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ADS Test-Related Guidance

Testing Considerations From the ADS page:
remote learning accommodation guidance for faculty

EXTENDED TIME, DISTRACTION REDUCED ENVIRONMENT, BREAKS WHILE TESTING, ETC.

We strongly encourage professors who are conducting assessments at a distance to do away with timed assessments, especially those that are synchronous. Many students with an "extended time on tests" accommodation also have the accommodation of "testing in a distraction-reduced environment," and there's simply no way that can be guaranteed when students are accessing your class remotely and may be unable to find a private and quiet space. Assessing whether a student is able to convey information in a limited time while potentially contending with limited privacy, unreliable broadband, screaming siblings or needy grandparents (etc.) would not provide an accurate assessment of their knowledge. This Inside Higher Ed article: 5 Reasons to Stop Doing Timed Online Exams During COVID-19 should serve as a good reinforcer for this. 

Beyond the obstacle of ensuring a distraction reduced setting during a synchronous exam, there are additional test-taking accommodations that would be very difficult to implement in a virtual setting. These include...

  • the ability for students to be able to take breaks during an exam
  • the ability to have test questions read aloud
  • the ability to obtain clarification of test questions
  • ensuring that students have a maximum of one exam or one final exam per day  

Should you choose to replace timed assessment with other types of assessments here are 14 ideas from UC Berkley's Center for Teaching and Learning: Alternatives to Traditional Testing.

If all students have indicated that they have no concerns about privacy or interruptions or internet connectivity, and/or you deem it the ideal way for your students to demonstrate their expected skills and knowledge, then it might be appropriate to create time-limited quizzes, tests, or exams.

Given that students will be in multiple time zones and that we have no control over the circumstances in students' home environments, AND that you'll need to meet ADA requirements for equitable assessments (including implementation of the accommodations listed above), we advise faculty who are conducting timed assessments to set them up for all students using the following guidance:

  • build in 1.5 - 2x more time for the assessment than would typically be allotted for an exam administered on campus
  • then calculate students' extended time based on that longer duration being given to all students
  • offer a broad window in which students may take the exam (e.g. 12:00 am to 11:59 pm)
  • consider breaking up and allowing students to complete the exam in segments
  • devise a plan for what the protocol will be if a student loses internet connectivity during an exam (which we know that many students have reported experiencing)
  • set up the exam so that students can peruse the whole test before starting (test for yourself to ensure this is possible).

This last item will ensure that students who struggle with the timed aspect of test-taking (e.g. those with anxiety, impaired processing speed, disorders of executive functioning, etc.) can forge a plan for how to best allocate their time and determine where in the test it would be most appropriate to start, based on their skills, knowledge, and disability-related strategy needs.

Setting up Moodle Exams for Students with and Extended Time Accommodation

Having taken into consideration the factors and guidelines presented above, this "How to Set Up Extended Time Exams in Moodle" video explains one way to schedule extended time exams in Moodle without calling attention to students with disabilities who need extended time.

AVAILABILITY TO ADDRESS QUESTIONS DURING EXAMS

All students should know how to reach you if there is a question (or, as it happens, a typo caught) during an exam. If you set up your exam to be taken at the time of the student’s choosing, it would be prudent to establish more than one window when you can be reached if a student has a question. This is especially necessary for students with the accommodation to have test questions and instructions clarified so they can plan to take the exam when they know you can be reached for questions.