Abstract

While there is a growing trend towards the exploitation of technology for the delivery of educational material, it must be said that techniques for computer-based assessment of students are still in their infancy. However, increasing numbers of students and the expanding popularity of distance learning make it not only desirable but imperative that technology be used to the full in measuring student progress. In the context of computer programming courses, assessment must include judgements of the quality of solutions to programming exercises. Although there is much that a computer cannot address in this regard, there are a number of aspects of assessment that can be automated to great effect.A software system has therefore been designed and implemented which employs a variety of techniques for grading student exercises in terms of program correctness, efficiency, style, complexity, and the adequacy of test data. For a given exercise, the system generates a report summarizing the results of each form of analysis and the way in which it contributes to the final grade. Experiences to date are encouraging, the system offering much faster and more comprehensive marking than was previously possible.

Citation

Jackson, D. A software system for grading student computer programs. Computers & Education, 27(3), 171-180. Elsevier Ltd. Retrieved August 11, 2024 from https://www.learntechlib.org/p/205437/.