understand if the system is fit for purpose.

This means clarifying whether the system has the necessary item types for your tests, how those items are banked and re-used, and how configurable the tests are. It’s learning exactly how tests are delivered, the levels of control, how cheating is detected, the system’s reliability during busy periods, and whether candidates will have a smooth experience. It’s understanding that system’s marking processes, and the quality controls that preserve academic integrity. And it’s knowing that you’ll have the key reports you need to efficiently run your assessment business.

This is just skimming the surface. The team behind the online assessment system must be ready and willing to answer hundreds of questions over email, phone, or video call, and meet up multiple times if necessary. That’s the level of partnership needed to help you understand whether their online assessment system matches your needs.

Online assessment solutions can be complex, and part of a large software ecosystem

Once the assessment solution has been chosen and the approach agreed by both parties, this is when the partnership starts to reveal its worth.

An enterprise online assessment solution can be an enormous beast, with the assessment platform forming the core “body” and various other systems – a student management system, learning management system, analytics/reporting software – surrounding and connecting to it. For this environment to work efficiently, the assessment platform needs to provide the technology (APIs – application programming interfaces) to allow a two-way exchange of data.

With so many potential systems and so much data to move around, you’ll need to work with the assessment provider to clarify which specific data needs to move between systems, in which direction, how often, and at what specific times during the day.

Once that complexity is made clear, the APIs themselves will need to be set up by the assessment provider’s engineering team and thoroughly tested for accuracy. This process is one of the most complicated aspects of switching to a new assessment provider, so a trusted, fully supportive partner is needed here more than ever.

For a different organisation, the assessment solution they’re considering may already include everything they need to get started – they’ll just need help understanding the various facets – for example the assessment platform, the remote proctoring system, the data analytics – and how they work together to meet their needs. Or more likely, the assessment solution has almost everything they need, but they just need to integrate it with one external piece of software. If the assessment solution’s team act as a willing, helpful partner, getting the system set up is so much smoother.

Migrating data to a new online assessment system requires caution

Not all data can be handled by APIs. When first migrating to the new online assessment system, you’ll need to import various forms of data that are crucial to your business, including:

• Items / test questions
• Assessments, including blueprints/templates
• Markers’ details, their roles, and the overall team structure
• Candidate data, including personal information and associated test scores
• Workflows
• Reports, including custom reports and dashboards.

There might be hundreds of instances of data in each of the above, every one of which will need to be properly labelled in spreadsheets and accurately mapped to the new assessment system during the import process.

Given that data accuracy is imperative for an assessments business, the support and patience this requires can be immense – another reason for needing a co-operative partner to consult and work with throughout the process.

Switching from paper-based to online assessments has its own unique challenges

Organisations running paper-based exams often have a taller hurdle to leap over. They want to digitise their tests, but the tests themselves may not be stored in the correct digital format for the new online assessment system, so can require much data wrangling to get right.

They often need help to convert the questions and tests to the correct format, label everything correctly and map the data to the right fields – again, a complex process that needs to be 100% accurate for the information to migrate correctly.

This process is made much more efficient when the assessment system’s support team put in the effort to get it right.

You’ll need extensive training to successfully adopt the new assessment system

Training is the final piece of the puzzle when adopting the new assessment system, and it’s vast.

Assessment writers will need to know how to author tests, markers will need to become familiar with the various marking types and quality controls, live proctors must learn how to run tests and scrutinise infractions, data analysts must be able to run vital reports with ease…every key member of staff who uses the system requires training. Then they’ll likely require more training and support as they start to recognise the quirks of the system and ponder how they might use it more effectively.

For the support team behind the assessment platform, that means running various training sessions, providing helpful training resources, and providing the general ongoing support necessary to use the system correctly and efficiently. The relationship shouldn’t stop here. A competent assessment system partner will continue working with you until everything is functioning smoothly.

These are some of the most challenging aspects of switching to a new assessment solution, and the list certainly isn’t exhaustive. The success of the switch hinges on the willingness of the two organisations to work together as ongoing partners; to provide each other with the time, support, and expertise to get things right.

That’s the key to a successful switch.