20 Years Later: Rethinking Assessment in the Digital Age

By Mark House

Next week marks the 20th anniversary of a seminal paper in educational assessment - "Let's stop marking exams" by Alastair Pollitt, presented at the 2004 IAEA Conference in Philadelphia. The title of the paper was of course deliberately controversial, designed to stoke debate and discussion. We have certainly had plenty of that!

As the assessment community gathers again in Philadelphia for IAEA 2024, it's an opportune moment to reflect on how Pollitt's ideas have evolved and remain highly relevant in today's rapidly changing educational landscape.

Want to learn more? Listen to the deep dive.

Prescient Ideas That Stood the Test of Time

Pollitt's core argument in 2004 was radical yet simple - traditional exam marking was fundamentally flawed and should be replaced by comparative judgement approaches. He highlighted several key issues:

  1. The limitations of numeric marking schemes in capturing complex learning
  2. The inefficiency and inconsistency of human markers
  3. The need for more authentic, holistic assessment of student work

Two decades on, these concerns remain at the forefront of assessment debates. The push for more valid, reliable and efficient assessment continues to drive innovation in the field.

Technological Advances Enabling New Approaches

While the concepts Pollitt proposed were ahead of their time in 2004, today's technology is catching up to make them feasible at scale. Platforms like RM Compare have made adaptive comparative judgement a reality for many educational institutions. Cloud computing, high-speed internet, and sophisticated algorithms allow for:

  • Rapid distribution of student work to multiple judges
  • Real-time analysis of judgement data
  • Automated quality control of the judging process

These technological capabilities address many of the practical barriers that existed when Pollitt first proposed moving away from traditional marking.

COVID-19 as a Catalyst for Change

The global pandemic forced a rapid shift to remote and digital learning, including assessment. This unprecedented disruption highlighted the fragility of traditional exam-based systems and accelerated the adoption of alternative approaches. Post-COVID, there is increased openness to:

  • On-screen assessment
  • Continuous, formative assessment models
  • Evaluating a broader range of skills and competencies

The experience of the pandemic has created a more receptive environment for the type of assessment transformation Pollitt envisioned.

AI and the Human Element in Assessment

The rise of artificial intelligence, particularly large language models, has sparked new debates about the nature of knowledge and skills we should be assessing. As AI can increasingly replicate lower-order cognitive tasks, there's a growing emphasis on uniquely human qualities like:

  • Creativity and innovation
  • Critical thinking and problem-solving
  • Collaboration and communication
  • Ethical reasoning and decision-making

Pollitt's advocacy for holistic, comparative judgement aligns well with assessing these complex, nuanced human capabilities that resist simple quantification.

Looking Ahead: The Next 20 Years

As we reflect on two decades since Pollitt's provocative paper, the assessment community finds itself at a crossroads. The technological, pedagogical, and societal shifts of recent years have created both the imperative and the opportunity to fundamentally rethink our approach to educational assessment.

The core ideas Pollitt proposed - moving beyond marks, leveraging human expertise through comparative judgement, and focusing on authentic demonstrations of learning - are more relevant than ever. Platforms like RM Compare are turning these concepts into practical reality for a growing number of educators worldwide.

The next 20 years promise to be an exciting period of innovation and transformation in assessment. By building on the foundational ideas laid out by visionaries like Pollitt and harnessing the power of new technologies, we have the opportunity to create assessment systems that truly serve learners and society in the digital age.