Online assessment has become an essential tool for organizations seeking to evaluate candidates’ skills and knowledge efficiently and securely. However, this field is full of technical terms that are crucial to understand when choosing the best assessment solution.
This glossary provides clear and precise definitions of key concepts in online assessment, covering exam types, security, grading, and associated technologies.
A
- Accommodation Plan: A set of measures implemented to adapt exam conditions for candidates with disabilities or specific constraints. This may include additional time, assistive technologies, an adapted interface, or alternative proctoring methods to ensure fair and accessible assessment.
- Asynchronous Proctoring: A method of online exam supervision where candidates’ sessions (video, audio, and screen activity) are recorded and reviewed later by a human proctor, with or without AI-assisted analysis. Unlike live proctoring, this approach offers greater flexibility for both candidates and proctors while ensuring exam integrity.
- Automated Grading: A system that automatically scores candidates’ responses, particularly useful for closed-ended questions (multiple-choice, true/false, etc.).
C
- Cheating: Any action aimed at bypassing exam rules to gain an unfair advantage. In online assessment, cheating can take many forms, such as using unauthorized resources (search engines, documents, messaging, generative AI), receiving help from a third party, or sharing exam questions. To combat these practices, measures such as online proctoring, anomaly detection, and similarity score analysis are often implemented.
D
- Digital Accessibility: A set of best practices ensuring that online exams are accessible to everyone, including individuals with disabilities.
- Digital Assessment: The process of evaluating knowledge or skills using technology, typically through an online platform. Digital assessment can include automated tests, interactive quizzes, peer evaluations, and remotely proctored exams. It offers benefits such as instant grading, flexibility, and enhanced accessibility.
- Digital Feedback: Online feedback provided to candidates after an assessment, allowing them to identify their mistakes and improve.
E
- Exam Security: A set of features designed to prevent fraud, such as question randomization, automatic question variation, and identity verification.
- Examination Management System (LMS): A platform used to manage and administer online training and assessments.
- Exam Surveillance (Proctoring): Methods used to supervise online exams, which may include video recording, artificial intelligence monitoring, or live human proctoring.
- Exam Fraud: More severe than cheating, fraud involves intentional deception with potentially legal consequences. Examples include identity fraud (someone taking an exam on behalf of another), falsifying test results, or hacking an exam platform.
- Exam Plagiarism: The unauthorized copying of content or another candidate’s responses. Some systems automatically detect such behaviors.
H
- High-Stakes Exam: An assessment whose results have a significant impact on the candidate’s future, such as earning a diploma, a professional certification, or securing a job position. These exams often require enhanced security measures, including online proctoring and identity verification, to ensure their integrity and fairness.
I
- Identity Verification: The process of confirming that a candidate is the authorized individual taking the online exam. This verification can involve various methods, including ID capture, facial recognition, multi-factor authentication, or human supervision. It is essential for preventing identity fraud and maintaining the integrity of online assessments.
L
- LMS (Learning Management System) : A platform used to manage and administer online training and assessments. It allows organizations to create, distribute, and track learning content, including exams and evaluations.
M
- MCQ Adaptive Test: An exam in which questions adjust based on the candidate’s previous answers to more accurately assess their level. This type of questionnaire is often used in language assessment and psychometric tests.
- MCQ (Multiple-Choice Questionnaire): A type of exam or question where the candidate selects one or more correct answers from a provided list.
R
- Remote Exam: An assessment conducted online, eliminating the need for the candidate to be physically present.
S
- SaaS (Software as a Service): A cloud-based application model where users access software (such as Nexam) via a web browser without requiring local installation.
- Similarity Score: A metric that measures how closely a candidate’s response matches a reference text, such as an answer key or model response. Typically expressed as a percentage, this score helps evaluate response accuracy and detect potential plagiarism.
T
- Test-Taking Integrity: A combination of measures, including proctoring, plagiarism detection, and AI-based fraud analysis, used to ensure that candidates follow exam rules.
Understanding these key terms will help you optimize your online assessment processes and choose solutions tailored to your needs. With Nexam, you can benefit from an intuitive and secure platform that simplifies exam management from creation to grading.
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