The final validation study: A comparative picture of the ease of use and acceptance of onscreen marking by markers across subject areas

Onscreen marking has been used for the majority of Hong Kong public examinations since 2012. The current study rounds off the series of validation research studies in this volume by comparing marker reactions to OSM, i.e., perceived ease of use and acceptance of OSM, against the backdrop of virtually all subject areas being marked on screen. The data was collected from three major sources: (1) survey data obtained from 1,743 markers across 14 major subject areas; (2) markers' qualitative comments about the OSM system; and (3) post-hoc interviews with a key informant from the Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority (HKEAA). Results showed that, in general, markers revealed a high level of perceived ease of use and positive acceptance of OSM. These significant findings reveal how OSM had gradually come to be accepted over the previous 6-years while the validation studies had been carried out. The effect of subject area for both scales was statistically significant. On the Ease of Use in the OSM Environment scale, markers of ICT and Mathematics were the most positive, with markers of History and Geography the least positive. On the Acceptance of OSM scale, markers of Mathematics and ICT were the most accepting with markers of Biology and Geography the least. The analysis of survey data was triangulated by markers' qualitative comments together with the HKEAA staff interview. Possible explanations for the results are proposed and implications for the further development of OSM in Hong Kong are briefly discussed. Copyright © 2016 Springer Science+Business Media Singapore.