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e-ISSN: 2672-815X
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DOI: 10.15405/epes.23045.11
EDU WORLD 2022
Edu World International Conference Education Facing Contemporary World Issues
ASPECTS OF THE ONLINE ASSESSMENT IN THE CONTEXT OF
COVID 19 PANDEMIC
Claudia Florina Pop (a)*
*Corresponding Author
(a) University of Oradea, Universității Street, no.1, Oradea, Romania, claudiadoroftei2017@gmail.com
Abstract
The assessment processes fully reveal their feedback functions when the teacher and the students find
themselves as partners in the educational process. This presupposes that each of the interlocutors is aware
of the role they play in the level of didactic interaction and uses the partner's reactions to optimize their
own behavior. Online assessment tools provide us with a wide range of assessment possibilities,
sometimes the technique being much better prepared than we are willing to explore. The Internet provides
evaluators with a set of standards and specifications for computer-assisted instruction. At the same time,
the assessment must be correct. Online, the big problem is identity verification. Especially in free
instruments that do not use institutional accounts. It must be complete, continuous and correct. And to be
fair, everyone involved in the process needs to be aware of those things. In online contexts, involvement
is essential and these tools need to create a deeper and more meaningful human interaction.
2672-815X © 2023 Published by European Publisher.
Keywords: Evaluation process, online education, online instruments, open resourses, pandemic period
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1. Introduction
As a first step, we must mention some aspects of communication, respectively of educational
communication in the virtual space, a fact imposed by the pandemic situation in 2020. The need to
continue the instructional-educational process, even if the presence in schools was not possible for a long
time. Over time, the education system has adapted to new technologies, in particular, to improve
communication and the transmission of new knowledge, to ultimately maintain existing emotional
connections, and to create new ones. In this sense, the online environment has been taken by storm, even
if, by 2020, there were schools, universities that used eLearning-type educational platforms, especially
those that served distance or non-attendance education.
The modernization of a system, regardless of the field of applicability, is the essential factor in
ensuring the quality of the activities performed. Modernizing the material base, by investing in the
maintenance, refurbishment or acquisition of resources and ensuring an adequate work space, raising the
level of training, training and motivation of employees, ensuring monitoring and control at the institution
level, establishing and enforcing regulations to ensure compliance with ethics, equality and inclusion are
the general coordinates of the evolution and efficiency of a structure (Pop, 2020).
Referring to the education system, a microcosm representative of the whole society, we can
reformulate as follows: didactic communication cannot be produced efficiently without meeting certain
conditions, such as ensuring adequate space for students and teachers, ensuring the means of education,
improving staff maintaining a climate of collaboration between all participants in the instructional-
educational process by ensuring good institutional communication, guaranteeing the principles of
equality, fairness and security and of course, aligning, materially and professionally to modern trends of
economic and social development (Kiss et al., 2021). It should be remembered that the pandemic caused
by the infection with the SARS-CoV-2 virus, in 2020, generated chain dysfunctions in society, the
education system being severely affected. The impossibility of conducting classes in schools has opened
the way for its reorientation towards digitalization, digital communication being already defined, debated
and applied in other environments, such as business.
2. Problem Statement
2.1. Background
In Romania, the Covid-19 pandemic determined the transition from classical, face-to-face
education to online education, as of March 11th, 2020. After June 2nd, 2020, the final grades (8th, 12th or
13th, for evening classes) moved to face-to-face education, in smaller groups of students. Romania
schools have started the new academic year, 2020-2021, in one of three scenarios: face-to-face, online or
face-to-face education or online only. This situation conducted to various issues and stress factors for
undergraduate teachers. Firstly, the teachers were stressed about the uncertainty regarding the online
platforms that should or can be used, whether new topics can be taught and whether students can be
graded. We can also add here the difficulties of conducting online education, due to the limited
knowledge or lack of knowledge regarding these online teaching tools, by teachers, and the lack of
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necessary devices (laptops, tablets, graphics tablets etc.). The online education experience has led to the
consensus that face-to-face education is superior to this form of education during the COVID-19
pandemic, in which parents play a very important role, especially for students in lower grades. In some
situations, the relationship with parents has been very constructive, but there were also teachers who
expressed their dissatisfaction with the uncooperative or even aggressive attitude of some parents.
