International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications, Volume 2, Issue 12, December 2012 1 ISSN 2250-3153 www.ijsrp.org A Hybrid Testing System for ICT Skills Assessment of Students P. M. K. Alahakoon, A. I. Thilakasiri, P. S. R. Peiris Information Technology Center University of Peradeniya Sri Lanka Abstract- Assessment and testing of skills achieve during a course is a prime requirement of the educators. Out of the many teaching and training programs, prime attention goes to ICT teaching programs which have gained an unprecedented demand in all levels of educational institutes today. Assessment of computer related skills are done in several different modes. However, the authors believe that the ideal testing mechanism must provide the students with the facility of using a computer rather than answering on their memory of using a computer. The testing mechanism described herein was designed and implemented at the main ICT training facility in the University of Peradeniya, the Information Technology Center (IT Center), in order to address this need and also to facilitate conducting tests amidst numerous technical and logistical challenges. The comparative analysis shows that the hybrid test system which involves students answering a printed MCQ type paper while attempting the relevant software based tasks on a computer is capable of delivering higher testable course outcomes as well as topics under cash category. The same can be easily improved to be a fully computer based test depending on the ability of the skills of beginners in handling a computer for multiple tasks. Index Terms- Computer based testing, ICT skills assessment, On-line assessment. I. INTRODUCTION onducting ICT related courses has been a very common practice in almost all university academic environments today. The need to impart the basic ICT skills needed by students for efficient learning and conduct of other academic exercises has become an essential part of the curriculum in many faculties in the University of Peradeniya as well. Some these courses are built into the regular undergraduate curriculum, and delivered in first or second year of the study program, while some faculties have adopted the approach of having them as preliminary training programs, offered during vacation periods or preferably, prior to start of a certain predetermined stage of their academic program. Since the courses are geared towards imparting various skills related to using a computer together with MS Office package, it is essential that the final assessment measures the skill levels achieved by the students. This, undoubtedly, is a difficult task to implement in a regular practical based examination system especially when the number per batch is many hundreds. The approach adopted so far by the IT Center is to design a fully practical test where students are asked to perform different tasks using MS Windows, and other software included in the MS Office package, save their output for evaluation by the teacher concerned. The paper consisted of questions targeting each software package, and the students were given access to a computer during the time of the test. The other approach adopted by some of the training institutes is to test their knowledge though an MCQ type question paper in an ordinary examination hall [1]. This testing method obviously was not geared for assessing the skill level but the memory related to the use of each package or software component. Even though this test method is adopted by some institutes, when MCQ type questions are used, the usual practice is such that either the test is completely a paper based MCQ type or, even if it is computer based MCQ, no provision is made for the students to attempt the task before answering. It is seen that many such institutes revert to the above approach of giving a practical examination in testing higher level skills. The IT Center has experienced the following technical as well as logistical problems in conducting these practical examinations, which warranted venturing into the new hybrid approach presented herein. Preparation of examinations: The questions need to be prepared for each batch, and if teachers change in between, the respective teacher must be contacted for questions. The style of questions is dependent on the teacher concerned, and this adds a variability factor and personal dependence which is best be avoided. Conduct of examinations: Since the tests are completely practical demonstrations of one’s ability in reproducing what is given in the form of the ques tion, he/she must be given a computer with a working copy of MS Office. The work done must be saved either on the computer, or on a C