Computer-based language assessment: The future is here

David Booth
David Booth
A blonde woman sat at a computer with headphones on in a room with more computers and desks in background

Many people are surprised at the idea of a computer program marking an exam paper. However, computer-based testing already exists in many different formats and many different areas. Many tests or exams that form part of our daily life are taken on computers. If you’ve ever learned to drive, sat a citizenship test, done a training course at work, or completed a placement test for a language course, the odds are that you’ve already taken an automated test.

Yet despite it being so common, there is still a lack of understanding when it comes to computer-based language assessment and how a computer can evaluate productive skills like speaking and writing.

Computer-based testing: a closer look

A common issue is that people have different ideas of what these tests entail. Computers can fulfill several essential roles in the testing process, but these often go unacknowledged. For example, a variety of test questions are needed to administer an exam, along with relevant data, and computers are used to store both the questions and the data. When it comes to creating randomized exams, computer software is used to select the exam questions, based on this data.

Computers can make complex calculations far more quickly and accurately than humans. This means that processes that previously took a long time are completed in days, rather than weeks.

Artificial intelligence (AI) technology is now capable of grading exam papers, for example. This means a shorter wait for exam results. In , candidates receive their results in an average of two days rather than waiting weeks for an examiner to mark their paper by hand.

The benefits for students and teachers

People take exams to prove their skills and abilities. Depending on their goals, the right result can open the door to many new opportunities, whether that is simply moving on to the next stage of a course, or something as life-changing as allowing you to take up your place on a university course in another country.

A qualification can act as a passport to a better career or an enhanced education, and for that reason, it’s important that both students and teachers can have faith in their results.

Computer programs have no inherent bias, which means that candidates can be confident that they will all be treated the same, regardless of their background, appearance or accent. , just one of 色猫AV’s computer-based exams, offers students the chance to score additional points on the exam with innovative integrated test items.

This integration means that the results are a far more accurate depiction of the candidate’s abilities and provide a truer reflection of their linguistic prowess.

More than questions on a screen

It’s not as easy as simply transferring the questions onto a computer screen. All that does is remove the need for pen and paper; this is a missed opportunity to harness the precision and speed of a computer, as well as its learning potential.

Tests that have been fully digitized, such as PTE Academic, benefit from that automation; eliminating examiner bias, making the test fairer and calculating the results more quickly. Automated testing builds on the technological tradition of opening doors for the future – not closing them.

How technology enhances language testing

The development of automated testing technologies doesn’t merely make the examination process quicker and more accurate – it also gives us the chance to innovate. Speaking assessments are an excellent example of this.

Previously, this part of a language exam involved an interview, led by an examiner, who asked questions and elicited answers. But now that we have the technological capability, using a computer offers students the chance to be tested on a much wider range of speaking skills, without worrying about the inherent bias of the examiner.

Indeed, the use of a computer-based system facilitates integrated skills testing. Traditionally, language exams had separate papers focusing on the four skills of reading, listening, speaking and writing. But the more modern concept of language testing aims to assess these linguistic skills used together, just as they are in real-life situations.

Afterwards, the various scores are categorized to allow learners an insight into their strengths and weaknesses, which helps both students and teachers identify areas which need improvement. This useful feedback is only possible because of the accuracy and detail of automated exam grading.

The space race on paper

Back in the 1960s, during the space race, computers were still a relatively new concept. Kathleen Johnson, one of the first African-American women to work for NASA as a scientist, was a mathematician with a reputation for doing incredibly complex manual calculations. Although computers had made the orbital calculations, the astronauts on the first space flight refused to fly until Kathleen had checked those calculations three times.

This anecdote reminds us that - although computer technology is an inherent part of everyday life - now and then, we still need to check that their systems are working as they should. Human error still comes into play – after all, humans program these systems.

PTE Academic – a fully digitized exam

Every stage of PTE Academic, from registration to practice tests to results (both receiving and sharing them with institutions) happens online. It may come as a surprise to learn that the test itself is not taken online. Instead, students attend one of over 295 test centers to take the exam, which comes with the highest levels of data security.

This means that each student can sit the exam in an environment designed for that purpose. It also allows the receiving institutions, such as universities and colleges, to be assured of the validity of the PTE Academic result.

The future is here

We created computers, but they have surpassed us in many areas – exam grading being a case in point. Computers can score more accurately and consistently than humans, and they don’t get tired late in the day, or become distracted by a candidate’s accent.

The use of AI technology to grade student responses represents a giant leap forward in language testing, leading to fairer and more accurate student results. It also means more consistency in grading which benefits the institutions, such as universities, which rely on these scores to accurately reflect ability.

