Deciding when to trust online test scores

What’s the idea? Educational assessments are, at the best of times, an imprecise science. We also know that checking performance against success criteria is an important part of the learning process. Successful assessment design requires time, and skills that are given scant attention in Initial Teacher Training courses (Carter, 2015). Third party online assessment tools are a solution. What does it mean? Results from one approach to assessment may not predict success in another. Multiple-choice tests continue to be popular among nations that favor a statistical approach to test validity, but not all assessments are structured that way. The Welsh Skills Challenge Certificate (SCC), for example, has a curriculum driven paradigm, and a range of evidence collection methods. A test of factual recall, such as the multiple-choice questions in Kahoot tests, may only predict how students will perform in similar, multiple-choice tests. How does it work in practice? Machines may be coded