The Rise of Digital Assessments
The shift to digital
I wonder how often we stop to look at our work or home environment and reflect on when technology became the ‘norm’. If you are like me, the answer to this question may not be very often at all! However, as I write this, I am surrounded by a wireless mouse (launched 1991), a mobile phone (first launched in 1984), and a laptop (launched in 1981) just for starters.
Of course, when I think about this, none of these things now seem unusual to us in our everyday lives, and in fact many of us would be unable to maintain our routines and daily activities without them. The same, I now believe, is true for digital assessment.
In 2011/12, I was involved in the first pilot studies with a small, select group of practitioners piloting the (then) brand-new Q-interactive and Q-global assessment platforms. This was Pearson Clinical’s first dip in the ocean to a more technological method for assessment, with the aim of enhancing the day-to-day workflow of practitioners.
Looking back at that time now, I am genuinely amazed by the speed with which the use of both platforms has become embedded into the typical workflow of our customers. Take Q-interactive – since launch in 2012, globally there have been 5.7 million assessments administered using the platform, and nearly 4.3 million examinees assessed! The total number of Q-interactive practitioners globally now stands at over 100,000.
One example of a direct consequence of this shift is illustrated by the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic in early 2020. Thankfully, many practitioners were already established with digital access, and consequently able to benefit from a remote administration procedure, enabling them to continue to conduct assessments with minimal disruption. The alternative, however, was either starting with digital from scratch, or worse, temporarily ceasing vital work until lockdown restrictions were relaxed.
What do our customers say?
One of the great things about my role is getting to hear the many stories from our digital users about how they have utilised the digital platforms to benefit themselves and their examinees. So, what exactly is it that they tell me? Well, many things! But I can summarise into three broad categories.
1. Automated Scoring = Time Saving & Accuracy
Unequivocally, the number one piece of feedback we hear is that practitioners value, above all else, the amount of time saved in scoring and reporting on assessment data.
An Educational Psychologist from Kent recently told us they save 45 minutes per assessment due to the automated scoring features alone!This quickly adds up over the course of a week, or a month.
The automated scoring also saves time in checking your data and ensures you can be confident that your results will always be 100% accurate.
2. Benefit to examinees and their families
We hear practitioners tell us, that the flexibility of the administration method that digital offers, has helped their clients and their families in unanticipated ways. For example, the option to undertake an assessment in a familiar, comfortable setting, at home or in school, rather than traveling to a clinic, and having the associated worries of cost and punctuality, have been constant features of the feedback we have received, especially in the last two years. Again, the speed of feedback is also beneficial to their examinee and their support network:
“I am an Educational Psychologist working in a Special School. Q-global enables assessment information to be disseminated more quickly to parents / carers, teaching staff and professionals working with the young person and their family.”
About the Author
Richard Nash is the Customer Success Manager & Training Partnership Programme (TPP) Lead for Pearson Clinical Assessment UK. Richard has worked in the Pearson Clinical team since 2005 and in that time he has contributed in both helping to shape our digital platforms and support our customers with their transition to digital assessment.
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