Online Assessment at Higher Educational Institutions

Online assessment methods and their effects on online teaching and learning are other
crucial points to investigate. Faculty members’ concerns regarding finding relevant and effective
online assessment methods arose in Azerbaijan in 2020. Considering it as one of the factors
affecting online teaching and learning, we decided to investigate teachers’ experiences with
online assessment methods in local higher educational institutions. This study involved 11
faculty members from seven higher educational institutions. Their responses were obtained via
semi-structured interviews that were held online. The questions mainly addressed how to learn
faculty members’ experiences and challenges with online assessment methods and how they deal
with those challenges. This study identified faculty members' major challenges such as providing
feedback, using online assessment strategies to get credible data and engaging students in more
modern and interactive assessment methods. The findings demonstrate that faculty need online
teaching and assessment experience as this lack affects student learning outcomes. The findings
further suggest that faculty need new assessment methods rather than traditional ones to replace
group work or discussions, and those methods may contribute to faculty preparedness.
Addressing the findings, the study resulted in proposing a series of webinar where faculty
members will learn about new strategies and share ideas with other colleagues through lively
discussions and involving innovative methods.