AQA on-screen assessment pilots - insights from focus groups - Research and Innovation

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah

AQA research report on the first series of summative on-screen assessment (OSA) pilots, conducted April to May 2022, covering GCSE English Language, GCSE Science (Biology and Chemistry) and GCSE Mathematics. The study investigates teachers’ perspectives on OSA and its delivery process, and evaluates students’ experiences interacting with OSA items. Data analysis from subject interviews and focus groups identifies four themes: preparation from Year 7, infrastructure concerns, mixed perceptions of functionality, and fairness risks linked to the digital divide.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages17

Reading Time43 min

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Research design and methods

AQA on-screen assessment pilots: insights from focus groups Research and Innovation Jeanne Marie Ryan and Corina Balaban Summary This report presents research findings from AQA’s first series of summative on-screen assessment (OSA) pilots , which took place during April to May 2022 and featured tests in GCSE English Language, GCSE Science (Biology and Chemistry) and GCSE Mathematics. The objective of the research study was to investigate teachers’ perspectives on OSA and the OSA delivery process, and to evaluate students’ experiences of interacting with OSA items. Interviewsand focus groups were held in respect of each subject and an analysis of the data generated four key themes: • Adequate preparation would be essential in advance of any digital exams being introduced, with students and teachers agreeing that preparation should begin in earnest from Year 7. • Concerns about infrastructure were raised by teachers and by students; they reported that improvements would be needed before high-stakes exams could be delivered digitally. • Functionality of OSA received mixed feedback, with some elements viewed positively ([e.g. in](e.g. in)[ ](e.g. in)[English](English), the facility to highlight text) while others were seen as problematic (e.g. difficulty inputting symbols when responding to maths items) . • Fairness emerged as an important concern, with students and teachers keenly aware of the digital divide 1 and the potential for students who have less access to technology and resources to be placed at a disadvantage when it comes to high-stakes digital exams. The challenges highlighted by the students and teachers closely align with the main barriers that Ofqual (2020) identified in relation to greater adoption of high-stakes OSA. Context On-screen assessment (OSA) is by no means a new concept; research studies evaluating the design, development and implementation of OSA have been conducted since the early 2000s (Bennett, 2003; Kingston, 2008; Redecker & Johannessen, 2013) . The recent rise in online teaching and learning as a result of school closures during the Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated the demand for reliable digital assessment. It has also acted as a catalyst for an increase in the use of technology in the classroom (Ofqual, 2020) . In England, this has led to renewed policy interest in how technology could be integrated into high-stakes assessment. The pandemic has exposed gaps in digital literacy, preparedness and infrastructure. According to the Department for Education (DFE, 2021), 46% of state secondary schools did not have an EdTech strategy in place prior to school closures in 2020, and one in five schools considered their 1 The gap that exists between those who have readily available access to technology and those who do not, and the subsequent impact that this divide can have upon student performance. existing technology to be inadequate. The pandemic also exposed huge variation in terms of schools’ and students’ preparedness for digital education ( Montacute & Cullinane, 2021) . As is tobe expected, schools where teachers had been using technology in the classroom prior to the school closures in January 2020 had a much smoother transition to remote education than those who had limited or no technological access. While digital assessment has already been used across a variety of educational contexts (e.g. vocational education), the focus is now gradually shifting towards high-stakes digital exams for GCSEs and A-levels. In England, the transition to OSA has been prompted by a desire to align assessment practices with the extensive use of digital technologies seen in wider society , to strengthen validity of assessments through more robust assessment design and data collection practices , and to explore new ways to improve teaching and learning (Ofqual, 2020) . In this report, we draw on international examples of OSA practices, predominantly Finland, New Zealand, Is

FAQs

What period and qualifications were included in AQA’s OSA pilot series?

The pilots ran from late April to early May 2022 and included GCSE English Language, GCSE Science (Biology and Chemistry) and GCSE Mathematics.

What is the main objective of the research study?

The research aims to examine teachers’ views on OSA and OSA delivery, and to assess students’ experiences when interacting with OSA items.

What fairness-related concerns were identified in the focus groups?

Students and teachers highlighted concerns about the digital divide, noting that limited access to technology and resources could disadvantage some learners in high-stakes digital exams.

Oct 20, 2026

Uploaded by Sarah