Computer-based assessment can be precious by allowing instant feedback to teachers and students, for instance, in formative assessment contexts.
The Centre for Technology-Based Assessment develops innovative technology-based methods to measure learning outcomes and to assess and support learning processes.
The Centre conducts basic and application-oriented research and supports educational research institutions and projects in the development and implementation of technology-based assessment with expertise, software solutions and online information systems. TBA activities also include research and development work in the context of national and international large-scale assessments, e.g. PISA, PIAAC or NEPS.
TBA Infrastructure and Transfer
The scientific infrastructure work at the TBA Centre supports the use of technology-based summative and formative assessment procedures in empirical educational research and educational practice. This is based on the development and provision of software tools for the development of assessment content (e.g. the CBA ItemBuilder) and the implementation of assessments (e.g. the IRTlib software). In addition, the TBA Centre offers consulting, training, planning and implementation in the following areas, among others: Item development, test assembly, test implementation, coding of open-ended responses, development of feedback using log/process data. For this purpose, the TBA Centre combines methodological approaches from psychometrics and computer science or artificial intelligence.
TBA Research
The research work at the TBA Centre is aimed, among other things, at improving and expanding measurement methods using digital technologies, the diagnostic use of process data from assessment and learning environments, the instructional use of learner data (learning analytics and feedback) and interfaces for information, teaching and learning systems. The research orientation is supported in particular by two research professorships: the Professorship for Educational and Psychological Assessment with a focus on technology-based applications anchored in the Centre for International Student Assessment (ZIB) in the Department of Teacher and Teaching Quality (LLiB) and the computer science Professorship for Educational Technologies and Learning Analytics established in the Information Centre for Education (IZB).
TBA Cooperation Structure
The following work areas of the LLiB and IZB departments work together within the TBA Centre:
- Educational Computer Science (Head: Daniel Schiffner)
- TBA – Psychometrics, Educational Data Science and AI (Head: Ulf Kröhne)
- TBA – Centre for International Student Assessment/Large-Scale Assessment (Head: Frank Goldhammer)
- Educational Technologies (Head: Hendrik Drachsler)
Current speaker and scientific coordinator of the TBA Centre: Daniel Schiffner
More and detailed information: website of the TBA Centre
Projects by Centre of Technology Based Assessment respectively with its participation
The central aim is to create an online course for student teachers on the subject of digital education. From digital trace data, indicators of learning behavior will be developed and validated. These indicators will be used for learning-supporting feedback and their effectiveness will be tested.
The project measures the ability of students to find and evaluate information on the internet and form coherent arguments from it. In a longitudinal study design, participants use the free internet while their behaviour is measured via log data, e.g. websites visited and search engine entries.
HIKOF-DL analyse students' learning activities to provide highly informative feedback for digital learning.
Artificial intelligence (AI) systems can provide automated, personalized feedback in real time to learners in distance learning when no human expert is available.
The IWWB-PLUS project is supported by the INVITE funding program of the Federal Ministry of Education and Re-search and contributes to strengthening further education in Germany. It focuses on the aim of enhancing the appeal and usability of the established continuing education search platform InfoWebWeiterbildung (IWWB). Innovative technology will be implemented in this regard, as well as enabling interoperability with other services in the area of continuing education.
As a consortium partner, the DIPF contributes to the planning and implementation of the National Educational Panel Study (NEPS). One of focal point of this project is the work package on Technology-Based Testing (TBT).
As part of the innovative domain in PISA 2025 "Learning in the Digital World" (LDW), the project researches and develops innovative approaches to the diagnostic use of behavioural data from digital learning and assessment environments.
The projects of the ReCo team centre around text responses. For example, the ReCo software automatically assesses whether a response in the PISA test in correct. The team provides a range of apps from automatic and semi-automatic coding of responses to on-the-fly usage in the classroom without any evaluation.
The research alliance “SchuMaS – Schule macht stark” accompanies and supports the development of 200 primary and secondary schools in challenging circumstances across Germany.
