Onscreen assessment
The natural choice for today's students
Pearson is proud to be leading the way in onscreen assessment as the first awarding body to offer onscreen International GCSE and International A Level exams alongside traditional paper-based exams.
Students sat their Pearson Edexcel International GCSE English Language exams onscreen for the first time in 2022 following a thorough pilot. The number of students sitting onscreen exams has seen a five-fold increase in the last year and the number of schools onboarding has more than tripled. By the examination series in 2026 there will be 14 subjects available for international schools to take onscreen exams in.
Students and teachers love it!
Students said...
“More time to plan and get my thoughts straight and that makes my outcome a much better quality.” - Maya
Teachers said...
“Some of the students were very happy to be able to take onscreen assessment while others were happy to know that they were still able to take the paper-based exams.” - Amy Ladds
British International School of Marbella
Results are clear
“The exam ran so smoothly and the students had no issues and the online invigilator platform worked perfectly.” - Samantha Roden
Onscreen assessment is available NOW!
Pearson Edexcel onscreen examinations are available for students to sit in the following International GCSE and International A Level (IAL®) subjects.
First assessment |
Qualification and subject |
2022 2023 |
International GCSE English Language A International GCSE English Literature GCSE Computer Science |
| 2024 | International GCSE Business International GCSE Economics International GCSE History International A level English Literature (not available in the UK) International A level English Language (not available in the UK) |
| 2025 | International GCSE Geography International GCSE Global Citizenship International GCSE Islamic Studies International GCSE Pakistan Studies |
| 2026 | International GCSE Information and Communication Technology International GCSE English as a Second Language International A Level History (not available in the UK) |
| 2027 | International GCSE Computer Science International A level Computer Science (new qualification, not available in the UK) |
Onscreen assessment guides
If you’re interested in offering Onscreen Assessment in your school, share these guides with your school community.
Onscreen assessment in action
NEW: International A Levels
Students across the world can take onscreen exams for our Pearson Edexcel International A Level qualifications as well as our International GCSEs as more subjects are added from May 2024.
Your questions answered webinar
Watch our 'Onscreeen Assessment your questions answered!' webinar where you can hear from our trailblazing schools who have tried and tested onscreen assessment
Pearson Edexcel Mocks Service
Students can sit a range of International GCSE and International A Level past papers onscreen and have it marked by our expert marking team. Over 4,000 students sat onscreen Pearson Edexcel GCSE mock exams in 2021.
Onscreen assessment in Egypt
Working with the Egyptian Ministry of Education, we deliver over 14 million high-stakes onscreen assessments to over 1.6 million students each year.
A fivefold increase
In 2024 we saw a fivefold increase in students choosing onscreen assessment to take their high stakes exams. Find out more in our onscreen infographic.
Read our FAQs
Got a question? Check out our frequently asked questions for more details including the technology requirements for onscreen assessments, invigilation ratios, the qualifications involved and how assessments are awarded.
What international schools say
Thousands of students now sit their International GCSE exams onscreen. The results are clear:
Teachers love it - 100% of teachers who registered students for onscreen exams in 2022 have registered for the 2023 exam series too
Students love it - 90% of students who sat their exams onscreen in 2022 said they wanted their school to offer more onscreen exams in the future.
What's more, our success in onscreen assessment has led to us becoming a BETT Award Finalist for Transformational Impact.
Our rich heritage in creating onscreen assessments
Onscreen assessment isn’t new to Pearson. We introduced the first completely computer-based English test with Pearson Test of English over 12 years ago.
Our rich heritage and experience of developing and delivering onscreen assessments at scale with the Pearson Test of English, the Egyptian Ministry of Education, GCSE Computer Science qualification, and currently two years of delivering high-stakes International GCSEs have ensured our onscreen platform is tried and tested.
It's a platform you can trust.
What we're exploring next
Every student, subject and assessment is unique. That’s why continuing our work with schools, employers and policymakers across countries and curricula is crucial to unlocking the opportunities of onscreen assessment.
Together, we will shape assessments that are accessible, inclusive and equip students for the future.
What are the barriers and opportunities with onscreen?
Our 'Onscreen Assessment Spotlight' report draws on expert views and surveys to identify the opportunities of technology in assessment and the barriers to change.
How can we shape accessible assessments?
We partnered with Assessment MicroAnalytics™ to explore how onscreen assessment might benefit students with Special Educational Needs and Disabilities (SEND).
What does the future of assessment look like?
