CAFAS: An automated computer aided assessment tool for providing student feedback and managing assessment information

Martin Freney and Denise Wood
University of South Australia

Keywords: feedback; assessment; electronic; marking; CAA

The traditional way of providing feedback and assessment information to students is inefficient and is often ineffective at improving a student's ability to understand how to improve. With the development and proliferation of information technology, the process can be greatly improved with benefits for both teachers and students. Very few attempts have been made at developing such systems, and despite being readily available for over five years, such 'Computer Aided Assessment' (CAA) systems are rarely used in tertiary education. This paper reports the findings from initial trials of a second generation 'Computer Aided Feedback and Assessment System' (CAFAS), currently at the prototype stage, which is under development in the University of South Australia. The main aim of the system is to improve feedback and assessment methodologies by using information technology. It builds upon the beneficial aspects of CAA systems that have preceded it, and it overcomes their shortcomings. The main benefits of the new system are that it enables teachers from a broad range of disciplines to efficiently, effectively and consistently communicate feedback and assessment information to students in a format that students can readily understand and access. The rationale for the system, feedback from students undertaking courses in which the system has been trialled, and proposed further enhancements are discussed, and the benefits across a range of disciplines are outlined in this paper.