A survey of the Attitudes of Students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences Toward Electronic Tests

Abstract

Background: Electronic tests are one of the consequences of the influence of technology in education. Given the pivotal role of students, an awareness of their attitudes toward electronic tests can help improve the quality of these tests. This study aimed to investigate the attitudes of students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences toward electronic tests. Methods: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on 205 students at Ilam University of Medical Sciences in western Iran in 2021. The students were selected through multi-stage sampling. Data were collected using a demographic information form and a researcher-made questionnaire to examine students’ attitudes toward electronic tests. The collected data were analyzed using SPSS-22 software. Results: The data showed that 51.4% of the students had positive attitudes about the use of electronic tests, 31.0% had negative attitudes, and 17.6% of the students had no opinion. Furthermore, 61.7% of students had relatively positive attitudes toward the structure and system of electronic tests, 41.4% were positive about the compatibility of tests with the teaching model and the nature of their fields of study, 55.8% expressed positive views about test security and its stressors, 44.4% of the students proposed solutions to improve the quality of electronic tests, and 53.6% of the students had moderately positive attitudes toward electronic tests compared to paper and pencil tests. Conclusion: The findings suggested that more than half of the students had positive attitudes toward electronic tests and their five dimensions. Accordingly, educational managers and planners need to develop a suitable framework and set requirements for improving the electronic infrastructure for administering electronic tests.