How can you ensure VR assessments are reliable and valid?

1 What is ECD?

ECD is a framework for developing assessments that align with the learning objectives, the tasks, and the evidence of learning. ECD consists of four main components: the domain analysis, the domain modeling, the conceptual assessment framework, and the assessment implementation. The domain analysis involves identifying the knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) that the assessment targets, as well as the contexts and situations in which they are applied. The domain modeling involves defining the relationships between the KSAs, the tasks, and the evidence. The conceptual assessment framework involves specifying the assessment tasks, the scoring rules, and the feedback mechanisms. The assessment implementation involves creating the assessment items, the VR environment, and the delivery system.

2 How to ensure reliability?

To ensure reliability, you need to consider the sources of measurement error that may affect the assessment results, such as the VR hardware, the software, the user interface, the network, the test administration, and the scoring. You can use various methods to reduce or control these sources of error, such as conducting pilot testing, standardizing the test conditions, providing clear instructions, using multiple indicators of performance, applying consistent scoring criteria, and calculating reliability coefficients.

3 How to ensure validity?

To ensure validity, you need to provide evidence that supports the intended interpretations and uses of the assessment results, such as the claims about the learners' KSAs, the inferences about their learning progress, and the decisions about their learning outcomes. You can use various methods to collect and analyze this evidence, such as conducting content analysis, cognitive analysis, alignment analysis, criterion-related analysis, and consequential analysis.

4 How to use VR features?

VR offers some unique features that can enhance the reliability and validity of the assessment, such as the immersion, the interactivity, the realism, the presence, and the feedback. You can use these features to create authentic and engaging assessment tasks that simulate real-world scenarios, elicit complex and diverse KSAs, provide immediate and adaptive feedback, and measure both the process and the product of learning.

5 How to balance trade-offs?

However, VR also poses some trade-offs that may affect the reliability and validity of the assessment, such as the cost, the accessibility, the usability, the fidelity, and the ethics. You need to balance these trade-offs according to the purpose, the context, and the stakeholders of the assessment. For example, you may need to compromise on the fidelity of the VR environment to reduce the cost and increase the accessibility, or you may need to address the ethical issues related to the privacy and security of the VR data.

6 How to evaluate VR assessments?

Finally, you need to evaluate the effectiveness and impact of the VR assessments, both during and after the development and implementation process. You can use various methods to evaluate the VR assessments, such as formative and summative evaluation, user feedback, user testing, usability testing, and impact analysis. You can use the results of the evaluation to improve the design, the delivery, and the use of the VR assessments, as well as to communicate the value and the benefits of the VR assessments to the learners, the instructors, and the administrators.

7 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?