Solar ProjectA model for sustainable

development of e-assessment

Scottish Learning FestivalWednesday 19 September 2007

Solar ProjectSolar ProjectA model for sustainable A model for sustainable

development of edevelopment of e--assessmentassessment

Scottish Learning FestivalScottish Learning FestivalWednesday 19 September 2007Wednesday 19 September 2007

Background

– Originally funded by SFC and SQA– Additional support from ESF and Scottish

Executive– Building on existing FE sector initiatives– Using subject specialists from across Scotland

Solar Project

• Solar Project – www.solarproject.org

• Online system for authoring, peer review and Verification

• Objective-type questions incl. MCQ, MRQ, Numerical, gapfill, re-ordering, text-highlight, drop-down, drag-n-drop, free-text

• All Colleges currently have unlimited access

Solar Project

Already developed

– 450+ versions of Computing assessments

– 150+ Health & Social Care

– Up to 300 Language assessments

– Some Engineering assesments

• e-Assessments for Internet Safety qualification

Solar Projectavailable January 08

– Sports

– Information Technology and Interactive Media

– 10 units in Dental Technology

– 6 main topics in Early Years Care

– Horticulture

– Music Business

– Water management and Fashion and Textiles question banks

– NQ – TAPS assessments

New Development

• An assessment ‘Version’ model replaced with an Itembank model of development

• Supported by new delivery, packaging, reporting and feedback features

New Development Model

Verifier

Type of Assessment

Number of questions in an assessment

Rules on how assessment to be created including balance

Authors/PR

Contracted for fixed number of questions covering specified outcomes/KSVs

All questions peer reviewed and approved by peer reviewer

Verifier

Attempts assessment in the delivery system a specified number of times

Modifies rules as reqd.

Edits made by authors as required

SQA

Authoring

• Using CP3 – online item authoring software

• Flash-based• Flexible question construction

Creating

Rules-based assessment construction

Delivering

Online administration, delivery and marking

A Sustainable developmentModel

Provide sustainable access for lecturers and learners to a bank of

items to enable the creation, delivery and reporting of

customised formative and summative e-assessments

Item BankItem Bank

SummativeSummative

Lecturer

Learner

LearnerLearner

Lecturer

LearnerSQASQA

A Sustainable developmentModel• Making full use of sector resources

• Contributing to a national process of quality improvement

• Central development with the benefit of the input of local skills

• Realising local benefits

QUESTIONS

Contact

Graeme ClarkSolar Project Manager

SQA0845 213 5405

Graeme.Clark@sqa.org.ukwww.solarproject.org