BS 7988:2002 pdf download – Code of practice for the use of information technology (IT) in the delivery of assessments
Preparation of assessment content is outside the scope of this British Standard, but where pretesting is undertaken using IT for delivery, the relevant clauses of this British Standard should be taken into consideration.
1.4 Focus on specifically IT aspects The emphasis throughout this British Standard is on the additional or different measures which should be taken as a result of the introduction of IT. Measures which are common to both paper and IT-delivered systems are either omitted or covered in only general terms. This British Standard does not cover the purely pedagogical aspects of assessment preparation or scoring, but does cover the use of IT to implement pedagogical decisions and the interface between assessment content and IT delivery. The quality of the assessment content and the scoring procedures are of crucial importance to the validity and reliability of the final result, but fall outside the scope of this Standard. Compliance with this British Standard does not indicate that the assessment is pedagogically sound. This British Standard should not be interpreted as reducing the need for assessment sponsors to follow good practice in developing assessments, including standardization and attention to validity and reliability. This British Standard does not cover scoring by human markers, but does cover:
— IT scoring which may be subject to later review by human markers;
— the IT transmission and delivery of assessments partly or wholly to be scored by human markers and the return of the resulting responses for scoring. This British Standard covers the use of IT to provide automatic feedback and instant results, but not result-determination requiring human decision-making or intervention.
1.5 Focus on principles The aim of this British Standard is to set out principles and good practice, but not the details of the means by which they are to be achieved. It is therefore possible to follow the recommendations using a variety of technological or procedural approaches. This British Standard is not specific to any particular hardware or software platform.
In many areas the principles outlined in this British Standard will be supplemented by the specific regulations of assessment distributors. 1.6 Compliance Assessment sponsors, assessment distributors and assessment centres may claim compliance with this British Standard if they comply with all the clauses or subclauses applicable to their role (see table below). Notes to the clauses indicate the role(s) to which each clause or subclause is applicable. This British Standard is applicable to both high-stakes and low-stakes assessments, but some clauses or subclauses are applicable only to high-stakes assessments; this is indicated in Table 1.
2 Normative references
The following normative documents contain provision which, through reference in this text, constitute provisions of this British Standard. For dated references, subsequent amendments to, or revisions of, any of these publications do not apply. For undated references, the latest edition of the publication referred to applies.
3 Terms and definitions For the purposes of this British Standard the following terms and definitions apply.
3.1 assessment test, examination or similar, designed to assess a candidate’s knowledge, understanding or skills in a defined area NOTE Can be high-stakes or low-stakes (see 3.11 and 3.17).
3.2 assessment centre formally designated location where assessments are taken, not necessarily used exclusively for assessments NOTE An assessment centre has staff with responsibility for the conduct of assessments and the security of material. Assessment centres are often, but not always, remote from the assessment distributor and part of a different organization. In high-stakes assessment, centres are normally subject to the approval and monitoring of the assessment distributor. Some assessments, especially those which are low stakes, can be taken outside assessment centres.
3.3 assessment distributor organization responsible for delivering assessments (especially high-stakes assessments) via information technology, including overseeing assessment centres, but not necessarily responsible for assessment content