Notwithstanding all these difficulties and efforts to adapt to the new context, many teachers feared that
salaries would decrease or even felt guilty that they were paid with the full salary, although they did not
hold classes according to the schedule of face-to-face education (especially in kindergarten, where the
teacher sends the files that the child solves with the parent). In the new school year, the second scenario
(face-to-face with half the class and online with the rest of the class/hybrid system) of education raised
even more problems than the face-to-face (Scenario 1) or online only (Scenario 3) education. Either
teachers had to teach simultaneous, to both groups, without having the necessary technique, and
struggling to manage the two groups, or they had to teach them at two different times, which doubled
their efforts. We can also add that teachers feared, more than students, they could become contaminated
with SARS-CoV-2 virus, especially since some students did not follow any health rules, especially
outside school grounds. The worrying increase in the number of infected people has determined the
National Council for Emergency Situations to decide to switch all schools in Romania to online
education, starting with November 9th, 2020.
We consider that the experience of online education during the pandemic can be used as an
example potential use of this type of education in other crisis situation, such as floods, snow, very low
temperatures. Moreover, without online education replacing face-to-face education, the tools used during
this period can be used after COVID-19 pandemic ends, as well, to ensure modern education, providing
the necessary technical equipment and free and regular training courses for teachers (Blândul & Bradea,
2022).
3. Research Questions
Are teachers able to evaluate correctly in the online environment? Which are the advantages and
disadvantages of online assessment? How can teachers find the best methods of assessment in online
learning environment?
The online education provides also a necessary evaluation system, a system which is not very
clear, and in the same time, not very often done in the correct way. As we all know, the traditional or
online assessment/evaluation must be continuous, complete and correct. But why do we need evaluation?
A question whose answers can be found in many other questions, but especially in the functions of the
process of evaluating the educational environment in its complexity. It considers that the evaluation is
based on the following key questions: What is the evaluation for (what are its functions)? In relation to
what is (what is the reference system, what are the evaluation criteria)? For whom (who are the recipients
of the evaluation)? What is evaluated (behaviors, results, processes, evolutions)? With what tools and
through what procedures is the evaluation done? And the most important questions are: how the online
evaluation can give us a correct feedback or how is it possible that the online evaluation to be done in a
secure and relevant way?
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4. Purpose of the Study
The problem we identify refers to the ability of the undergraduate education system to absorb,
adapt and use the components of digitization insofar as it guarantees a quality education, accessible to all
students in the system from the perspective of didactic communication, the essential factor of validating
the instructional process, educational, as well the evaluation system in online environment.
The theoretical approach is based on the information taken from the literature, making, in a first
section, a definition, classification and conceptual explanation, from the perspective of the general theory
of evaluation issues. The next data mark the transition from generalization to what we call didactic
communication, following its objectives, characteristics, hypostases and finality, identifying its blockages
and revealing ways of remediation suggested by specialists. The next section radiographs didactic
communication from the perspective of educational mentoring, focusing on the nature of the relationships
between communication factors. Later, we will present some aspects of the digitalization of education,
fragmenting the didactic communication in the education system at administrative and didactic level,
identifies the differences between face-to-face teaching and online or blended learning in a positive and
negative aspect and offers a perspective on the regulatory regime of training programs (Bradea, 2021).
Applying quantitative methods to quantify the interest of teachers in the field of digital education
and qualitative methods to describe the real way of teaching in a digital context, I wanted to emphasize
that, although there are some inaccuracies, technical malfunctions, reluctance on the part of the human
factor, however digital education is desired and practiced in schools across the country, but also that the
online evaluation system remain an unsolved issue.
