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When summative computer‐aided assessments go wrong: disaster recovery after a major failure
Author(s) -
Harwood Ian
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
british journal of educational technology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.79
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-8535
pISSN - 0007-1013
DOI - 10.1111/j.1467-8535.2005.00484.x
Subject(s) - summative assessment , computer science , advice (programming) , event (particle physics) , empirical research , psychology , mathematics education , formative assessment , epistemology , philosophy , physics , quantum mechanics , programming language
This case study outlines the events of a recent summative computer‐aided assessment (CAA) failure involving 280 first‐year undergraduate students. Post‐test analysis found that the central server had become unexpectedly overloaded, thereby causing the CAA to be abandoned. Practical advice on just what to do in the event of a summative CAA failure is virtually non‐existent in the related literature. In response, this paper provides a detailed account of the post‐failure analysis and recovery activities from a practitioner's (ie, academic) viewpoint. Supported by empirical evidence, the research shows how the concept of “optional substitution” was developed as a pragmatic, equitable, and broadly acceptable solution to the problem.