IAFOR Journal of Education: Language Learning in Education

Volume 10 – Issue 1 – 2022

Online Assessment in the Digital Era: Moroccan EFL University Students’
Experiences, Perceptions and Challenges
Nourreddine Menyani
Ecole Normale Supérieure, Meknes, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco
Ahlame Boumehdi
Ecole Normale Supérieure, Meknes, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco
Oumaima El Jaadi
Ecole Normale Supérieure, Meknes, Moulay Ismail University, Morocco193

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Abstract
After the scientific consensus on the proliferation of COVID-19, a lethal virus, educational
institutions worldwide have swiftly migrated to online learning. This upheaval has propelled
online evaluation and assessment to be the norm during this period. The principal objective of
the study and research is to explore students’ experience with online emergency learning aswell as online evaluation. This paper also investigates how Moroccan English as a foreign
language (EFL) university learners perceive online assessment in comparison to face-to-faceassessment. Data were collected from a sample of 93 Moroccan EFL university students using
a self-designed questionnaire. The findings of this research revealed that the students
experienced technical issues while submitting their exams. They have also expressed theirdisappointment with the lack of feedback provided by their professors, not to mention theirconstant worry about academic honesty. This has led them to lose interest in their studies andpossess doubts about reliving this dissatisfactory experience. Therefore, the results implied thatparticipants perceive online assessment as an insignificant factor for performance improvement.
This unprecedented experience has had an unadulterated negative impact on students as it hasleft them both dissatisfied with their experience regarding distance learning and apprehensive
about their future educational experiences. It is, then, recommended that the notion of online
assessment should be given much attention in higher education in the Moroccan context.
Keywords: challenges, feedback, online assessment, students’ perceptions

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Since the unforeseen advent of the COVID-19 pandemic, governments worldwide, including
Morocco, have imposed severe regulations that prohibit social gatherings and galvanize selfisolation. As a strategy to prevent this virus from proliferating, several educational institutions
have abruptly shuttered their doors and shifted not only to online learning but also to online
assessment. The COVID-19 crisis has rapidly accelerated the digital transformation of
education globally, as colleges and universities have had to make numerous changes to theirteaching styles, research processes, and collaborative relationships Chan (2021). This rampant
health crisis has triggered irrevocable ramifications on the educational sector and thus led to its
incontrovertible exacerbation in the sense that it has reshaped the delivery and reception ofknowledge and skills. Online education is not a novel issue, but COVID-19 pandemic has beena stimulant force for the adoption of online learning in education in general (Chan, Bista, &Allen, 2021). The use of the Internet as an interface between students and teachers has become
tremendously ubiquitous, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. These changes haveprompted educational institutions to implement several preventative measures to stop thisvicious cycle from perpetuating itself, resulting in the shift from the traditional “chalk and talk”
learning/assessment to remote/virtual assessment as the sole outlet that ensures the successfulprogression of courses. The pandemic has transcended national and regional boundaries,
generations, and social classes – the many categories utilized to make sense of society. The
pandemic has also served as a catastrophic reminder of the absolute necessity of higher
education for knowledge generation and human well-being (Blanco, 2022).
During this period, the adoption of remote assessment/invigilation was a necessity rather thana luxury. For most Moroccan university students, this was the first time they had to take an
online exam. Likewise, students were in a complete turmoil due to the lack of a supporting
infrastructure. This served as an opportunity for both stakeholders and students to realize thatwhat works well with traditional assessment is not adequate enough for a reliable online
assessment experience. The online paradigm holds that learning itself may be different in the
online environment and, if that is true, then the methodology for measuring it should also be
different or should measure those things that are, in fact, different (Milam, Voorhees, & BedardVoorhees, 2004). Educational assessment is a systematic process of gauging information
to extrapolate pertinent results about the accuracy of the program, students’ progress andperformance, and achievement of outcomes. Assessing is a general term to describe all those
activities and processes involved in judging performance (Peters et al, 1988). In the same vein,
assessment has become the term of choice in education for determining the quality of student
work for purposes of identifying the student’s level of achievement (Mabry, 2005).
Continuous outbreaks of new COVID-19 variants are anticipated to compel future stringent
lockdowns, necessitating preparation, particularly in the educational sector. In this regard,investigating students’ perceptions and experiences with online assessment is of paramountimportance to successfully deal with the unpredictability of the situation. Readiness to learn
online, or E-learning, as set forth by the government is almost non-existent (Sakkir, Dollah, &Ahmad, 2021).
Hence, this paper endeavors to explore students’ experience with online emergency learning aswell as online evaluation. In addition, it seeks to explore the utility and effectiveness of online
assessment from a student perspective. Lastly, it sets out to investigate students’ readiness togo through the same experience in the future. Therefore, this study aims at answering thefollowing questions:
1. How do Moroccan English as a foreign language (EFL) university students perceive
online assessment?