The assessment of pupils, students and learners in general has changed fundamentally, and
although traditional methods still play a role, new technologies are evolving daily to assist teachers in this
task. Qualitative assessments in the online environment help to determine the competence of students and
their level of knowledge, using specific tools and methods (Blândul, 2020).
Assessment is simply the process of gathering information about what students know and can do,
based on their educational experience. Assessment results are usually used to identify areas for
improvement and to ensure that course content meets learning needs.
There are two basic types of assessments:
Formative assessments take place in an online course or lesson and are used to determine how well
a student is learning the material. These are best when they are continuous, consistent and provide critical
feedback to students.
Summative assessments are sometimes called final exams and measure what the student has
learned after completing a course. They can validate how well the course content supports the general
learning objectives.
Obviously, ratings are more than grades. When they are meaningful and well-built, they help
students prepare for success by challenging them to reflect, interact, and apply their knowledge to answer
questions, solve problems, and communicate information (Herrington & Oliver, 2000).
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5. Research Methods
Given the fact that in the pandemic period the special inspections of the first grade for
undergraduate teachers were carried out online, participating in many such inspections, we had the
opportunity to observe and discover the ways, techniques used by teachers to assess students' knowledge.
I often noticed an inefficient assessment due to the fact that the inspected teacher did not know or was not
familiar with the digital tools for assessing students. Thus, we can say that online education did not have
the expected results and that training and a deeper knowledge of everything that means online assessment
means (Pop, 2019).
The courses attended by many of the teachers, involved in the educational activity, during the
pandemic period, gave results at the end of the pandemic, but we cannot say for sure that we will continue
to use them, taking into account their fragility. Online assessment is a step in the learning process that
also takes place in the online environment. The first to learn in this context were the teachers. During the
lockdown, there was an opportunity to learn new things and to bring about changes that would otherwise
hold back and be much harder to achieve. At the opposite pole, uncertainties have arisen, different
systems of expectations. In the first interaction with online education, it was necessary to know how it
works, as well as what tools and techniques were suitable for students and teachers. This took time, which
sometimes led to educational failure.
6. Findings
Naresh and Reddy (2015) are turning our attention to the evaluation, and we should first note that
the course design process is not static and that each course should be evaluated according to those to
whom it is addressed. This is especially important in the context of online and blended learning, as
reluctant colleagues and principals often ask, "Where is the proof that it works?" Student satisfaction
surveys and peer review can help you better understand what works and what doesn't - and why - in the
context of any course. To a large extent, a culture of innovation and excellence in teaching is built on the
understanding of failures and mistakes, as they are the true source of the understanding needed for
continuous improvement. Open-ended questions are one of the simplest qualitative methods of
assessment in the online environment, and they encourage freedom of expression and creativity.
There are no right or wrong answers. Instead, online learners need to reflect on the topic and draw
their own conclusions, the only downside being that open-ended questions are difficult to note. Problem-
solving case studies, as a qualitative assessment technique, turn online learners into detectives so that they
can solve the problem and display their knowledge. It all starts with a case study or a real world example,
the ending is removed, then online learners are asked to provide a solution through the brainstorming
technique. They also need to explain how they came to the conclusion and why they think it is the best
approach. It is not about the solution itself, but about the thinking process, about the skills they used in
their strategy and how they put their knowledge into practice (Beetham & Sharpe, 2007).
This type of assessment can take place through surveys, reflections on the analysis of online
transcripts and journals, and student activity reports. Perhaps the best way to ensure that a course is
continually improved is to embrace a culture in which the teacher is still a student. In this sense,
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continuous development and quality improvement are a mentality to always seek to get the best personal
performance.
Of course, it is important to keep in touch with those people with more formal knowledge of
teaching. Being also an active participant in a larger professional community, where there is a link
between teaching and research, helps by exposing yourself to new ideas and concepts (Bradea, 2021).
