When it comes to high-stakes assessments being written in person, many instructors are weighing whether to stick with traditional paper exams or move assessments online using tools like Canvas and Respondus LockDown Browser.
Each approach brings its own technical considerations, challenges, and benefits—here’s a closer look.
📝 Paper exams: A traditional method of assessing student work, students complete a paper exam in a classroom or exam hall and directly submit it to the teaching team.
💻 Canvas exams: You can also use Canvas, UBC’s Learning Management System (LMS,) to administer an exam. Students use their own device to complete a digital exam in a secure environment. This method requires the student to install Lockdown Browser on their device.
Benefits and challenges of paper vs. Canvas exams
Assessment tools and features
Paper exam
✅ Flexible for complex work: Subjects that require diagrams, equations, or free form drawing often work better on paper.
⚠️ Scalability issues: Question randomization and auto-grading aren’t possible on paper. There is a reliance of multiple versions of the same exam to ensure academic integrity for large classes.
Canvas exam
✅ Built-in tools for scalability: Canvas offers automated grading for multiple-choice, true/false, and other question types. Instructors can also setup question banks, allowing randomization of exam questions.
✅ Managing accommodations: Extended times or varied start/end times can be easily setup on Canvas.
Academic integrity
Paper exam
✅ Simple invigilation: The teaching team and students are familiar with how these assessments are administered.
✅ Authenticated student work: Rest easy knowing ghost writers or AI tools will not affect the academic integrity of your exam.
Canvas exam
✅ Locked down test environment: LockDown Browser restricts students’ ability to navigate away from the test, open new tabs, or use any sort of AI assistant on the device being used.
Technical dependence
Paper exam
✅ No tech required: Paper exams don’t rely on internet connections, software, or devices. If the lights stay on and the room is quiet, the exam runs as planned!
Canvas exam
⚠️ Technical dependence: Students need a reliable device and internet connection. A dropped Wi-Fi signal can cause major stress over lost time — or worse, lost answers.
⚠️ Software compatibility: LockDown Browser can cause issues for students using older devices, tablets, or certain operating systems.
⚠️ Learning curve: More technical support is needed before the exam to ensure students are set up and familiar with the use of LockDown Browser.
Logistics and operations
Paper exam
⚠️ Manual workload: Printing, collecting, transporting, and grading physical papers takes coordination, time, and space.
⚠️ Archival issues: Lost or misplaced papers can be a serious problem. Exams have to be securely stored for at least a year in case of grade disputes.
⚠️ Difficulty reading responses: Some exams may get messy as students rush through their responses or rewrite sections.
Canvas exam
✅ Centralized access: Once the exam is completed, the entire teaching team has access to all submissions.
✅ Online archival: Student submissions are stored indefinitely on Canvas.
Other tools for marking paper exams
Scantron
Scantron is a multiple-choice test tool that is available to faculty and staff in the Faculty of Arts. It uses proprietary forms which are filled in by students during their exam and then fed through a specialized Scantron scanning machine to automatically score, analyze, and print data.
Scantron forms are supplied through individual departments and come in various formats.
FormScanner
Open-sourced and free to use, FormScanner is a fast and updated alternative to Scantron grading products. Rather than using pre-made forms that require prior ordering and delivery time, users can create custom forms with the built-in test tools and print out their own forms.
Gradescope
Gradescope has the ability to create and edit shared rubrics, deploy artificial intelligence-assisted grading features, automate digital assessment and assignment return to students, and view grading analytics.
There is a cost for using Gradescope at UBC. The cost is charged per student per course. Funding for Gradescope will need to be discussed with your department.
