Design Features for Online Examination Software

Online education and computer‐assisted instruction (CAI) have existed for years, but few general tools exist to help instructors create and evaluate lessons. Are these tools sufficient? Specifically, what elements do instructors want to see in online testing tools? This study asked instructors from various disciplines to identify and evaluate the importance of several features that they want to see in testing tools. Along with standard elements, the respondents evaluated the importance of more advanced elements including adaptive responses and programmability, which would be used to add responsiveness and intelligence to provide more tailored questions and assistance. A latent variable analysis of the detailed model was performed and the results reveal that several advanced features not commonly available today would be useful to many instructors–particularly to handle higher level courses. Instructors teaching lower level courses tended to emphasize basic testing and simple grading features. The features were grouped into nine categories: question formats, feedback, programmability, grading, question bank, page display capabilities, platform, data analysis, and security. The results of the study examine the relative importance of the categories as well as the detail items within each category.