This assessment will be done through the platforms and applications available online, the road is
wide open for various technologies useful in teaching and assessment, but what must come first is how
the technology will improve the pedagogy used. So pedagogy first; then technology. Current experience
helps us to understand that technologies are tools to be applied carefully and appropriately. The challenge
for teachers is to move away from the notion of assessment as a Word document - that is, to simply
replace a piece of paper with an electronic document - and use technology to help students become self-
reliant in learning. Teachers looking for ways to integrate technology through task and assessment social
networks have almost unlimited choices.
Blândul and Bradea (2022) present various principles for an efficient online evaluation, as follows:
i. designing a student-centred assessment, which includes self-reflection
ii. design and inclusion of markers for the evaluation of contributions to discussions, as well as
for tasks, projects and collaboration itself
iii. inclusion of collaborative evaluations through public posting of papers
iv. encouraging students to develop skills in providing feedback by shaping expectations
v. designing a clear, easy-to-understand and appropriate assessment for the online environment
Some of the most used tools or resources in the online environment for the assessment methods,
which we have been seen in our inspections in schools during the pandemic period, are:
i. Google Classroom: here you can chat with students - Meet video chat is included for free now;
homework can be corrected and direct feedback can be provided to each student, a feedback
bank can be created for easier feedback based on the most common feedback you provide to
students, etc.
ii. Google Jamboard is a very easy way to view short answers - all students can see all the
answers given on virtual post-its.
iii. Google Forms (allows you to create forms that can be used to get feedback, to send
confirmations of participation in an event, but also to create written tests. The service allows
the teacher to include images or videos for interpretation or as a reflection material for Students
can receive both open and closed questions, with or without several answers.) The Quiz feature
allows you to further provide prompt feedback. Students can immediately find out if they
answered correctly in a test with answers of their choice. Here the teacher's skill is to build
distractors (wrong answers, which result from an erroneous thought process, but often in
students) as well as possible. Furthermore, we can include explanations for the wrong answer,
explanations that the student will receive as soon as he has finished the test. In addition,
students can retake the test.
iv. Kahoot - the pedagogical basis of this application is that students become "teachers", building
test items themselves.
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v. Wordwall - several types of activities suitable for assessment, especially in primary education.
There are also many animation programs that students can use to make presentations: Prezi,
Animaker etc. Students can make Screencast-o-matic videos in which to capture both the image on the
interface of their own device and their own voice.
In online contexts, involvement is essential and these tools need to create a deeper and more
meaningful human interaction. Students' products are the best proof of educational quality, and the
creativity that technology allows you to express is something that teachers in various parts of the world
are constantly talking about in a positive way (Clark & Mayer, 2011). The purpose of the assessment is to
determine (quantify) the extent to which the objectives of the training program have been achieved and
the effectiveness of the teaching / learning methods. Online testing methods can be applied to all three
traditional forms of assessment: initial, formative (continuous) and summative (cumulative), as self-
assessment or examination methods.
In traditional education, many of the exams try to provoke students' creativity, through
compositions, essays, case studies, discussions on a given topic, problems proposed for solution.
Specifically specific to the humanities disciplines, these types of examinations / verifications are however
difficult to evaluate objectively even in a traditional way, their implementation in an automatic evaluation
system being difficult to achieve (Ceobanu et al., 2009). Communication between teacher and students
via e-mail, Moodle discussion forums or video conferencing can also allow this type of examination to be
organized. The most common way to take an online exam is through a quiz. These may involve Yes / No,
True / False answers, or selecting one or more correct answers from several possible ones (single choice
or multiple choices tests). Wrong answers may or may not be penalized, depending on the specifics of the
subject or depending on the class teacher. Without emphasizing creativity, the quiz tests allow an
assessment with a high level of objectivity, being applicable to any discipline, but requiring a
considerable effort on the part of the teacher in preparing questions and answers that will challenge
students to a look overall on the subject matter and increased attention to detect the wrong answers that
seem correct.
