The UK’s largest exam board are planning a major shake-up which could see most GCSE and A-Level test subjects offered as on-screen versions by 2030.
Pearson will first test the waters by providing digital versions of the most popular Edexcel GCSEs, History and Business Studies, from 2027.
But they say if there is ‘enough demand then most GCSEs and A-Levels could be made available on-screen as an option by 2030.’
The Board’s managing director, Sharon Hague, told The i Paper she is expecting a movement towards ‘increasingly digital’ exams in the UK with the notion being ‘driven by the students themselves’.
Those developing on-screen exams aim to give schools a range of options to chose which format is best suited to the test subject.
Edexcel GCSEs in English language and English literature were already set to be offered on screen from next year with approval from regulator Ofqual.
The Edexcel computer science GCSE is ahead of the game and has been on-screen since 2022.
Ofqual has not yet given the latest proposals the green light but says it is open to new ways that will deliver qualifications reliably.
Pictured: Sharon Hague, the managing director of Pearson exam board. Ms Hague she is expecting a movement towards ‘increasingly digital’ exams in the UK
The exam board will first test the waters by providing digital versions of the most popular Edexcel GCSEs – History and Business Studies – from 2027 (stock image)
Pupils are already ditching traditional pen and paper to type the answers to their assessment questions (stock image)
Data from Pearson, seen by The i Paper, demonstrates an influx in popularity for subjects where there is already the opportunity to take the exam onscreen.
In 2022, 7,012 UK papers from Pearson were taken on screen, including around 6,000 for GCSE Computer Science and roughly 1,000 for IGCSE English Language.
By this year the number has doubled to 14,070 exam papers taken on screen, including approximately 9,000 for GCSE Computer Science and the remainder for IGCSE and International A -level exams.
Pupils are already ditching the traditional pen and paper to type the answers to their assessment questions.
In 2019, less than 10,000 entries to the board’s exams in the UK were typed up. That number has since ballooned to more than eightfold at 84,890 by 2024.
A typed exam response is when the candidate types the answers to a traditional paper exam on a computer.
An on-screen exam is different as it is a fully digital test designed to be taken directly on a computer using specialised software.
Pearson said offering digital exams would support children with special educational needs and disabilities (SEND) by allowing them to tailor the assessment to their needs with built-in features such as colour filters and alternative paper sizes.
A spokesperson for the Department for Education told MailOnline: ‘Expanding digital access is critical to breaking down the barriers to opportunity that hold children back and we are working with schools to support them to do this.
‘We have been working closely with Ofqual to build our evidence base on the potential opportunities, risks and implications of onscreen exams in England.
‘Any proposals to move GCSE or A Level exams onscreen are subject to regulatory approval from Ofqual.’
It comes as Oxford dons have been lobbying against digital assessment over fears that students could cheat using chatbots.
Academics at the university are worried youngsters might use ChatGPT – an artificial intelligence tool – to write answers.
Tech firms have been promoting computer-based learning and testing as the future for education, with many universities adopting this in lockdown.
But this is no longer ‘acceptable’ due to advances in AI technology, an Oxford lecturer said.
And the Oxford academics are not the only ones who have voiced concerns about digital assessments.
Sir Ian Bauckham, the chief regulator at Ofqual, said plans for digital exams should be treated with ‘extreme caution’ due to fears all schools will not be able to run assessments on a level playing field.
He explained how many establishments would be put at an unfair disadvantage by weak internet connection and weak system security caused by underfunding.
