Deep Dive: Ofqual On-screen assessment research study, published 11th Dec 2025

This deep dive explores the complex transition from paper-based to On-Screen Assessment (OSA) for high-stakes qualifications, moving beyond the "glossy brochure" of digital benefits to examine the "mode effect"—the measurable difference in student performance caused solely by the change in medium.
The discussion weighs the significant potential of OSA against its empirical risks:
• The Digital Upside: Students generally view digital exams as less stressful and inevitable. For writing tasks, the ability to type allows for "fluid composition" and easier editing, leading to longer, more accurate responses. In specific mathematical contexts, such as drag-and-drop items, digital tools allow for "exploratory trials," drastically improving performance (94.9% vs 77.1% on paper) by reducing transcription errors.
• The "Screen Inferiority" Effect: Conversely, for reading long, expository texts under time pressure, students perform worse on screens. The discussion attributes this to the "shallowing hypothesis" (skimming rather than deep reading) and the cognitive load of scrolling, which disrupts the reader's spatial memory of the text.
• The "Scratch Paper" Problem: In complex mathematics, the screen introduces "attention switching costs." Students struggle to input complex notations and are reluctant to use physical scratch paper, leading to an over-reliance on mental math and a higher error rate.
• Inequality and Infrastructure: The audio highlights a severe "readiness gap," citing a median of only one laptop per eight students in schools. It warns that OSA introduces new barriers to fairness, such as the "keyboarding threshold," where a student's grade becomes dependent on their typing speed and home access to devices rather than their academic ability.
Ultimately, the discussion concludes that while OSA can remove some barriers (like poor handwriting), it introduces new ones, forcing educators to ask a critical question regarding "construct validity": are we testing a student's subject knowledge, or their digital fluency.

Share you view here: https://research.testcommunity.networ...