Such a test may be assigned a limited overall time (allocated to all questions asked of the student)
or a limited time interval for each individual question (for example, difficult questions may have longer
allotted times).
Here are some ways to automatically evaluate quiz tests:
i. quantifying the number of correct answers from the total number of questions;
ii. searching for the wrong parts of an answer (penalizing each error in the answer with a negative
score);
iii. searching for the correct parts of an answer (scoring each partially correct answer);
iv. combined: punctuation of the correct parts of the answer and punctuation of the incorrect ones;
v. Statistics: giving a positive or negative score to each question, depending on the proportion of
correct / wrong answers.
The first thing that changed in online education was the learning environment. School no longer
existed as a space, as did the whole relational ensemble. Changes have also been made in terms of
communication. We all know that this is heavily filtered by technology, it is no longer so persuasive and
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for this reason an extra effort is required to come up with a much larger baggage of resources to be
invested. Learning routines have changed: preparation for school (going to school, the road itself has
psychological effects on learning mobilization) and learning (information is no longer received in the
same way, learning is not the same). In addition to traditional tests, teachers also use alternative
assessment methods in the online environment: report, investigation, project, portfolio, self-assessment.
Online exam administration and assessment systems make it easy to provide a personalized
learning experience for students, as their grades and performance are tracked in the centralized system.
This system helps to centralize and streamline the administration and evaluation of exams; reduce the
costs, effort and time required to manually evaluate the answer sheets; scanning and encrypting copies of
answer sheets for fast and secure sharing; options for adding comments and feedback for student
reference; automatic sorting features to reduce human error; easy retrieval of screen-prints in response to
the request of students or teachers; tracking each student's results and progress over time.
Timely assessment facilitated by online platforms reduces waiting time and provides students with
instant test results. With such an immediate feedback mechanism, a student can analyze his learning
progress, strengths and weaknesses, quickly.
The online assessment process also frees up teacher time. Outcomes can be analyzed to identify
areas of low performance so that teachers can focus on these learning gaps. Detailed reports help to create
specific learning programs for these learners, which leads to better learning outcomes and increases
student confidence. Online assessment systems simplify the task of manually gathering and correcting
answer documents and sharing results.
7. Conclusions
In a world dominated by various forms of communication, from the simplest, most direct, to some
extremely complex, indirect ones, among the extremely important competencies that we must have and
pass on to our students is the ability to communicate and benefit from the effects of this process.
In the educational environment, a good teacher must maintain the quality of the teaching act
regardless of the ways in which he transmits the information and evaluate it. There are many other forms
of quality assurance in teaching and in promoting didactic interactions, especially in contexts where
access to technology is difficult, sometimes even impossible.
In both learning and assessment we noticed that, each student's response involves a cognitive
process, each at a different level. It is recommended to use an adapted taxonomy model, where only three
cognitive levels are used: knowledge and understanding, application and reasoning. Also, in the online
assessment process, teachers have given special importance to the design of the assessment, as follows:
analysis of the critical reading of the programs, analysis of competencies, and creation of specifications
associating taxonomic levels with contents and evaluation tasks, methods, tools, types of items,
evaluation tasks. In online is very important if the tasks and content of the assessment tests are interesting,
challenging and turn rigid assessment into an exploratory experience. This is based on the fact that any
act of assessment is also an act of learning.
Therefore, it is important that home schooling does not only mean digital platforms, impressive in
their technical performance. Telephone-managed or printed learning activities for students without
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Internet access are just as important. The transfer of creativity from real-class to technology-mediated
activity or in an informal environment is visible in the case of responsible educators. Education has to
face a great challenge, the school being forced to adapt to the new reality and new forms of
communication, teaching or evaluation (Ally, 2004).
Beyond digital technologies, empathy and humanity will always remain very important in the
teacher-student relationship, even if we are online or in the classroom. The demands that education has to
meet are not easy at all, both the traditional and the modern educational environment being forced to find
methods and strategies that lead to performance in education through evaluation system.
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