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2. How effective is online assessment from students’ perspective?
3. To what extent will the Moroccan EFL university students be ready for a complete
online learning experience in the future?
The use of online assessment is increasing because of multiple grounds. Despite the heavy
resort to online assessment, especially during the period of COVID-19 in the Moroccan context,
there is a paucity of research that investigates students’ perceptions of online assessment in the
educational context in general, and the effectiveness of online assessment systems or platforms
in particular. This pandemic laid bare the sinister underbelly of e-assessment in education. Thatbeing the case, exploring Moroccan EFL university students’ experiences and perceptions of
the effectiveness of online assessment will certainly lead to fruitful implications and will
decipher myriads of qualms surrounding this topic. Therefore, the findings of the research underinvestigation are significant as they would provide enough information about the parts of theonline assessment to be given much attention due to their importance, and the parts of thesystems to be improved or rectified to overcome potential challenges and to reach promisingoutcomes.
Literature Review
The entire globe has been in a state of emergency since late 2019 to early 2020, with face-toface education suffering severe setbacks that have been compensated for by online learning.
However, due to a multitude of factors, this abrupt shift has not been entirely successful. Twoof these are the unpreparedness for taking it as the sole mode of learning and the inability tomeet the conditions for fair online assessment. According to Jamiai (2021), the debate over theeffectiveness and quality of online learning is also highly controversial in the sense that
researchers’ perspectives differ on the levels of validity and credibility of the unexpected new
pedagogy adopted in Moroccan higher education. In the same vein, Neuwirth, Jović and
Moukherj (2021) have stated that the real issue with e-learning is ‘‘how should faculty approach
maintaining rigor and delivering quality education as well as provide support for their students’ongoing ability to engage in meaningful, interactive educational activities in the context of acrisis such as this pandemic?” (p. 42).
For the purpose of this research paper, the review of literature will be aligned with the objectives
for this study. In that sense, the focus will be on online assessment, its techniques, importance,
limitations, and solutions along with students’ perceptions.
The Importance of Assessment
A review of previous literature reveals that there is no clear-cut definition of assessment.
According to Bachman (2004), there appears to be no consensus on what assessment technicallymeans given its multifaceted interpretations and the diversified ways in which it has been usedin the field of language and educational testing. Therefore, the concept of assessment resides inthe eye of the beholder. It has many definitions, so it is essential that anyone who writes or
speaks about assessment defines it at the outset (Kinzie, 2015). For starters, Brown (2004) has
defined assessment as any act of interpreting information about student performance, collected
through a variety of means or practices. By the same token, Benson and Brack (2010) has
averred that when assessment is thought of, it is often equated with examinations andassignments, as well as grading the performance of students in order to decide if they are eligible
to “pass” a particular subject or part of it. In addition, Palomba and Banta (1999) have positeda more crystallized definition of assessment wherein they asserted that it is the systematic196

