Digital exams needed for GCSE and A-level

Outgoing Ofqual chief, Isabel Nisbet, has said that A-level and GCSE exams could soon become 'invalid' if they remain to be taken by pen and paper and not computer.

Nisbet said that students were now mainly learning through technology, making the traditional exam-system outdated.

"They use IT as their natural medium for identifying and exploring new issues and deepening their knowledge," she said writing for The Times Educational Supplement.

"Yet we are even now accrediting new GCSEs, due to run for several years, which are still taken largely on paper.

"This cannot go on. Our school exams are running the risk of becoming invalid as their medium of pen and ink increasingly differs from the way in which youngsters learn."

AQA chief Andrew Hall said, AQA has been offering onscreen exams for five years and is continuing to develop the innovative use of technology in assessment.

"The real prize here is to have assessment, online, on-demand, when the student is ready. This should also provide much speedier feedback to students and teachers, so they can identify areas of strength and weakness."