EXPLORING THE CHALLENGES AND EFFECTIVE PRACTICES IN ONLINE ASSESSMENT DURING COVID-19 PANDEMIC OUTBREAK IN PAKISTAN; A QUALITATIVE STUDY

Abstract

The current study is aimed at exploring the key challenges in online assessment and effective practices in online assessment during COVID-19 in Pakistan. A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews was conducted by the researcher with students and teachers to get insight into the issues faced by them and the ways adopted by them to avoid or confront those problems and to identify some effective practices. This qualitative study involved 69 people, including teachers (25) and students (44) from various faculties and departments of Bahauddin Zakariya University Multan, Pakistan, by using a convenient sampling technique. All the interviews were recorded and transcribed for analysis. The collected data were then analyzed using thematic analysis techniques. The key findings of the study explored that, due to a lack of infrastructure for online assessment, teachers are facing inefficiency and the unsuitability of online assessment, and reluctantly, they have to face difficulties in dealing with plagiarized material as major challenges. On the other hand, students are facing challenges related to affordability, technical failures, and cheating issues in online assessment due to a lack of infrastructure in online education. This study also explored effective practices such as the open-book exam strategy, mandatory measures for online assessment, digital assessment, and developing infrastructure and training for teachers and students to cope with challenges faced during online assessment.