Junior High School Students’ And Teachers’ Perceptions And Challenges In Using Smartphones For Online Summative Assessments Through The Exambro Application

Abstract

Nowadays mobile learning has emerged as a response to the fast changing technology developments, with smartphones becoming essential tools for internet access and modern education. Smartphone features that are portable, lightweight, and have powerful capabilities make them favourable for use. Their widespread availability allows schools to conduct online tests accessible to all students. Despite growing interest, limited research explores about junior high school students and teachers’ perception on the implementation of online summative assessments using smartphone. This study aims to investigates junior high school students’ and teachers’ problems, solutions and perceptions of smartphone-based summative assessments. Using a phenomenological qualitative approach, the research explored participants’ experiences and views to identify patterns and themes. The study involved 58 students and 12 teachers from a state junior high school in Blitar, Indonesia. Findings revealed that students’ problems were connectivity issues (74,1%), device limitations (53,4 %), application problems (12%), and logistical concerns (10,3%) such as battery charging. The solution for students from the school were either using the school laboratory (79,3%), refreshing or restarting the students’ smartphones (27,6%). Students’ perception basically positive. Most students (81%) felt comfortable or even very comfortable with smartphone-based exams. They valued reduced writing fatigue, quick use, and simplified marking. Most teachers experienced (83.3%) encountered no issues, while only 16.7% mentioned problems with unstable internet connections. Their main concerns instead focused on test validity, student focus, and academic integrity. Approximately 25% of teachers were concerned regarding students' cheating. In addition, 16.7% of teachers also cited that smartphones distracted students or made them rush during tests. Similarly, 16.7% also cited the restriction of smartphone-based tests that if it focuses on end answers instead of solutions of problems. To address the issue, the participating teachers proposed three main solutions: using a more secure paid testing platform, holding assessments in school computer labs to reduce device-related problems, and offering specific training for both teachers and students. Overall, the findings indicate that despite existing challenges, most teachers and students favour smartphone-based assessments because of their efficiency, sustainability, and ease of grading.

Keywords: smartphone-based tests, summative assessment, junior high education, students’ perception, teacher perceptions, technology in education