User Experience challenges for designing and evaluating Computer-Based Assessments for children

Computer-Based Assessment (CBA), i.e., the use of computers instead of paper & pencil for testing purposes is now increasingly used, both in education and in the workforce. Along with this trend, several issues regarding the usage of computers in assessment can be raised. With respect to CBA, test validity and acceptance appear at stake during interacting with a complex assessment system. For instance, individual differences in computer literacy (i.e. ability to handle technology) might cause different outcomes that are not related to the problem-solving task. Prior investigation has shown that there is a scarcity of research on the User Experience (UX) in the context of CBA, also due to a focus on adult users. This doctoral thesis aims to adapt and develop new evaluation methods from the Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) field, applied in the context of CBA. The contributions will result in the development of best practices guidelines for both research and practitioners by adopting design and evaluation methods drawn from the field of Child-computer Interaction (CCI).