ACCA e-assessment? ARE YOU READY?

Fundamental papers	e-assessment starts from
F1 to F3	Feb 2014
F4	Sept 2014
F5 to F9	Dec 2014

 From as early as Feb 2014, ACCA will roll out the e-assessment to replace the traditional handwritten answer scripts which had been practised for more than a century. This will certainly be a very forward looking move that could catapult ACCA to probably be the first among the pack as pioneer of e-assessment.

However, much to the disappointment of us lecturers the e-assessment stops at the Fundamental Level papers only while the Professional Level papers are spared from such e-assessment. As such, the traditional handwritten assessment still prevails for Professional papers. Thus, the race for e-assessment shall continue for whichever professional bodies bold enough to launch their “FULL e-assessment” and claim the title for being the first.

Perhaps, a lot of factors are considered by ACCA before launching the FULL e-assessment. As I can see, a great majority of students attempting the Professional Level papers are Accounting Degree holders exempted from all and if not majority of the Fundamental papers. Would it be riskier to assess using handwriting or computer? I personally think they (students) prefer and are ready to accept e-assessment as compared to handwriting. Hearing complaints such as my fingers ached after writing non-stop for the 3 hours is something of a norm for students.

Perception of e-assessment differs among students and lecturers alike. Well to clarify it is not limited to MCQs and fill in the blanks. Generally, the exam format contains 3 sections:
1. Objective Testing (MCQs)
2. Multi Task Questions
3. Long Form Questions (not mentioned much in the seminar)

Some of the Multi Task Questions includes:

1. Select and type your comment

Here, the student will select the clue words from the case study given and a two column table will appear with the clue word selected appearing on the left column while the right column remains empty for student to input the answer based on the clue words selected. This is exactly the same as my "extract and comment method" used in class, except that this one is made computerised while mine is manual. Wish I could get hold of the software for this!

An example (the underlined words are selected):

Seltec has decided to enter the retail market and has recently purchased two well-known brand names in the edible oil industry. One of the brand names has been in existence for many years and has a good reputation for quality.

Words selected	Comments (For student to type in their answer)
Purchased	Qualify as separately acquired intangible assets. Thus, purchased cost is available.
Brand names	Non-physical substance which qualifies as intangible assets under IAS 38 Intangible Assets

2. "Drop down" menu answer

A building is an	A. Asset
	B. Liability
	C. Equity
	D. Income
	E. Expense

3. Fill in the blanks

Spread sheets will feature prominently for this format type of question and could include filling in more than one blank. Answer is to be filled in the yellow box.

	A	B	C	D	E	F
1	Cost	110,000
2	Residual value	10,000
3	Useful life	5 years
4
5	Depreciation	=(B1-B2)/B3
6
7

  
My thoughts on the format of Multi Task Questions are marvellous as being someone with poor handwriting like myself, e-assessment really takes away the punishment for illegible handwriting which appears in almost all examiners’ report every sitting.

Another plus point brought up was that unlike the present examination sessions in June and December, the coming sessions shall be increased to FOUR times a year i.e. September, December, March and June exams. This is indeed fantastic as I also raised this up when asked to participate in the workshop for e-assessment sometime in 2012 last year. Having examinations conducted every quarterly greatly reduced the waiting time for resit students.

However, to a certain extent I also regretted suggesting this as I find it very uncomfortable to conduct lectures for two months and let the student attempt the exam in the third month. I felt that the knowledge learned has not sunk in yet in those three months. It is really a rush for a fresh student on the first attempt of the paper. So I believe I would still stick to my usual five months lecture and revision while exam on the sixth month.

What does e-assessment mean to Lecturers?

It means we lecturers have to change the way we lecture. Overhead projectors and even visualizers would find it’s place in the dark storeroom as notebook with projectors would be a common sight in all lecture halls and classrooms.

As spread sheet would be one of the formats of a question, there is no other way to lecture other than to just show students how to fill in the blanks in the spread sheet on the screen. In fact, the original reason for e-assessment introduction was to accommodate the basic computer skills needed especially on spread sheet in the student assessment.

It is indeed ideal if every student’s table is equipped with power socket for their own personal notebook. Some hands-on is always necessary for any software related training. Otherwise, students can’t remember the steps.

During the talk, I was expecting to have some samples of questions for practise but was rather disappointed when no sample was available, not even in the ACCA website. The practise questions would be available at a much later date and needs to be purchased separately.

The only sad news that I have would be for some of my friends and fellow lecturers who may have to struggle learning spread sheet now or risk losing their jobs. I hope they can overcome this. Gambateh!!!

Resisting changes or embracing changes? You decide... is there much choice.

For further information on individual papers, click
http://www.accaglobal.com/en/learning-provider/Tuition-providers/learning-providers-conferences/global-feb-2013.html
 

So, what does e-assessment mean to you?