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collection, review, and use of information about educational programs undertaken for the
purpose of improving student learning and development. In line with assessment, Weleschuk,
Dyjur, & Kelly (2019) have suggested that online assessments can be defined as any procedureor course of action for assessing students’ learning performance, providing feedback, or pushingstudents along in their learning process in completely online credit courses.
Given the miscellaneous definitions of assessment, it is critical to discriminate between
formative and summative assessment. The former is mainly concerned with students’ progress
and learning process. In the same line of reasoning, Gikandi, Morrow, & Davis (2011) havedefined formative assessment as:
the iterative processes of establishing what, how much and how well students arelearning in relation to the learning goals and expected outcomes in order to inform
tailored formative feedback and support further learning, a pedagogical strategy that ismore productive when the role is shared among the teacher, peers and the individual
learner. (p. 2337)
Thus, feedback of this particular type is crucial as it helps students to identify their strengths
and weaknesses and target areas that require improvement. The student needs feedback in order
to see deficiencies and mistakes (Senel & Senel, 2021). Moreover, given the epidemic’s
imposed status quo, feedback is essential to ensure interaction between faculty members andstudents in distance education. As Senel and Senel (2021) have contended, in the same article
mentioned above, “monitoring and “feedback”, which is a part of formative assessment indistance education is gaining more importance. Feedback can be considered as the primarymeans of student-faculty communication and interaction” (p. 182). On the other hand, the goalof a summative assessment is to compare students’ learning at the end of an instructional course
to a benchmark. According to Biesta (2009), summative evaluation has a directing influence as
it drives the impetus to make important decisions such as passing a course, enrolling in a higher
education institution, and receiving a diploma or certificate. In a similar vein, Mogboh andOkoye (2019) have stated that “summative assessment sums up what a student has achieved at
the end of a period of time, relative to the learning aims and the relevant state/national
standards” (p. 39). In the same breath, the authors have referred to two types of assessments:
summative, which is used to grade students against a set of standards or criteria and formative,
which is used for tracking students’ progress.
As a result, assessment practices affect students by leading their consideration of certain aspectsof module material and by stipulating how to process information (Baleni, 2015). Therefore,
assessment is critically important to education both for accreditation and to support learning(Taras, 2008).
Online Assessment Methods and Techniques
Bearing in mind that neither the circumstances nor the settings of traditional and online
assessment are similar, new techniques are necessarily being created to survive online
assessment challenges that are likely to result in assessing desired learning outcomes with adegree of compromise. It has been suggested that a variety of assessment techniques should be
employed to effectively assess student performance online (Pallof & Pratt, 2009).

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Palloff and Pratt (2009, p. 41) have provided the following techniques:••••

The provision of regular, ongoing communication with and feedback to students as ameans by which to embed assessment in the course itself,
The inclusion of dynamic interaction, defined by the use of group work, collaboration,
and a high level of interaction through discussion,
The modification of traditional assessment tools, such as essays, discussion question
responses, and projects that require demonstration of skill acquisition and problem solving ability, andThe use of alternative assessments, such as performance-based assessments, authentic
assessments, and the use of e-portfolios.

Palomba and Banta (1999) have bifurcated between direct and indirect assessment methods.
Direct measures divulge what students have learnt. They include objective tests where students
get to choose the right and wrong answers and performance measures where they produce theirown content as in essays, comprehensive portfolios, and so on. On the other hand,questionnaires and interviews are examples of indirect techniques that require students to reflect
on their learning instead of demonstrating it.
Students’ Perceptions of Online Assessment
There is a scarcity of research scrutinizing students’ perceptions of online assessment.
Additionally, there exist multiple remarkable disparities in how students perceive online
assessment. For some, online evaluation is favorable, and they uphold its enactment. Other
views are juxtaposed to the optimistic, favorable ones; online assessment does not bode wellfor them. For instance, Rolim and Isaisas (2018) have demonstrated that both students andinstructors positively accept the accessibility of online assessments. Likewise, Tran, Nguyen,
Nguyen, & Tran (2021) have suggested that the future of e-assessment is tremendously
propitious because the majority of students were enthusiastic towards its adoption during the
pandemic era. Moreover, Huda, Kabir, & Siddiq (2020) have reported that learners perceive
online assessment favorably; yet, they indicated that some students have conflicting feelings ofcomfort and apprehension. On their part, Alsalhi, Qusef, Al-Qatawneh, & Eltahir (2022) in theirresearch have implied that the “students were in favour of online assessment as students’ degreeof acceptance of online assessment during the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic indicate that,from the students’ own perspective, the degree of acceptance of online assessment was at a highlevel” (p. 23). However, they went on to say that students’ perspectives towards online
assessment vary according to gender, college, and academic year.
Khan and Khan (2018) have conducted a study in the United Arab Emirates where they
discovered that what matters for students the most regarding online assessment is a wellplanned transition. They suggested that “It is evident through this study and in literature that
one of the most essential elements to the acceptance of online assessments is how the transition
from traditional assessments is made” (p.673). They have also found out that students crave
meaningful interactions with their instructors as well as a constructive and timely feedback.
From this study, it is clear that in order to make online assessment more acceptable for students,
it is important that the interaction with instructors must remain personalized, active, andmeaningful. This is consistent with the results of another comparative study in the UK, South
Africa, and Hungary conducted by Cranfield, Tick, Venter, Blignaut, & Renaud (2021), which
demonstrated that students yearned for physical interaction and preferred face-to-face deliveryof information.

