Online Testing in Higher Education Institutions During the Outbreak of COVID-19: Challenges and Opportunities

This study aimed to investigate the challenges and opportunities of online testing during the outbreak of COVID-19. The main focus was on the under-graduate and post-graduate international students in various universities of India. This study employed a qualitative design as the data were collected through semi-structured interviews. The findings showed that the attitude of students towards online testing was positive even though they experienced worry and anxiety. Moreover, students used self-strategies to overcome such challenges such as improving their self-confident and motivating themselves during online tests. In terms of ICT skills, the findings showed that students did not face any challenges during the online testing, which supported the idea that is online testing does not require professional skills, and students could improve their ICT skills as a main requirement for 21st century education. Additionally, the findings of the study showed that there were other online testing challenges faced by students, including the transmission from traditional tests into online tests, and the poor connection of the internet. However, online testing advantages outweighed the challenges, especially when online testing is considered to be a good alternative method in such critical stations like the outbreak of COVID-19, and it would be suitable for future online learning. Accordingly, online testing should receive more focus by Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) to get along with the educational requirements of the 21st century.