Measuring Learner Satisfaction with Formative e-Assessment Strategies

Abstract

The student experience with different aspects of online instructional settings has been the focus of educational practitioners and researchers in many studies. However, concerning technology-enabled formative assessment, little is known about student satisfaction regarding different possible formative e-assessment strategies the students are involved in. Using a 5-point Likert scale questionnaire, a web-based survey was developed to examine students’ satisfaction with the formative e-assessment strategies within an enriched virtual blended course. The results show that, in general, the students were satisfied with the quality of their engagement and the quality of feedback across all the formative e-assessment activities offered. The results also show that the student satisfaction varied between and within the formative e-assessment strategies. However, the gap between the student satisfaction mean ratings across all formative e-assessment strategies was marginal and could not help researchers decide upon which formative e-assessment strategy that stood out as the most preferred one. Learner satisfaction with different formative e-assessment strategies was positively correlated to each other at various levels but no relationship was found between students’ scores on the final course exam and learner satisfaction with formative e-assessment strategies. In the end, the results indicated that a sustained and integrated use of the all three formative e-assessment strategies (online knowledge survey, online student-generated questions and peer-responses, and electronic reflective journals) should be used in the context of hybrid courses. The study also suggests further studies that would widen, diversify both the scope and research instruments to investigate learner satisfaction with formative e-assessment strategies.