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Online Assessment Challenges
One of the most serious challenges in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic is theunpreparedness of teachers and students to undergo online assessment. Teachers lacked
familiarity with online assessment and did not have enough time to create effective online
assessments as COVID-19 took them by surprise (Baciri & Sahli, 2020). While every institutionof higher education likely has contingency planning for the short term, many did not have longterm continuity plans for the transition from in-person courses to an online modality (Chan etal., 2021). They have added, “The sudden transition to online coursework left some faculty
members scrambling to redesign courses to follow a modality they may never have taught in”(p. 13). In addition to that, mentioning online assessment without talking about the plagiarism
epidemic and cheating is futile, especially given that many higher education institutions lack
online and physical security to safeguard assessments and cheating, and thus circumstancessuch as COVID-19 might indeed necessitate some compromise in assessing intended learning
outcomes (Tuah & Naing, 2021). Finally, yet importantly, COVID-19 pandemic has
exacerbated existing disparities between students. Problems of connectivity are only the tip of
the iceberg. COVID-19 restrictions have widened the digital gap across all teaching andlearning spaces (due to the lack of a national response to the public health crisis), while
exacerbating economic and structural inequalities with regards to ICT access (i.e., Internet,
electricity, computers) among historically vulnerable populations (e.g., rural children, families
of color, students with disabilities, students of refugee status) (Salmi, 2021 as cited in Chan, etal., 2021).
Previous Research/Studies
Since the sudden outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic and the resulting shift to online
education and assessment, numerous researchers have endeavored to demystify the multifarious
angles of this issue and thus provide the basic platform for stakeholders to manage and deal
with this new trend of education. Senel and Senel (2021) have conducted a study on remoteassessment and discovered that rapid assessment and feedback were insufficient for effective
learning. Students have also reported that online test scores do not necessarily reflect theirscholastic aptitude. The same study pointed out that despite the accessibility to remoteassessment, students still prefer conventional exams. In the same context, another study
conducted by Montenegro-Rueda, Luque-de La Rosa, Sarasola Sánchez-Serrano, & FernándezCerero (2021) demonstrated that online assessment was accompanied with myriads ofchallenges that heavily affected both students and faculty members. These problems include aconspicuous shortage of platforms designed specifically for online assessment that lay thegroundwork for academic dishonesty, connectivity issues and technical problems, and privacy
issues. Concerning teachers’ perspectives, Anasse and Rhandy (2021) through their research
have revealed that there is a tendency among participants to favor paper-writing assessment toonline ones. This is because EFL Moroccan teachers lack prior experience with online
assessment, not to mention digital illiteracy. While many pieces of research have provided
diversified definitions of assessment, delved deeper into online assessment’s techniques andpractices, and focused on the impact of online education on students as well as teachers, few
tackled the problem of online assessment from students’ perspectives, experiences, andperceptions. Students’ experience with online assessment is very important to improve theeducational process since they play an important role in the learning process so does theirexperiences with certain learning processes.

