Managing your planned tests, including final exams, may be one of your biggest challenges in transitioning to online course delivery. We describe two general approaches here: adapting your test format for online students, or abandoning your test altogether and replacing it with another type of assessment of student learning.

“There are no easy answers…especially if you planned to have a good chunk of a student’s grade hinge on what would have been a proctored, in-person test” (Michelle Miller, March 9, 2020, Chronicle).

Online Testing

  • Oral exams, using Zoom or Google Meet: Benefits of oral exams include the opportunity for hints and followup questions, evaluation of higher levels of understanding, and encouragement of critical thinking.
  • Moodle quizzes: The Moodle Quiz module supports several question types, and there are security options you can use if you’re concerned about academic integrity, e.g., limiting time, setting quiz attempts to one, randomizing questions, and not allowing backtracking. See our How-To guide for more information about building tests in Moodle.
  • Replacing final exams with low-stake quizzes: Repeated testing has demonstrated benefit in improving student learning, an argument for moving from a single, high-stakes final exam to multiple quizzes.
  • Open book/notes/resources exams: Open book exams can promote student learning by encouraging deeper learning of material and promoting higher-order thinking skills. With this option, you may wish to consider:
    • Asking students to carefully cite the sources used in responding to each question (added suggestion: ask students to provide a recommendation regarding whether outside sources they consulted should be incorporated in readings for future classes)
    • Adding a meta-cognitive activity, e.g., what question was most challenging, engaging, or unexpected, and why; which question seemed most central to course goals and why
    • Restricting the time, which will encourage students to prepare in advance, rather than “blindly scaveng(ing) the course notes for the answer” (Faculty Focus, 2019. Sign up for a free subscription to view the article.)

Alternatives to Traditional Testing

Replacing your tests or final exam with a different type of assignment may have the advantage of decreasing student anxiety, an important consideration during this time. Some options to consider follow.

  • E-Portfolios (allow students to revise and resubmit prior assignments, culminating in a summary document reflecting learning across the semester)
  • Annotated bibliography (ask students to choose 5-10 key course readings or materials and summarize and critically analyze each)
  • Digital project (infographic, website, video)
  • Final presentation (narrated slide presentation or video, or virtual presentation via Google Meet/Zoom)
  • Group project

For more information, the articles below offer good suggestions