10 Keys to Shifting From Paper-Based to Online Skills Assessment Testing

If you’re considering making the shift from paper testing to an online platform, but feel overwhelmed by the seemingly endless options, we put together a list of questions and answers about the process to help you decide. We outline 10 key ways it might make good sense to move your organization’s skills assessment using test delivery software.

Do you wish you could quickly and easily design your tests in a more adaptable way that uses multiple question styles?

Test or exam delivery software platforms offer the ability to create, edit, and customize your tests using templated designs and a variety of test types. You can build question banks that you can draw from for future tests and create section tests that progress through the subject matter in sequence. Whether your exam needs are simple or complex, test delivery software can help you build the test that assesses exactly what you want. And a bonus benefit is not having to involve the graphic design department, or an outside vendor to design and print your tests.

Would your job be easier if you could manage your learning modules, tests, and certificates all in one place?

If you’re sending your learners to multiple sources for their training content, arranging for in-person skills assessment testing and proctoring, and producing certificates through yet another vendor, you might think there’s got to be a more efficient way to accomplish it all. Some online test delivery software like Gauge offer a one-stop-shop for setting up your custom training content, tests, and certificates with user-friendly interfaces and dozens of other features that will streamline your program.

Are you training and testing so many people, that it’s hard to keep track?

Adding users (the people you need to test for skills assessment) to a paper testing program can require a lot of document tracking. A robust test delivery software platform makes it easy for you to add your users in bulk, one at a time, and some, like Gauge, even allow for self-registering and API or single sign-on integration. Once those users are in the system, you can easily communicate with them through in-app messaging and email and keep tabs on their progress and results.

Are you drowning in paper and spreadsheets, managing input from multiple test question authors, and spending countless hours updating and reprinting exams?

Sure, it’s great to share the burden, but you’re the one responsible for making it all happen seamlessly. Every time you have to make an exam update due to industry changes, you also have to collect updates from those authors. An online testing platform lets you quickly create questions and assign admin access to multiple users so they can provide their updates directly into the system. No more copying and pasting from multiple emails. Plus, you’ll no longer need to leave enough time in the schedule to get tests printed and delivered. You can proof exams online and make adjustments on the fly.

Are you worried about keeping your exam content and your test-takers confidential information secure?

Let’s face it, people cheat. It’s an unfortunate side effect of being human for some and can cost you and your company a lot of time and money if you have to revamp tests because someone figured out how to game your system and shared it with their peers. Online testing platforms help you protect your proprietary assessment information with digital cheat prevention measures such as customized authentication and the ability to limit access. You can offer your learners secure testing, trusting that your work won’t have to be redone due to a security breach.

Are you overwhelmed by having to use multiple communication channels to disseminate information related to your testing program?

It can be maddening to manage emails, phone calls, texts, and remind apps to ensure key players receive information in a timely, clear manner. Some online testing platforms like Gauge offer fully integrated in-app messaging that lets you deliver registration, login, navigation, and testing instructions without having to leave the software. They also include fully automated email messaging directly from within the app so you can deliver invites, confirmations, notices, test results, status updates, password assistance, and more. No more toggling between platforms.

Do you wish you could track your learner’s progress and have their results in hand a whole lot faster?

There’s often a wide gap between the time you set a learner up with training materials and the time they’ll sit for the test. With paper testing, there is no easy way to check in on that learner’s progress unless you reach out to them directly. Add one more task to your to-do list, multiplied by the number of learners you need to track. With a robust online learning platform like Gauge, you can easily set the sequential order for learning and follow every user’s progress through the training modules in your dashboard. Once they move on to testing, you’ll have results immediately and can set the program up to automatically deliver the certificate by email from the platform.

Does managing remote workers and arranging for proctoring for teams in multiple locations make you wish you took that elective juggling class in college?

If you have folks working in multiple locations who don’t have a proctored testing center near them, that juggling act can become a full-time job. The good news is most people today are digitally connected with smartphones, tablets, and laptops. Online test and exam delivery software with built-in proctoring makes it possible for them to complete their testing anywhere – even in the field – as long as they have an internet connection. This eliminates the need to find and schedule physical test centers and proctors, which can also help your program budget.

Is it frustrating to try to create a paper testing program that’s adaptable to the test taker’s expertise and experience?

Ultimately, you want testing programs to allow learners to not only measure their knowledge at that particular moment in time but also to apply their knowledge in a meaningful way. That can be hard to do with a cookie-cutter test that everyone takes regardless of their past experience. Some online test delivery software platforms like Gauge allow you to build exams with an if/then model that reflects the test taker’s abilities and experience.

What could you accomplish if you could immediately use testing data reports to help you make staffing and business decisions?

There are many ways to give and receive feedback in the workplace, and skills assessment testing can provide real-time data that helps you pivot when needed. Paper testing naturally has a lag between testing, results, and reports due to logistics and task silos. With powerful test delivery software, your results are available immediately, and you can turn your data into useful reports right in the intuitive software.

We know it can be overwhelming to consider shifting away from the paper and pencil method of skills assessment testing, but if you answer yes to any of these questions, it might be time to focus on platforming your testing program online. That overwhelm you feel is the source of much of the feedback we’ve had from users for nearly three decades and that feedback has fueled our efforts to make Gauge the most adaptable test delivery software platform available.

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If your certification program is running on tools that were never built for it — and you’re starting to feel the friction in your daily operations — Gauge was designed for exactly this situation. It handles the full exam lifecycle for professional credentialing programs, from item banking through results and credential issuance, without requiring you to stitch together separate systems.