And here at 色猫AV, we are invested in staying at the cutting edge of assessment. Our test developers are incorporating AI solutions now, using its learning capacity to create algorithms and build programs that can assess speaking and writing skills accurately and quickly. We’re expanding the horizons of English language assessment for students, teachers and all the other professionals involved in each stage of the language learning journey.

Explore our use of AI for our exams

More blogs from 色猫AV

  • Children sat at desks in a classroom, with one in the middle smiling with her hand up

    Teaching young learners: all just fun and games?

    By Jill Leighton
    Reading time: 5 minutes

    We want lots of fun in our lessons, with a good balance of activities and games with strong educational value. But in my opinion, today’s young learners need more than just fun and games to stay motivated. Fun and games can quickly become meaningless and boring for some students.

    How do we create fun and engaging lessons for young learners aged 6-14?

    • Have a strong relationship with your students. Know about their natural talents, their weaker points and where they are in their development.
    • Encourage them to be active learners and engage them in learning that is meaningful to all of them. E.g. through project work.
    • Provide opportunities for students to use technology and develop success skills. E.g. collaboration, communication, critical thinking, creativity and self-learning.

    Most teachers agree that we have to assume the responsibility of preparing students for life as well as helping them to acquire a language – and this is what I aim to demonstrate in this blog. Using , I want to demonstrate how you can learn more about your students and care for individual needs in one classroom.

    The students will also learn about themselves and their classmates. They will acquire vocabulary and language (at their level) in a dynamic way and create a project to explore their interests and demonstrate their talents. They will use technology and develop their success skills. Assessment will be fun and engaging. I hope you will be able to adapt the ideas and put them into practice with children aged 6-14.

    Howard Gardner’s Model of Multiple Intelligences

    prompts us to ask: How is this child intelligent? He identified eight different types of intelligence which guide the way students learn:

    • Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (Word Smart)
    • Logical-Mathematical Intelligence (Maths Smart)
    • Spatial Intelligence (Picture Smart)
    • Musical Intelligence (Music Smart)
    • Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (Body Smart)
    • Naturalistic-Environmentalist Intelligence (Nature Smart)
    • Interpersonal Intelligence (People Smart)
    • Intrapersonal Intelligence (Self-Smart)
    • (He later went on to identify Existential Intelligence – Life Smart, and Pedagogical Intelligence -Teacher Smart)

    Lesson 1: Outline the student’s learning goals

    Explain to the students that they are going to learn about Howard Gardner’s Model of Multiple Intelligences and that you want them to achieve learning goals on completion of the project. Write the goals on a poster and discuss them with your students. Take a digital photo of the poster to use during the assessment.

    Student learning goals – you will be able to:

    • Identify different intelligences and what they mean. Name eight different intelligences you have
    • Communicate ideas clearly through a project to demonstrate your talents and interests
    • Use your success skills more effectively.

    Tip: Video parts of lesson 1, especially discussion of the learning goals, to use as part-assessment and reflection on completion of the project.

    What do you know about the Multiple Intelligences? How are you smart?

    • Ask children what they know about multiple intelligences. Teach key language and vocabulary as necessary, depending on level.
    • Ask, “What does it mean be intelligent?” (They will probably say, good grades, be good at maths, English, reading, writing, computers...)
    • Tell them being intelligent or smart (get the younger children to repeat the word smart several times) isn’t only about getting good grades. Ask them to think of more ways to be smart.
    • Elicit the eight ways to be smart according to Gardner. (You may need to mime). E.g. mime playing the piano or clap a rhythm to elicit Music Smart.
    • Discuss what the different intelligences mean. (E.g. Word Smart (Linguistic Intelligence): you like reading, writing or speaking, you are probably good at languages…)
    • Teach career vocabulary associated with the different intelligences. (E.g. Word Smart: journalist, teacher, lawyer, editor, TV announcer, web editor.)

    Lesson 2: Find out your smarts quiz

    Tell students they are going to do a quiz to discover how they are smart. Model each stage of the activity and do the quiz with them to find out about your own strengths. Give each student a piece of paper.

    • Take your paper and show the students how to fold it into eight sections, then unfold it and draw lines along the folds to make a grid.
    • Write the different smarts in each section. (Use small handwriting to leave room to illustrate each smart with a picture).
    • Give a picture dictation to illustrate each smart. Here are some examples:

    Word Smart:?Draw a dictionary and children reading, writing and speaking.

    Logic/Number Smart: Draw sums on a computer, a scientist with test tube.

    Music Smart: Draw children singing and playing musical instruments.

    Body Smart: Draw children playing a sport, dancing or cooking.