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Method and Methodology
This section will describe and discuss in detail the research design and methodology used inthis study, as well as the population, the sample, and the geographical areas where the study
was conducted. It also examines the data collection instrument and the data analysis procedures.
The research under study adopted an exploratory research design as it sought to explore several
issues regarding online assessment during the COVID-19 pandemic, namely students’
perceptions of online assessment, its effectiveness, and challenges.
This study targeted Moroccan EFL university students. Therefore, the participants of this study
were ninety-three (N= 93) Moroccan EFL university students, namely from Moulay Ismail
University, Ecole Normale Supérieure (ENS) Meknes, and Ibn Tofail University, Kenitra. The
participants were second-year students (Semester 3) and third-year university students(Semester 5). The sample was composed of males and females aged between 18 and 24. This
study was conducted using a quantitative method manifested by a questionnaire as a datacollection instrument (Creswell, 2014). Based on a thorough review of the literature and basedon the objectives of the study, a questionnaire (Schommer & Walker, 1995) was designed,
reviewed, and then circulated online via various platforms, primarily Gmail and WhatsApp, toundergraduate students to complete (Creswell, 2012). Data collection took place during theeleventh month of 2021. The sampling method was of a convenient/purposive nature. For thedata analysis procedure, it was planned to use the SPSS version 19 (Statistical Package for theSocial Sciences), but because of the nature of online questionnaires, the analysis of the results
was generated automatically which were mainly descriptive statistics.
Data Analysis
The aim of this section is to analyze and interpret the collected data from the online survey
questionnaire that was administered to the ninety-three Moroccan EFL university students
attending numerous institutions. Generally, the overall analysis of the obtained data is carriedout in accordance with the research questions of this study and in alignment with the survey
questions. More precisely, the quantitative data, represented by the questionnaire, described theoverall tendency of the informants.
Students’ Readiness and Perceptions of Online Assessment (RQ1)
Students’ readiness and motivation for online assessment would truly aid in building a mental
model of how they perceive the experience and would definitely identify the success and utilityof online assessment. Hence, the students were provided with closed-ended questions, and they
were asked to respond to how ready they were for taking online exams. As reported in the figure
below, the majority of the respondents (72%) claimed to be unready and had no intention to sit
for online exams. Nevertheless, 28% of the informants indicated that they were ready for such
experience.

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Figure 1
Students’ Readiness for Accessing Remote Assessment

The ease or difficulty of Internet access is a significant factor in measuring not only the successof online learning but also online evaluation as it unquestionably enhances the students’ accessto their tests remotely. Accordingly, the results, as shown in Figure 2, revealed that more than
one-third of participants (36.6%) stated their uncertainty and neutrality regarding the ease ofaccessing the Internet or difficulty of accessing their exams online. However, almost half of theinformants claimed that it was either easy (32.3%) or very easy (7.5%) for them to access their
exams using the online model. On the other hand, a lesser amount of them revealed that it waseither difficult (15.1%) or very difficult (8.6%).
Figure 2
Difficulty in terms of Internet for Accessing Exams Online

Giving and receiving feedback is commonly regarded as a form of assessment employed to
improve students’ performance. In this respect, the informants were required to respond to a
five-point scale (1= always, 2= usually, 3= often, 4= sometimes, 5= never) concerning receiving
online feedback as far as their performance was concerned. The obtained results, as illustrated
in Figure 3, suggested that the majority of the participants (41.9%) claimed that they sometimes
received feedback, some of them (17.2%) usually received feedback, a minority (10.8%) often

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received feedback and the smallest number of participants (7.5%) revealed that they always
received feedback. Several respondents (22.6%) declared that they received no feedback.
Figure 3
Instructors’ Feedback to Students’ Online Performance

In this study, students’ perceptions were issued as a focal point of the investigation. As a result,learning about the participants’ perspectives on online assessment was vital. The obtained data
demonstrated that the majority of the respondents (41.9%) perceived their experience withremote online assessment as insignificant or average. Moreover, several informants described
this experience as either challenging (30.1%) or unfruitful (9.7%). However, some respondents
agreed that this online evaluation experience was fruitful (17.2%). Overall, the number of
informants who expressed a degree of dissatisfaction with the online assessment experience
was close to the same number that considered the feedback insignificant.
Figure 4Students’ Perceptions of their Online Assessment Experience

The Effectiveness of Online Assessment (RQ2)
Before the outbreak of the COVID-19 epidemic, students had only been exposed to traditional
onsite evaluation throughout their scholastic careers. Therefore, gaining an insight into theeffectiveness of online assessment from a student perspective was at the core of the present
study. For this reason, students were required to respond to a yes-no question regarding theeffectiveness of online assessment in comparison to a traditional face-to-face assessment. The

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obtained results implied that 73.1% of the respondents believed that online assessment is noteffective when compared to a traditional face-to-face assessment. Conversely, 26.9% of theinformants thought that online assessment could be as effective as onsite assessment.
Figure 5
Belief in Online Effectiveness for Assessment

