The Spanish Student Body Chooses Continuous Assessment Over Online Exams
The COVID-19 crisis has affected all universities worldwide. At this point, they have had to adapt and generate new teaching and evaluation systems. Most Spanish universities have opted to finish the academic year online, which implies an online evaluation.
CREUP has bet and fought always for the implantation of the continuous evaluation among the Spanish public universities given the innumerable problems caused by online exams. For instance, many students do not have the necessary technological instruments to continue the online teaching, such as computers or a good internet connection, among others, all this added to the great psychological burden that the situation has generated for us. In addition, this examination system requires that we have a good study site which not every student have at home. Also, these exams require an optimal and stable internet connection that does not hang during the exam. Moreover, this optimal connection is required in order to follow the synchronous online teaching that a lot of teachers are doing.
The EHEA assumed as the basic type of assessment: the continuous evaluation. But, as we can see as students are that this basic type of assessment has not been applied correctly in many European countries, including Spain. For instance, the “Student Centred Learning” that is involved in an accurate and correct continuous evaluation has many steps to take in order to suit the real needs of the students. The situation like the one we are experiencing right now has led to highlighting and revealing this bad application on many occasions. Given the lack of technological resources for many students to be able to face the exams on-line and the innumerable problems they entail: CREUP is committed for the adaptation of the evaluation system to continuous evaluation, considering the needs of students and prioritising learning above all. The situation that we are living right now has opened the way for Spanish universities to apply this system and establish it as a rule.
