Teacher use of digital technologies for school-based assessment: a scoping review

ABSTRACT

This paper presents a scoping review of, firstly, how teachers use digital technologies for school-based assessment, and secondly, how these assessment-purposed digital technologies are used in teacher- and student-centred pedagogies. It draws on research about the use of assessment-purposed digital technologies in school settings, published from 2009 to 2019 in peer-reviewed journals and conference proceedings. The findings indicate automated marking and computer- and web-based assessment technologies support established school-based assessment practices, and that game-based and virtual/augmented environments and ePortfolios diversify the modes of assessment and the evidence of learning collected. These technologies improve the efficiency of assessment practices in teacher-centred pedagogies and provide latitude to assess evidence of learning from more diverse modes of engagement in student-centred pedagogies. Current research commonly focuses on validating specific technologies and most commonly relates to automated assessment of closed outcomes within a narrow range of learning areas; these limits indicate opportunities for future research.

KEYWORDS:

• Assessment
• digital technologies
• ICT
• teachers
• schools
• scoping review

Acknowledgments

I acknowledge and am grateful for the insightful advice and thoughtful feedback of my colleague Associate Professor Jill Willis.

Disclosure of potential conflicts of interest

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Christopher N. Blundell

Christopher Blundell (Doctor) is a Senior Lecturer in the School of Teacher Education and Leadership, QUT. His research focusses on design-based professional learning and the challenges of integrating digital technologies in teacher practice.