Oral assessment

Oral assessment tasks evaluate student learning through spoken words and range in format from open discussions and presentations to formal interviews. They provide students and instructors with the opportunity to interact directly, allowing for personalized and meaningful student learning experiences. Outlined below are potential benefits of using oral assessment and important considerations when designing and implementing oral assessment tasks.

Note that oral assessment should not be used:

• Solely for preventing academic dishonesty or to proctor students.

• As a direct replacement for a written assessment (e.g., do not perform multiple choice orally with students) or as a high-stakes assessment.

• If it does not suitably assess the learning outcomes of a course.

Ideas drawn from the following sources.^[1][2]

Benefits

• Direct, individual interaction of each student with the course instructor(s) can help to improve student learning and engagement.

• One-on-one interaction with instructor(s) and teaching assistants can be valuable to students experiencing difficulties as it provides the opportunity to clarify unclear or ambiguous questions.

• Oral assessment can target higher-order thinking, for example, the application of deep learning, theory to practice, problem-solving skills, as well as ‘soft skills,’ such as formal delivery of information and effective communication.

• Instructors can assess not only the extent to which content is understood but also the conceptual misunderstandings masked by written exams.

• Oral assessment can avoid academic integrity issues because it requires students to respond to questions and probes their understanding, which helps to ensure students rely on their own work and their own words.

Ideas drawn from the following sources. ^[3][4][1][5]

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Design and implementation

As with written assessment tasks, there may be additional considerations when adapting oral assessment tasks to online delivery (e.g., requiring students to use video during Zoom meetings). You might consider contacting your Associate Dean for information related to student privacy that may inform your design and use of oral assessment tasks.

• Target higher-order thinking and synthesis of concepts rather than memorization.

• Standardize the time allotted, number of questions, difficulty level of questions, and any evaluation rubrics.

• ’Live‘ assessment tasks can work well for smaller classes but may be difficult to scale for larger classes. Consider pairing or grouping students to make ’live‘ assessment more manageable in larger classes, or use recorded presentations that can be graded like any other submitted work.

• Consider implementing a hybrid of written and oral assessment tasks. For example, a student’s verbal explanation for how they solved a problem can complement a written solution.

• Provide opportunities for practice. For example, include informal opportunities for speaking in class and short presentation activities with time for discussion and feedback. 

Accessibility and Inclusivity

• Offer alternative assessment options for students who may be disadvantaged by or less comfortable with oral assessment, and consider offering the same “opt out” policy for all students.

• Build rapport with students prior to assessment to help reduce student anxiety related to taking part in oral assessment.

• Be aware that any anonymity that a student may have in written format is generally removed in oral assessment, and minority ethnic and linguistic students may be (unconsciously) discriminated against.

• Keep in mind potential concerns (and associated perceptions) related to students’ dress or background as seen in video, gender, race/ethnicity, language accent, and internet connection speed.

Ideas drawn from the following sources. ^{[6][4][7][1][8][9][10]}

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STEM examples

The assessment tasks outlined in the following studies generally range from 10-15 minutes in duration, with either one or two instructors/teaching assistants assessing an individual student’s performance.

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References

^{[1] 1 2 3} Joughin, G. (2010). A short guide to oral assessment. Leeds Met Press in association with University of Wollongong. 

^[2] Rahman, G. (2011). Appropriateness of using oral examination as an assessment method in medical or dental education. Journal of Education and Ethics in Dentistry, 1(2), 46. DOI: 10.4103/0974-7761.103674 

^{[3] 1 2} Dicks, A. P., Lautens, M., Koroluk, K. J., & Skonieczny, S. (2012). Undergraduate oral examinations in a university organic chemistry curriculum. Journal of Chemical Education, 89(12), 1506-1510. 

^{[4] 1 2 3} Hazen, H., (2020). Use of oral examinations to assess student learning in the social sciences. Journal of Geography in Higher Education. DOI:10.1080/03098265.2020.1773418

^[5]Oral assessment#SingleCite_5_1Roecker, L. (2007). Using oral examination as a technique to assess student understanding and teaching effectiveness. Journal of Chemical Education, 84(10), 1663. 

^[6] Gaudet, M. J. (2015). Increasing engagement through oral exams. Teaching Theology & Religion, 18(1), 98-98. 

^[7]Oral assessment#SingleCite_7_1Huynh, H., Meyer, J. P., & Gallant, D. J. (2004). Comparability of student performance between regular and oral administrations for a high-stakes mathematics test. Applied Measurement in Education, 17(1), 39-57. 

^[8]Oral assessment#SingleCite_8_1Roberts, C., Esmail, A., Sarangi, S., Southgate, L., Wakeford, R., Wass, V., & May, C. (2000). Oral examinations—equal opportunities, ethnicity, and fairness in the MRCGP. Commentary: Oral exams—get them right or don’t bother. Bmj, 320(7231), 370-375. doi: 

^[9]Oral assessment#SingleCite_9_1Sayre, E. C. (2014). Oral exams as a tool for teaching and assessment. Teaching Science, 60(2), 29.

^[10]Oral assessment#SingleCite_10_1Simper, T. (2010). A comparison of an oral assessment with a traditional paper exam within a final year nutrition module. Educational Research and Reviews, 5(8), 427.

^[11]Oral assessment#SingleCite_11_1Huxham, M., Campbell, F., & Westwood, J. (2012). Oral versus written assessments: A test of student performance and attitudes. Assessment & Evaluation in Higher Education, 37(1), 125-136.

^[12]Oral assessment#SingleCite_12_1Ohmann, P. (2019, February). An assessment of oral exams in introductory CS. In Proceedings of the 50th ACM Technical Symposium on Computer Science Education (pp. 613-619).

^[13]Oral assessment#SingleCite_13_1Zhao, Y. (2018). Impact of oral exams on a thermodynamics course performance. In ASEE Zone IV Conference. ASEE Conferences, Boulder, Colorado.

^[14]Oral assessment#SingleCite_14_1Boedigheimer, R., Ghrist, M., Peterson, D., & Kallemyn, B. (2015). Individual oral exams in mathematics courses: 10 years of experience at the Air Force Academy. Primus, 25(2), 99-120. 

^[15]Oral assessment#SingleCite_15_1Ehrlich, R. (2007). Giving bonus points based on oral exams. American Journal of Physics, 75(4), 374-376. 

Read more:

• MIT - Open courseware online written and oral exams

• University of Twente - How to design and execute an online oral exam

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