The COVID-19 pandemic has led to a paradigm shift in the education industry. Students are still adjusting to the transition from offline face-to face-class to virtual classes. Academic institutions providing higher education are trying hard to cope with this shift; however, there are challenges. The biggest obstacle standing in front of them is exploring new methods to conduct practical and secure examinations.
Initially, the pandemic led to the postponement of various examinations. But as it continued to stay put, institutions had no choice but to conduct online assessments. Since these examinations are completely technology-based, they come with their own sets of advantages and disadvantages. To illustrate this, there was a study published by the University of Southern Mississippi and American university. It states that studying online affected the grades and course completion during the pandemic. Most students perform better in face-to-face courses than their online counterparts in terms of grade achievement and passing their classes.
Most educators are of the opinion that e-examination is more environment-friendly, economical, easier to prepare and provides a sense of security. However, there are specific disparities as not all countries can afford the same e-learning tools and conduct examinations the same way. Apart from the shortage of resources, the adoption rate of technology for students is also significantly less. Furthermore, not all students come from the same financial background and can afford the required means to complete their exams. Read on to find out more about this issue and identify the struggles.
What Is Assignment Based Examination?
Assignment-Based Examination or ABE is the new mode of conducting online exams. In this, students are given marks based on the assignments they have submitted related to their specific subject. Therefore, students are not required to appear for the semester or term0end exams and are graded based on the submission of assignments. Moreover, they are also promoted or held back based on their performance on the assignments.
This new way emerged during the pandemic situation, and with this came the assignment struggles of students. Most students reached out to online assignment help services due to the sheer volume of assignments provided for each subject. Alternatively, some also lacked knowledge in comprehending the topics of the assignment due to a lack of physical classes.
Why ABE?
Universities and educational institutions have explored new ways of conducting assessments. Since it is an integral part of the education process, it should be transparent, reliable and secure. Post pandemic, every academic organization is either carrying Assignment-Based Examination (ABE) or Open Book Exam (OBE). Even though these have certain similarities, the differences are not far away. Due to this, the satisfaction levels and adaptability of students are also different.
For example, students who reached out to experts for online help with assignment got a perfectly curated paper. This enabled them to secure a higher grade in comparison to others who did not take help. Thus, the satisfaction level is different. Take a look at the advantages and disadvantages of ABE examinations:
Advantages
- It increases the analytical and cognitive capabilities of a student.
- Rational reasoning is strengthened ed and they find an opportunity to develop innovative concepts.
- With assignments, students get a chance to become unconventional and hone their research skills.
- Through assignments, students get to understand the practical and technical complexity of the topic and enhance cognizance.
- Assignments are also meant to boost the writing skills and talents of the students.
Disadvantages
- Sometimes students might have to cope with too many submission deadlines that take a toll on their mental health.
- Most students are unable to comprehend the topic and, with a lack of proper guidance from the mentor, write wrong assignments.
- Internet connection also plays a significant role. Most students in rural areas find it challenging to upload their assignments at the correct time.
4 Struggles Faced While Writing ABE
As we are all entering into the digital era, education is also undergoing a shift in its pedagogy. While most educators treat online learning as a solution to boredom, it hardly is the case. Instead, students feel exhausted while sitting for long hours in front of their computer screen.
Online learning can be a saviour, but it has its own limitations when it comes to e-examinations. Here are 4 different struggles that students face while appearing for Assignment-Based Examination (ABE).
- Time Limitations
Most students sitting for the ABE exam confronted that the tasks they were required to complete were overwhelming. Moreover, several assignments were clashing on the same date. Some students also argued that the time limit given to complete these assignments were too short.
Some even admitted reaching out to online assignment writing help services for better performance and guidance. Submitting multiple assignments was the number one struggle faced by students while writing ABE.
- Internet Issues
One of the significant stumbling blocks while writing re-examination is an internet connection. If you lack a stable and strong internet connection, you will not be able to upload all your files on time. Most students complained that due to lack of proper internet-connected it became challenging for them to upload large sets of assignments.
This resulted in frustration and sometimes also led to missed deadlines. In addition, poor internet facilities made the whole examination process too cumbersome for the students.
- Cheating Instances
ABCs fail to assess cheating related instances for students. Believe it or not, when students are given the luxury to complete their assignments sitting at home, they will take references from external sources. Some students devour the internet to write their answers. At the same time, others reach out to experts from online assignment writing service to get their papers written.
Teachers, while assessing, might hardly look into the violation of academic integrity and score the students just based on the assignment submitted by them. Therefore, there should be some measures to maintain academic integrity even while conducting online exams.
- Quality Issues
The main problem raised by students while attempting ABE is that there were no proper instructions provided for writing the assignments. This made it tricky for the students to comprehend the topic and write the paper. Insufficient knowledge and lack of appropriate guidance from the professors led to the depleted quality of assignments.
This, in turn, had adverse effects on their grades. Students also complained that these exams failed to realize the true potential as every student had to write the same assignment from the same resource material given. Get The Best Information Technology Assignment Help
Final Thoughts
The education system was severely hit during the pandemic due to lack of infrastructure, internet issues and the digital divide. Most students lacked laptops, PCs, proper internet connection etc. that made it challenging for them to participate in the Assignment-Based Examination system.
On top of that, a lack of student-teacher interaction widened the gap of absorption of knowledge and clarifying the doubts.
While ABE has its own perks, it is not prone to perils. There should be a better methodology devised to conduct these examinations successfully and benefit students across all statures.
Author’s Bio
Robert Smith is a digital educator, and academic counsellor working on behalf of a reputable firm in USA. He is currently associated with the academic writing services platform MyAssignmenthelp.com. Also, he is a fitness trainer and yoga teacher.
