Why are online exams gaining popularity in India?

Did you know corporate organizations have shifted to a computer-aided method of analyzing employee performance? In fact, they continuously look for ways to improve their ways of functioning, and educational institutes do the same by utilizing unique methods to organize administrative activities.

Furthermore, schools and colleges cannot continue to operate like they have been doing the last few decades; therefore, they integrate modern techniques. For instance, traditional in-person exams have been the standardized way of assessing students; however, institutes incorporated the online examination in their academic structure to enhance the teaching and learning experience.

In fact, in the last few years, higher education institutes across India witnessed a marked increase in the strategic implementation of online tests. Besides, it seems to be a progressive trend that continues to rise in popularity, and the main reasons are worth noting.

Reasons Why are Online Exams Gaining Popularity in India?

1. Comprehensive Examination Process

What is the first thing that comes to your mind upon hearing about exams? For students, it means months of preparation, including studying and revision followed by taking the test on the stipulated date. Nevertheless, it is quite self-evident that mid-term and final examinations conducted by institutes allow them to determine only subject knowledge.

However, studying to pass exams leads to rote learning, which in the long run, does not contribute to student learning outcomes. So, naturally, the optimal solution is to establish a system that enables teachers to evaluate students’ overall progress. The ‘’overall aspect’’ go beyond their retaining capability of what has been taught in the class.

When institutes integrate the online examination system, it enables teachers to employ different kinds of tests during, after and before a particular lesson. They can develop various kinds of questions, such as MCQs(multiple choice questions), puzzles, etc., to check existing knowledge of topics. Consequently, it will enable them to find out students’ ongoing progress and determine the major problem areas.

2. Skill Enhancement

Paper-based examinations will always be central to the academic system, but institutes can also use other mechanisms that allow teachers to elevate student learning levels. Besides, the traditional approach may or may not provide students with the practical know-how of specific topics. But with the online platform, they get various tools and techniques, enabling teachers to employ chosen pedagogies.

3. Easy Implementation

When conducting in-person exams, institutes must follow an elaborate process, including scheduling, allocating students' seats, and assigning invigilators. So, naturally, it is a time-consuming process demanding considerable effort and teamwork; implementing online assessments takes lesser time and reduces manual work.

In fact, institutes can easily implement online exams for several classes or departments simultaneously; teachers don’t need to spend extra hours writing questions manually as they can create online questionnaires. Therefore, institutes can save the expenses required for paper and other physical resources.

4. Automatic Grading and Results

Post-examination duties include checking the answer sheets and preparing student reports individually, which teachers need to complete within the stipulated time. On the contrary, online exams don’t require them to spend time sorting through answer sheets and marking them one by one.

When institutes use online exam software with several smart features, including automatic correction, it eliminates tedious tasks. Hence, teachers can correct the answers quickly and use the auto-grade feature to generate report cards. Also, they can upload the student grades in the institutes' system, enabling students and parents to access them at their convenience.

5. Cheat-free Exams

Hiding slips of papers or other creative ways of cheating has been a recurring obstacle of traditional examinations. Similarly, online exams share a similar issue; the lack of physical invigilators gives the liberty to use any means possible to cheat during web-enabled tests. No wonder the integrity of such tests has raised questions many times.

However, the good news is that institutes can implement automated proctored exams, wherein students are under continuous observation. Also, the proctoring software works as a remote invigilator, restricting students’ activity through the following measures:

• Restricted Browsing Activity- Students cannot open any additional websites other than the exam website.
• Audio and Video Recording- The software records students throughout the examination, capturing any movement along the way.
• Live Recording- The software records the live examination and raises an automated alert upon suspicious activity.

6. Security

Can you imagine the time and effort it takes for administrative staff to collect and maintain the exam questionnaires? Especially when they have to deal with recurring risks of theft and misplacement, it becomes difficult to keep them safe. Therefore, the leak of exam question papers is a vital issue that institutes have been dealing with for many years.

But with online tests, schools and colleges don’t encounter such problems; the exam software helps them to store questionnaires in digital format and safely keep them in a password-protected system. Also, no one except authorised personnel can access them and immediately send alerts to detect hacking activities.

7. Scalability

Wouldn’t the exam website crash if multiple classes’ students take tests on the same day? The answer is no because advanced exam software can handle the high online activity and facilitate smooth exams. However, institutes need to be mindful while choosing an appropriate system that is capable of managing multiple assessments.

Besides, when an institute has an ERP campus, it helps to implement full-proof online examinations, enabling students to take tests efficiently from remote locations.