Abstract
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, assessment and testing processes have been shifted to an online environment. Therefore, this unexpected shift requires more recent research in the field of online assessment. Based on this requirement, the present research aimed to explore female EFL students’ perceptions of an online English achievement exam by focusing on these dimensions: availability and accessibility, instructions, and mode of delivery. The participants were preparatory year students at the English Language Institute (ELI) at the University of Jeddah. To serve the research aim, the research used a mixed-methods approach. Students (n =49) participated in the quantitative phase by answering an online survey and 2 students were interviewed in the qualitative phase. The quantitative data revealed that the students had a positive perception of the online exam availability, accessibility, instruction, and mode of delivery. More particularly, the qualitative data explained that the clear online exam instructions and suitable mode of delivery have significantly improved these positive perceptions.
Highlights
1 After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, the Saudi government opted to shift to online learning to ensure learning continuity
Students may have different perceptions towards online examination as compared to face-to-face exams; this paper explores EFL students’ perceptions of an online English achievement exam at the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia
The results further revealed no significant difference between students who strongly disagreed (16%) and those who agreed (22%) that the time given was sufficient for answering the questions, which could suggest that whether the time given was sufficient for answering each question depended on students' familiarity with the timed mode of delivery
Summary
1 After the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in the spring of 2020, the Saudi government opted to shift to online learning to ensure learning continuity As this unexpected shift to online learning continues, universities are in the midst of developing advanced features for online assessments (Butler-Henderson & Crawford, 2020). Online assessments are designed as alternative tools to face-to-face exams; implementing an assessment process that uses electronic versions of exams requires significant preparation (Sarrayrih & Ilyas, 2013). Due to this change, students may have different perceptions towards online examination as compared to face-to-face exams; this paper explores EFL students’ perceptions of an online English achievement exam at the University of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia.
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