On-screen assessment: the sector calls for a clear roadmap in Ofqual consultation response

The e-Assessment Association has submitted its response to Ofqual’s consultation on the regulation of on-screen assessment in GCSEs, AS and A levels.

This consultation represents a critical opportunity to establish a clear pathway for the transition to digital assessment in England’s high-stakes qualifications. For more than 25 years the sector has debated the move to on-screen exams, while technology has advanced and digital delivery has become routine in many vocational, professional and international assessment systems.

Yet progress in England’s general qualifications has remained slow.

The issue is not whether digital exams work
Evidence gathered through the eAA’s consultation response reinforces a widely recognised point across the sector: the question is no longer whether on-screen assessment can work. It already does.Secure digital exams are delivered at scale in many assessment systems. The challenge now is how to introduce and expand them within England’s regulated qualifications framework in a way that maintains standards, protects learners and is operationally realistic for schools and colleges.

Our members’ feedback consistently highlights that the primary constraints are practical: centre infrastructure, device availability, staff capability and incident management during peak exam periods rather than concerns about the validity of digital assessment itself.

These are implementation challenges, not structural barriers.

Learners are ready
Student expectations are also shifting. Evidence gathered by the eAA highlights strong learner preference for on-screen assessment, with students reporting that digital exams feel more engaging and allow them to demonstrate their knowledge more effectively. At the same time, it exposes a growing disconnect between increasingly digital learning environments and the expectation that students spend valuable revision time practising handwriting for high-stakes exams. Research into learner experience reinforces this trend, showing clear learner preference for digital assessment and growing confidence in its ability to assess knowledge accurately while reflecting how students study and work today.

Accessibility opportunities
Digital assessment also has the potential to improve accessibility when implemented well. Features such as compatibility with assistive technologies, adjustable presentation settings and text-to-speech tools can help remove barriers that exist in paper-based exams. On-screen delivery can also reduce the handwriting burden that disadvantages some learners.

For this reason, the conversation about equality should not focus solely on avoiding disadvantage, but also on the opportunity to improve accessibility and learner experience through better design.

The case for a clear roadmap
While the eAA supports Ofqual’s intent to strengthen public confidence, protect standards and ensure fairness as on-screen assessment expands, our response highlights the risk that overly restrictive entry conditions could slow progress unnecessarily.

Instead, the sector would benefit from a clearer roadmap for how digital assessment could expand over time. This would allow awarding organisations to demonstrate the effectiveness of on-screen assessment through controlled pilots, smaller-entry subjects and carefully managed implementation. Evidence from these early stages could then inform decisions about wider adoption.

A structured pathway of this kind would allow the system to build confidence gradually while ensuring that innovation and operational learning are not held back by fixed limits.

Graham Hudson, Chair of the e-Assessment Association, said: “We welcome Ofqual’s consultation and thank the many eAA members who shared feedback to help shape our response. We are also grateful to Ofqual for working with us to engage the assessment community and encourage awarding organisations and eAA members to contribute their expertise. The sector is ready to begin the transition towards digital assessment, and this consultation provides an important opportunity to establish the roadmap for that change."

Building evidence, not assumptions
Awarding organisations already have significant experience delivering digital assessment in other contexts. Allowing them to demonstrate what works and publish evidence on reliability, fairness and delivery at scale, will be critical to informed policy decisions.

The goal should be a framework that maintains rigorous standards while allowing the system to evolve as evidence grows and centre capability develops.

England is not starting from scratch. Many of the challenges identified in the consultation have already been addressed successfully elsewhere. The opportunity now is to learn from that experience and provide a clear pathway for the future of assessment.