Benefits of a Secure Remote Assessment Platform for International Law Schools

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As we proceed with the new normal, many aspects of our lives have changed to a remote-first philosophy, including work, school, and even social gatherings. Law schools are no different. And even as things open up, institutions of higher education need the ability to pivot to distance learning and testing with little to no notice.

Beyond classes delivered through video conferencing tools, law schools need the ability to provide secure, remote testing. While there are several remote testing options to choose from, most do not provide the full array of features needed to handle assessment from start to finish.

An all-in-one assessment solution provides the flexibility law schools need to deliver secure exams in class or remotely as well as many other benefits, including:

  • Actionable, post-exam data
  • Significant savings versus live proctors
  • The option to securely use student-owned devices
  • Offline exams
  • Customized exam templates
  • Student outcome tracking
  • Printing / PDF Export capabilities
  • A variety of exam and question types
  • Bar exam preparation
  • Question banks

ExamSoft provides all of these benefits and more.

Actionable Post-Exam Data Reports

As more law schools start to introduce formative assessments into their programs, it’s important to keep the student experience in mind. In other types of programs, some students have had the experience of receiving a grade on a formative exam without knowing which questions they got wrong. They know a high-stakes exam is coming, but don’t know how to focus their studies.

Post-exam reports from ExamSoft can show students exactly which content areas they struggled with, allowing them to make better use of study time. Instructors can provide early remediation, which increases retention and improves student outcomes. With these reports, students and graduates who must take a Bar exam can more efficiently focus their studies.

Flexibility & Contingency Planning

A digital assessment platform like ExamSoft gives you the option to test either in person or remotely. This is crucial for times when testing in person isn’t feasible. But a flexible exam solution isn’t just for remote exams; a premier assessment solution makes in-person testing more efficient as well. Because digital testing can be done at scale, there is no need for computer labs. Remote proctoring from ExamSoft — ExamMonitor — is a cost-effective alternative to live proctoring.

Offline Exams

Most computer-based testing programs use a locked down browser in an attempt to prevent exam-takers from searching the internet for answers, but as good as that sounds, it can be problematic. Locked down browsers, also known as browser-based exam security or exam browsers, require a constant internet connection. These are inherently problematic for law school exams which are typically two to three hours long, especially for those in rural areas who do not have a reliable high-speed internet connection. These issues often cause a locked down browser to crash, leaving students stranded in the middle of a high-stakes exam, which only adds to their anxiety.

Delivering exams offline with a system that locks down the entire device alleviates these problems. Exam-takers download the exam before the exam starts and upload the answer file when the exam is completed and would not even be aware of an internet outage during an exam, whether taken in-person or remotely. Because the entire device is locked down, students can’t look at notes saved in other applications.

ExamSoft delivers exams offline with complete device control for increased integrity.

Student-Owned Devices

When exam-takers use ExamSoft on their own devices, law schools can avoid using computer labs, and instructors can maintain exam integrity. Instructors can also assign asynchronous assessments, in-class open book exams and even take-home exams. Students are more familiar with their own devices as well, which can alleviate some unneeded stress on exam day.

Why ExamSoft for Law Schools

Not only can ExamSoft provide the essay testing platform that law schools and Bar associations need, but it also provides a creation-and-reporting solution for improved remediation and the ability to track student learning outcomes longitudinally. ExamSoft’s question-banking tool allows instructors to spend more time teaching and less time writing assessments especially if they are open to utilizing multiple-choice questions on formative assessments.

ExamSoft’s printing and exporting utility empowers exam administrators to bulk print or export thousands of essay responses with the click of the mouse, while maintaining student anonymity. Printing and exportation are highly customizable with the ability to output every answer to one question at a time, override of font type/size for standardization, and inclusion of headers/footers.

For nearly a quarter century, U.S. Bar examiners and law programs around the world have trusted ExamSoft to provide secure, reliable assessments with actionable data to improve learning outcomes and Bar passage rates.

Learn more about ExamSoft for law programs by requesting a demo.

Published: November 1, 2021

Updated: January 4, 2022

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