    Nature Smart:?Draw trees, animals, insects, child watering a plant.

    Spatial/Picture Smart: Draw children drawing, painting or taking photos and a pilot in a plane.

    People Smart:?Draw a child helping or leading a group or a group of children holding hands.

    Self-Smart: Draw children keeping a journal, researching on a computer, or meditating.

    Encourage students to order their smarts from 1-8. For example, if you love music, write number 1 in the Music Smart section and continue to 8 in order of preference. (You may wish to model this first and order your smarts from 1-8 and then encourage the children to order their smarts.)

    After the quiz

    • Encourage students to compare and discuss their results. Collect the papers and make notes about each student’s results. This will help you reach all your students when planning activities.
    • Explain that we have all the intelligences in different degrees and that all of the intelligences are equal (no intelligence is better than another). Also point out that it is important to know our strengths in order to help in all subjects. (E.g. a music smart student who finds maths challenging may want to sing multiplication tables). Remind students that we usually use several intelligences to do something and we can explore and develop all our smarts.

    Tip: Video lesson 2 to use as part of assessment.

    Lesson 3: Beginning the project

    Encourage the students to create a project for enjoyment. Explain that you want them to collaborate in groups that share the same smarts and interests and using their creativity you want them come up with an interesting topic to explore. (Remind students to concentrate on developing their success skills when they are working with others and mention that you will also be monitoring this as part of the assessment).

    Organize the students into groups of no more than five students in each. Give students time to brainstorm in their groups and come up with the best topic for the project, using their critical thinking skills. (E.g. Picture Smart students may decide to create a project about a famous artist, such as Salvador Dali).

    You may wish to give each student a ?(Know, Want-to-know, and Learned) to complete during the project process, asking questions such as: What do you know? What do you want to know? What have you learned?

    Lesson 4: Planning the project

    Inform students about the timing of the project. Encourage each group to make a project mind map, which will encourage them to be more creative and organized.

    Remind all the groups to keep the following questions in mind:

    • What are you going to do/make? (Presentation, PowerPoint, website, video, posters.)
    • How will you research it? (Internet, tech tools, library.)
    • How will you delegate responsibilities?
    • How will you check that your audience has understood the message of your project? What questions will you ask?

    Decide on how many lessons are needed to prepare the project and how much will be done in school or at home, depending on the age groups and timing.

    Encourage the students to share their work with the rest of the class (or in assembly.)

    Tip: Video the different groups sharing their work.

    Can assessment also be fun and engaging?

    Yes, it can; here are some tips and suggestions.

    • Show the videos you have recorded and ask the students to compare and contrast their knowledge in Lesson 1 and how it developed over the lessons. Encourage them to observe and comment on their success skills.
    • Display the photo of the Student Learning Goals poster from Lesson 1. Get the students to self-assess and decide whether they have achieved the goals that were set in Lesson 1. (You may wish to give the students three small pieces of colored paper: red to represent I understand quite well, orange to represent I understand well and green to represent I understand very well). Ask: Can you identify the different intelligences and say what they mean? Encourage the students to hold up a colored piece of paper according to their understanding. (Make a mental note of all red pieces of paper to be ready to give extra help to those students). Check understanding by getting several students to answer the question.
    • Get the children to reflect on the learning experience. What have they learned about the different intelligences? How can they develop weaker points using their strengths to help them? Can they use all eight intelligences inside and outside school? Did they manage to get along well with their classmates? Did they communicate the message of their project so that the audience understood?
    • Give individual feedback to each student. E.g. congratulate them on their attitude and effort or identify areas for improvement: “You managed to use vocabulary and language effectively when you shared your project, we understood your message perfectly.” Or “You need to work on being more collaborative.” “You weren’t on task during the project.” “How do you think you can improve that?”
    • Ask students to give you feedback on the activities they enjoyed. Get them to draw happy and sad face cards. Go through all the activities and get the students to show a happy or sad face according to whether or not they liked the activity. E.g. say “Did you like the ‘Find out your smarts’ quiz?” and ask them to hold up the happy or sad face depending on whether they liked the activity or not.

    Create fun lessons to engage all your students keeping this model in mind: traditional activities such as short fun activities and games + Howard Gardner’s model of Multiple Intelligences + PBL (Project Based Learning) + success skills + meaningful assessment. Enjoy the results with your students.

    How the Global Scale of English can help

    The?Global Scale of English (GSE) Learning Objectives for provides ready-made learning objectives that can help with planning curriculums and lesson and benchmarking learners’ progress. They are great for young learners because they describe language functions in a granular way, enabling educators to give their learners credit for small achievements. They also clearly show the language functions to target next in order to take learners to the next level.