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It identifies operational, technical and infrastructure constraints, highlights what guidance improvements are needed, and outlines recommendations to support AQA’s transition to wider digital high-stakes delivery.",{"@graph":14,"@context":73},[15,34,56],{"@type":16,"itemListElement":17},"BreadcrumbList",[18,23,27,31],{"item":19,"name":20,"@type":21,"position":22},"https://docshare.wps.com","Home","ListItem",1,{"item":24,"name":25,"@type":21,"position":26},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/","Document",2,{"item":28,"name":29,"@type":21,"position":30},"https://docshare.wps.com/document/research-report/","Research & 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summary  \nBetween March and July 2025, AQA’s Research and Evaluation team conducted a digital exams pilot focused on A-level Philosophy. This report explores the perspectives of centre staff – exams officers, IT leads and invigilators – who play a critical role in preparing for and administering digital assessments. Their feedback highlights operational and technical challenges, as well as what centres need for successful implementation. The findings will inform AQA’s strategy to lead digital change and support the transition to digital delivery of high-stakes exams.  \nKey findings and recommendations  \n• Onboarding guidance was generally helpful, but technical instructions need refinement.  \no Provide clearer, tailored guidance for different IT environments, including cloud-based setups.  \n• Preparation tasks were often completed on test day, creating time pressures.  \no Emphasise earlier completion of setup tasks – such as test downloads and keycode allocation – in onboarding guidance and timelines.  \n• Customer support was valued for resolving technical issues.  \no Maintain accessible support channels during live delivery.  \n• Staff confidence in delivering digital exams was broadly positive, but practice is needed.  \no Offer more opportunities for centres to run digital practice tests or dry runs.  \n• Infrastructure challenges remain, especially for larger cohorts.  \no Share clear infrastructure requirements and checklists to help centres plan for device availability and power access.  \n• Invigilator training and communication need strengthening.  \no Develop role-specific guidance and training materials to reduce reliance on exams officers during the test.  \nThese findings highlight the need for a coordinated and proactive approach to digital exam delivery, ensuring that operational, technical and training needs are addressed as AQA moves towards wider implementation of digital assessment.  \nIntroduction  \nAs AQA moves toward the delivery of digital exams, preparations will need to evolve to meet the specific demands of digital assessment. Between March and July 2025, a digital exams pilot was carried out in Alevel Philosophy. The multi-method project aimed to explore the feasibility of delivering essay-based exams in a digital environment.  \nDrawing on feedback from exams officers, invigilators and IT leads, this report examines what worked well and where improvements are needed. These three roles play a critical part in the successful delivery of digital exams: exams officers oversee administration, IT leads handle technical setup and invigilators supervise the test. Their combined feedback provides a comprehensive view of the delivery process and the support required at each stage.  \nThe findings highlight what centre staff found helpful and the challenges they faced in delivering the digital test. These insights will inform improvements to guidance and processes for future live digital exams. Although this pilot was limited in scope compared with a live series, it offers valuable insight into how centres can be better prepared, onboarded and supported for digital delivery.  \nMethodology  \nAs part of the pilot, 150 Year 12 A-level Philosophy students sat a 90-minute digital test at 12 participating centres. After the test, a survey was distributed to centre staff involved in its delivery: exams officers, invigilators and IT leads.  \nAll participants answered a set of common questions about the delivery of the digital test, followed by role-specific questions based on their responsibilities (see Appendix A) . IT leads received questions focused on technical preparation, while exams officers and invigilators answered questions about test day management.  \nThe survey also gathered open-ended feedback for qualitative insights. As staff responsibilities often overlapped for this pilot test, feedback was anal","cbCaijhor07dXR1Q","https://ap.wps.com/l/cbCaijhor07dXR1Q","pdf",173185,"English","# Executive summary\n# Key findings and recommendations\n# Introduction\n# Methodology\n# Analysis\n# Findings\n## Preparation and onboarding support","[{\"question\":\"What was the purpose of the A-level Philosophy digital exams pilot?\",\"answer\":\"The pilot explored the feasibility of delivering essay-based A-level Philosophy exams in a digital environment and assessed how centres prepared for digital delivery.\"},{\"question\":\"Which roles contributed feedback in the report?\",\"answer\":\"Exams officers, IT leads and invigilators provided centre staff perspectives, with role-specific questions reflecting their responsibilities.\"},{\"question\":\"What key issues did centre staff raise about onboarding and preparation?\",\"answer\":\"Onboarding guidance was generally helpful, but technical instructions needed refinement and many preparation tasks were completed on test day, creating time pressures.\"}]","A-level Philosophy digital exams pilot - Centre staff perspectives - Executive summary | PDF",1792464716,23]