How can you be sure an exam answer truly reflects what a candidate or student understands?
With the rise of generative AI, that question has become more pressing. A well-written text doesn’t always reveal how its author reached their conclusions.
An oral answer offers a different perspective. When someone explains a concept in their own words, out loud, you hear their reasoning: the connections they make, the nuances they bring, the way they structure their thinking. That’s what the video response question makes possible: more authentic answers!
And that’s not the format’s only strength: it also lets people demonstrate a task on screen. At Nexam, our clients use it in very different contexts. Here are four concrete ways professional regulatory bodies, educational institutions and HR teams build it into their processes.
What is a video response question?
A video response question lets participants answer by recording a video directly in the platform, with no external tool. In Nexam, this format is available with two sources:
- Camera: the person records themselves with their webcam to explain a concept, walk through an approach or respond to a scenario; OR
- Screen: the person records their screen to demonstrate proficiency in a software application or complete a digital task.
The exam designer can include several video response zones in a single question and must specify the expected length of each video. As with all open-ended answers in Nexam, grading is done using the built-in grading rubrics.
For detailed setup, see the help Center article Question format: Video response. (Nexam login required)
1. Video competency portfolios for professional regulatory bodies
For a regulatory body or professional association, some skills are better demonstrated than written: explaining a clinical decision, presenting one’s reasoning on a case study, or showing proficiency in specialized software.
As the saying goes: a picture is worth a thousand words!
Our clients in the professional sector also use video response for competency portfolio submissions. Candidates submit a range of evidence in a single environment: an oral explanation on camera, an on-screen demonstration, and written answers where that’s more appropriate.
This format offers two concrete benefits:
- Comparable evidence. All candidates answer in the same environment, with the same timer. Assessors compare answers built under the same conditions.
- Simplified management. It’s much simpler to have graders go to a single platform to review and assess all the evidence, rather than managing video files received by email or through different tools.
2. Having students explain a key concept orally in a remote exam
In education, generative AI has revived a fundamental question: how can you be sure an answer reflects a student’s real understanding? Many institutions recommend diversifying assessment methods, including oral assessment. It’s one of the strategies in Université Laval’s guide on assessing learning in the age of generative AI (in French).
Our clients in education therefore include one or two video response questions in their remote exams, focused on the course’s essential concepts. For example: “In a video, explain in your own words the principle of…”
An oral explanation, in the student’s own words, gives a more authentic picture of their understanding. You hear the logic, the hesitations, the links the student makes between ideas. This format doesn’t replace the exam’s other integrity measures; it complements them by giving instructors a different perspective from a written answer.
3. Admission to limited-enrolment programs: pre-screening at scale
Limited-enrolment programs often receive far more applications than they have seats. Scheduling an individual interview for every file quickly becomes unrealistic.
Some of our clients use video response from the earliest stages of admission. Candidates respond to scenarios or explain their motivation, all with the same questions. Admission committees then review the answers whenever it suits them.
Because every committee member uses the same level-based grading rubric, answers are assessed against the same criteria, no matter who grades them. Predefined comments also help document decisions consistently, an asset when a program needs to justify its admission choices.
4. Asynchronous video interviews: pre-screening without multiplying meetings
In recruitment, the early stages of a process are costly in time. Coordinating dozens of individual interviews for an initial screening ties up managers and slows the whole process.
Our employer clients use video response as an asynchronous pre-interview. Candidates answer a few questions whenever it suits them. The HR team then reviews the answers and only meets the shortlisted candidates in person.
The Screen source also opens up another possibility: checking a technical skill as early as the screening stage. For example, asking candidates to complete a specific task in a spreadsheet or business application, and observing how they work rather than only the result.
Best practices for designing a video response question
- Target what writing doesn’t show. Use video for oral skills, reasoning or practical demonstrations. A factual question remains easier to grade in writing.
- Write clear instructions. Spell out what the answer should cover so participants can structure their explanation.
- Choose the right source. Camera to explain or argue, Screen to demonstrate a task in a software application.
- Prepare the grading rubric before the exam. Define the expected levels and associated comments. Graders save time and score more consistently.
- Let participants get familiar with the format. A practice exam lets them test their camera, microphone or screen sharing before exam day.
Frequently asked questions
How does a video response question work in an online exam?
The participant reads the question, then records their answer directly in the platform, with their camera or by recording their screen. The video is attached to their exam copy and graded by the assessment team.
What’s the difference between the Camera and Screen sources?
The Camera source records the person and their voice; it’s used to explain, present or argue. The Screen source records the screen without sound; it’s used to demonstrate a task in a software application.
How do you make sure all participants answer under the same conditions?
State the expected length in the instructions, then set the same recording length in the question. Every participant gets the same amount of time to answer, and assessors compare answers built under equivalent conditions.
How is a video response graded?
Like any other question in Nexam 🙂 Graders watch the answer directly in the grading environment and assess it using the grading guide and rubric built into the question: by levels, with predefined comments, or with a numeric score. To learn more, visit our digital correction page.
Can a video response replace an in-person interview?
It’s mainly used for pre-screening or to document a skill. In recruitment or admissions, it lets you reserve one-on-one meetings for shortlisted candidates.
In summary: what video response lets you assess
Competency portfolios, remote exams, admissions, recruitment: the video response question adapts to very different needs. What they have in common? It gives you access to what a written answer doesn’t always show: how people reason, explain and act.
Thinking about adding video responses to your exams or assessment processes? Contact the Nexam team to see how to adapt this format to your context.