Concerning assessment challenges and pitfalls, students were required to respond to whether
they adhered to the ethics of taking exams or not. Accordingly, the survey data, as shown in
Figure 6, revealed that the vast majority (64.5%) adhered to exam-taking ethics, while 26.9%
stated that they did, albeit only to some extent. Nonetheless, a minority admitted not respecting
the principles of taking exams as they resorted to cheating.
Figure 6
Did Student Stick to Proper Exam Taking Ethics

One of the biggest concerns of online assessment was the inequality among test takers. It wasevident from the students’ responses that the majority of them (65.6%) claimed that online
assessment did not provide equal opportunities as traditional assessment; 21.4% of theinformants believed it did to some extent. However, 6.5% of the subjects were uncertain about
whether the chances offered by the online assessment were similar to those offered by face-toface assessment.

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Figure 7
Students’ Beliefs: Online Assessment Provides Equal Opportunities as Face-to-Face Assessment

Students’ Readiness for an Entire Online Learning and Assessment Experience (RQ3)
Doubtless, students’ readiness to experiment with something new or go through a similar
experience determines its success or failure. This might also lead one to learn about thestudents’ perceptions regarding online assessment. In accordance with this, the informants wereto state if they were open to the same online assessment experience in the future. The results
illustrated that most of the respondents were either uncertain (38.7%) or not ready (35.5%)
anew for such an experience. However, some participants revealed their readiness for the same
online assessment experience in the future.
Figure 8Students’ Readiness for the Same Online Assessment Experience in the Future

Gaining insights into students’ learning preferences unequivocally entails how they perceive
the issue of remote assessment. For this purpose, students were to highlight their preferredlearning mode. The participants’ replies demonstrated their tendency towards hybrid andtraditional learning modes. To illustrate, more than half of the informants (51.6%) chose thehybrid mode as their preference, whereas 45.2% of them opted for the choice of a traditional
face-to-face learning mode. Still, only a minority (3.2%) preferred the online learning option.

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Figure 9Preferred Learning and Assessment Modes

Online Assessment Challenges, Drawbacks, and Advantages
Online Assessment Challenges
One of the primary objectives of this study was to unveil the challenges Moroccan EFL
university students faced while sitting for their very first online assessment. In fact, the survey
findings revealed that online assessment created numerous hurdles for students, including workoverload, increased stress, connectivity issues, and technical problems. The following are
examples of what most students stated regarding online assessment challenges:“Difficulties in having clear conversations with professors regarding problems andinstructions”“Time shortage, technical problems, weak bandwidth”“Time management”“Blockage of the website in which students had to submit their documents”“Enormous amount of stress”“Due to Internet issues, I could not download some exams on the spot”“Internet connection issues”
Online Assessment Drawbacks
This study not only investigated online assessment challenges encountered by students, but it
has also aimed at deciphering the shortcomings hovering around this experience. Along withthe aforementioned challenges, students in a response to online assessment drawbacks asserted
that academic dishonesty was the most feared side effect of online assessment. Examples ofsuch comments include:“It allows students to cheat without being caught”“Academic dishonesty will always be one the cardinal problems in online assessment”“Inequality: some do breach the ethics of exam taking”“It did not demonstrate the real level of students since most of them cheated to someextent”“Constant troubleshooting of technical problems along with cheating which leads to anutter inequality in grades”“The school not being ready for this kind of assessments”

