Educational Assessment Meets Usability: Equal Chances for Conducting Computer-Based Concept-Maps

This paper describes how usability affects the usage of a computer-based assessment (CBA) instrument. The aim of our current study is twofold: a) the development of a usability improved CBA instrument (ISO 9241-11, 1998; ISO 9241-210, 2010) within the framework of human-computer interaction (HCI) and b) the comparison and evaluation of two concept map applications in regards to the impact that usability has on the assessment interaction. In this study we developed and evaluated two CBA concept map applications. We assessed 60 students aged between 16 and 18 who were asked to conduct concept maps on two different versions of the same knowledge assessment instrument. We observed significant differences regarding two out of three usability criteria of the ISO standard definition: efficiency and satisfaction of the students. Our findings highlight that usability influences the assessment interaction and therefore the chances of the assessment taker to work (successfully) through the assessment.