Comparison of two online university examination modalities in Didactics of Sciences

Studies about online assessment paying attention to student experiences are scarce. However, the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has forced universities to adapt very fast to online teaching, which allowed us to analyze the virtual exam modality. We aimed to compare the mark obtained by students in oral and multiple-choice question (MCQ) exams performed online, and to evaluate the students' satisfaction about them through an anonymous questionnaire. Students enrolled in two subjects of Didactics Sciences area were invited to participate. The exam mark could range from 0 (the worst possible outcome) to 10 (the best one). Results: The participation was high because 90.0% of students took both exams and 87.0% of them filled out the satisfaction questionnaire. Oral exam marks (median=7.0) were significantly higher than the MCQ ones (median=6.3). However, students felt more comfortable and expressed they were more able to show their knowledge with the MCQ than with the oral exam. The main reason why oral exam did not satisfy the students was that it made them nervous and Not doing it was the most common student answer to improve the oral exam. Conclusion: Although the oral exam benefited students' mark, it did not satisfy most students.

Automated summary

This study compared student performance in oral and multiple-choice question online exams and evaluated their satisfaction through a questionnaire. While oral exams resulted in higher scores, students preferred multiple-choice question exams as they felt more comfortable and believed it allowed them to showcase their knowledge better.