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Online Assessment Advantages
This study also sought to determine whether students associate any positive characteristics with
online assessment. Though the results point to the majority of participants believing there is noadvantage to online assessments, a minority believe that online assessments adapt to diverse
learning styles and requirements. These advantages include:“Flexibility and lack of peer distraction”“Online assessment has enables me to work comfortably and thereby produce
satisfactory outcomes since I have the proclivity to study alone in a distraction-free,hassle-free environment”“It encourages autonomous learning”“I had the opportunity to listen to music while taking the exam”“It provides feedback about one’s progress”
Discussion and Conclusion
This study focused on exploring Moroccan EFL learners’ experiences, perceptions, andchallenges with online assessment. A number of noteworthy inferences can be made from thedata, as represented in the figures in the Data Analysis section and based on the interpretationsof the results. Additionally, having obtained data from the sample leads to robust findings andinsights that could possibly be generalizable.
Generally, as reported in Figure 1, the findings reveal students’ lack of readiness to online
assessment. Such status may be related to students’ unfamiliarity with online learning, or due
to their lack of experience. Simply put, online assessment was not a choice, but it was imposedon the learners owing to the spread of COVID-19. Furthermore, the research’s findings, in
response to RQ 1, imply that online assessment has been perceived as insignificant, challenging
and unfruitful. This is clearly demonstrated by the percentages and scores (See figures 1 & 4).
Students’ lack of readiness and the negative perceptions they hold towards online assessment
is heightened by the inconsistency of the feedback they receive from their instructors. Not
surprisingly, the participants reveal their reluctance to go through the same experience anew inthe future even though they experienced online assessment. They also stick to the traditional
conventions of assessment (See Figures 8 & 9). Therefore, it is difficult for learning to takeplace in online conditions since the students viewed the experience with dubious confidence inits success. The findings are consistent with those of Senel and Senel (2021). The findings alsoalign with Anasse and Rhandy’s (2021) research on teachers’ attitudes towards online
assessment as the same factors are applicable to teachers.
Additionally, in response to RQ 2, the findings from the informants’ responses, reveal
interesting outcomes concerning the effectiveness of online assessment. Apparently, from thefindings of the questionnaire (Figure 5) the majority of participants tend to believe that online
assessment is not as effective as face-to-face assessment. Its ineffectiveness stems from theunequal opportunities, as demonstrated by the results (Figure 7), it offers regarding students’performance. This is due to the drawbacks online assessment entails, including cheating. With
respect to this, the findings of this research corroborate with other researchers’ findings (Khan& Khan, 2018; Jamiai, 2021).
As for students’ readiness for a complete online learning experience in the future (RQ 3), thecurrent study’s findings, as shown in Figure 8, reveal that respondents were reluctant to relive
the same online assessment experience in the future. This is also justified by the choice of the206

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learning mode learners opted for in their replies. More importantly, students’ own answers
regarding the challenges and drawbacks of remote assessment reveal much to consider. These
challenges include work overload, increased stress, connectivity issues, and technical problems.
The drawbacks revolve around academic dishonesty. With regard to previous research findings
concerning online assessment challenges and drawbacks, the findings of this study are
consistent with those of other researchers such as Chan et al. (2021) who have extrapolated thatonline learning has engendered myriad stumbling blocks for students in low- and middleincome countries, with many expressing concerns that learners are unable to access the Internet
due to poverty and destitution, Benson and Brack (2010) who linked challenges to submissionof items (connectivity, size, print paper preference), automated assessment, online discussion
for assessment, and Rogers (2006) who listed some challenges of online assessment which
revolve around mechanics of assessment and the prevention of digital cheating.
Limitations and Recommendations
It stands to reason that no research can be carried out without encountering some obstacles andshortcomings. The present research has confronted many limitations, which made it difficult
but not impossible. First, the findings of this study may not be widely generalizable. However,any findings from any research are generalizable only within that situation and within thecontext of the work, which is declared in advance. Second, the sampling population is not large
enough (93 Moroccan EFL university students) to make the study more representative on alarge scale. It is also possible that the adoption of another sampling technique apart from theone used in this study could yield better outcomes. Third, the methodology implemented in thisresearch study has limitations resulting from the innate nature of the data collection instruments.
Moreover, students’ perceptions and attitudes are subject to change over time. There is also ashortage of references and studies dealing with online assessment from a student perspective.
Based on the findings of the quantitative study derived from the collected data, the following
implications and recommendations are made for integrating online assessment and conducting
additional study. Consequently, it is required that policy makers, stakeholders, and decision
makers rethink the process of assessing learners online. Secondly, educational institutions
should provide platforms specifically designed for online assessment. Thirdly, both teachersand students should be trained on how to use a given online assessment platform. Finally,teachers must provide students with clear instructions regarding any online assessment.
Therefore, it is recommended that future research should focus on online assessment fromteachers’ perspectives. In addition to that, researchers should investigate students’ perceptions,experiences, and challenges with online assessment from a larger scale. Lastly, moreinvestigation is required to assess other effects of these assessments on long-term knowledge
retention.

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Corresponding author: Nourreddine Menyani
Email: m.nourreddine@umi.ac.ma

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