The Impact of Technical Glitches on Online Test Performance
The high adoption of online education has a significant impact on the locations from which students can take high-stakes exams. Apart from their homes, these exams can also be done from their workplaces and in certain cases, even public spaces. This change, however, has not only resulted in increased possibilities but also in potential threats of various kinds.
Some of the students so overwhelmed with the pressure and uncertainty of online tests that they resort to unethical practices like pay someone to take my GED test online or get involved in the assignment writing help sphere just because they are afraid of making technology-related mistakes rather than knowledge-based ones.
Basically, these issues indicate the extent to which is the effect of remote online exam systems affects confidence and henceforth, results. Even very small interruptions can be, for example, time and concentration, which are very important aspects of tests, and thus might cause major problems in students’ experience.
It is crucial to understand the influence of technical problems on student experience not only for students but also for educational institutions, test-taking agencies, and teachers. Technical problems are generally thought of as situations that are less irritating, however, for students under pressure, they are capable of completely destroying the testing experience. These causes, effects, and examples that the students’ emotional and academic sides are impacted and in most cases, this impact is very long-lasting.
The present article gives answers to questions: the causes of such situations, the effect of the performance, and what students together with educational institutions can do to lessen their impact.
Online testing is a major source of stress for systems that were not built for such pressure.
Most distance tests are based on a combination of several factors working in harmony: internet stability, hardware capacity, software platforms, and, in some cases, webcams, microphones, and a proctoring application. Every one of these factors is a possible point of failure.
There are many students whose homes have internet connections with speeds that vary, devices that are used by several members of the family, old laptops, or routers that are not able to work properly when there are many users. Even if the student makes thorough preparations, it is quite possible that their surroundings will still not be able to support an online examination system which is very demanding in terms of the need for continuous connection.
While some households do not have reliable internet connections, their members use mobile hotspots. The situation when the connection is lost during the test may be a few seconds or even the entire test session that is lost.
In most cases, the emotional part of the technical issues is very significant and underestimated.
Before the exams, students are already anxious, however, when technical problems appear, this anxiety may become panic. Most online tests are strictly timed, and thus, even a few seconds of delay can be disastrous. In the situation when the screen is frozen or the internet connection is lost, students think that they will lose their work, be wrongly accused by the proctoring system, or be forced to restart.
What is more, when panic takes over, thinking logically becomes less efficient. Students omit questions which they would normally solve without difficulty.
They misunderstanding instructions and at the same time, they type faster than usual, therefore, making mistakes. Their focus is split between solving the technical issue and dealing with the test. That is the reason why a tiny interruption that lasts for a very short time can have such a big impact on the performance it breaks the connection of the brain.
Technical failures interrupt cognitive flow at crucial moments
Once students are focused, they reach a cognitive flow state in which concepts become more straightforward and they feel capable of handling tasks. Technical glitches destroy this flow immediately.
As an illustration, consider a student who works on a multi-step math problem when the screen suddenly freezes. After the system reboot, the student is required to go back through the whole chain of reasoning. Their focus has been disrupted and the way of solving the problem has been broken.
While doing reading comprehension parts, an unexpected refresh may take away the text that was being read mid-sentence, thus the student has to mentally go back into the text. In writing tasks, slow typing or delayed responses can cause the student to lose the creative flow and therefore the disruption of their argument.
Device limitations create performance inequalities that affect the results
Not every student has the opportunity to use top-tier equipment. In the case of older devices, the chances of overheating, slow processing, or battery failure increase. Long exams put a strain on laptops that are not built for heavy use. Some students carry out tests on borrowed computers that have settings that they do not know or browsers that are outdated.
Such restrictions lead to disparity. Two students having the same level of knowledge may, device-dependently, perform totally different. The one with a modern laptop and stable internet connection will face fewer interruptions and be able to concentrate. The other one may be spending half of the test time thinking about whether his device will last long enough to allow him to submit his answers.
This disparity is very seldom talked about in academic debates, but it is a major factor that determines the actual exam results.
The future of online testing is about securing tests while still being humane
Remote exams have become a permanent part of education. Although they provide great flexibility and are accessible to many, they come with certain problems as well. The secret to turning around the situation is to create a proper equilibrium between the enforcement of academic integrity and the production of student wellbeing.
Students require examination systems that are not merely pre-emptive of cheating but also encourage trust, fairness and emotional steadiness. Technical problems may seem to be mere inconveniences, however, they are barriers which, in relation to confidence, performance and academic success, have a negative effect.
The next step in online testing is to create the technology that will not only be the platform for the assessment but will also respect the human beings involved.
