Students' perceptions of computer-based testing using ExamSoft

In fall 2017, West Coast University School of Pharmacy implemented ExamSoft for testing. Three courses in each didactic year employed ExamSoft. Prior to this, courses had Scantron-based exams. We surveyed the students to assess their perception of ExamSoft. We hypothesized that students' inherent bias towards technology affected their perception of ExamSoft.

To assess this hypothesis, we conducted a survey of all students. The survey contained questions about comfort with technology and nine questions on students' perceptions of ExamSoft and its usefulness.

The survey responses were stratified according to the preference of respondents towards technology and its use in exams. Respondents were stratified into three groups: tech-embracers, tech-skeptics, and neutral. Our results showed that respondents classified as tech-skeptics tended to have a more negative view of ExamSoft and its perceived impact on their grades than students stratified as tech-embracers or neutral.

Our study suggests that students' inherent bias towards technology plays an important role in their perception of computer-based testing. Assessing incoming students' comfort with technology and student orientation activities to help acquaint students with new technology could help improve their acceptance of educational technology used for testing.