We asked students, teachers, parents, employers and parliamentarians for their thoughts on the future of assessments for 14–19-year-olds in England.
General
What onscreen practice will be available to students before their final onscreen assessment?
In preparation for the final onscreen examination, there is opportunity for students to sit onscreen mock exams.
For customers delivering onscreen assessments, we are excited to be able to offer 15% off Onscreen Pearson Marked mocks service.
The mock opportunities will give your students a chance to experience the platform and respond to questions under an exam-style scenario. This not only allows them to become familiar with item types, the layout of the onscreen assessment and how to use onscreen tools but also gives them a chance to see how much they enjoy the experience and how it benefits them responding to assessment style questions without the pressure of it being a high-stakes final assessment.
This will help prepare them for the onscreen exam experiences and give them confidence in the use of the platform.
We will welcome feedback from your centre after sitting mock exams and the final onscreen assessment. This is likely to take the form of completing a survey sent out by Pearson and then a possible online follow-up with a member of our onscreen team to dig a little deeper into your responses.
Your feedback is vital throughout the process so that we can get insight into your students’ experience and will play an important role in the development of our onscreen assessment offering. It’s important to us that the onscreen experience is as intuitive and enjoyable for students as possible.
If my centre enters for onscreen assessment, do we have to enter the whole cohort?
We understand that centres will have different circumstances. While we expect that many centres will be keen for all students to enter for onscreen assessment, others may choose to split their entry between paper-based and onscreen assessment.
Technology Requirements
What are the technology requirements for International GCSE English onscreen assessments?
Our browser based assessment player is compatible and tested with multiple browsers and operating systems. No additional install is needed for using the assessment player and related functionality for mock exams and familiarisation materials.
Windows and Mac devices can be centre- or candidate-owned. However, we are only supporting centre-owned Chromebooks at this time.
For the high stakes live onscreen assessments on Mac and Windows devices you must install our secure browser prior to the exam and run it on the day. This will prevent the device from accessing the wider internet or other applications during the exam. For Chromebooks, you do not need to download the secure browser, but you must have them set up in Kiosk-mode for the live exam. This is not a requirement for running your mock exam, but we do recommend trialling the secure browser in at least one of your mocks so that you have experience of the set-up prior to the exam day.
Can I use laptops, computers and tablets?
Centres will be able to use computers and laptops to sit their mock and onscreen assessments. Windows and mac devices can be centre or candidate-owned devices, as long as they meet the requirements below.
Chromebooks must be centre-owned as we do not currently support the use of candidate-owned Chromebooks.
All devices must run supported operating systems and the device must still be able to receive and install updates. For example, a device that is not able to download software any newer than Microsoft Windows 7 would not be able to be used as it is no longer supported by Microsoft, as they have transitioned to Windows 8, 9, 10 and 11.
Tablets cannot be used to sit mock and onscreen assessments at this time.
Final onscreen exams
What is the invigilation ratio for onscreen exams?
The onscreen invigilation ratio for onscreen is different from the invigilation ratio for paper-based exams and is one invigilator per 20 students (as opposed to one invigilator per 30 students).
What is the minimum space requirement between students?
Each work station must be isolated by a minimum space of 1.25 metres measured from the nearest outer edge of one screen to the next, unless the monitors are positioned back-to-back or separated by dividers or protected by privacy screens.
Appropriate steps must be taken to ensure that this can be achieved. The diagram below indicates how centres may wish to organise the exam space.
The texts for the 4 EA1 exams are presented onscreen where students can use onscreen annotation tools. These include highlighting, sticky notes and the onscreen notepad function during their planning and as they respond to the questions. (See this short video for more information about these onscreen features).
Printed copies of the Literature Anthology will be provided for the onscreen exams, as with the paper-based exam.
Printed copies of the Literature Anthology will not be provided for the onscreen Mock exams.
Can learners use blank paper to take notes in the final onscreen exams?
Learners may not take notes into the examination room.
However, they can be provided with blank paper in the exam, should they wish to take notes by hand. Please be aware that these notes will not be marked.
How do I apply for extra time for the final onscreen exams?
Any extra time requirements for candidate should be applied for ahead of the exam through the normal route via the Pearson Access Arrangements online tool, accessible via Edexcel Online (EOL).
Qualification questions
My students take the coursework pathway. Can our centre still be involved?
Yes – centres who offer the coursework pathway for International GCSE English Language A and International GCSE English Literature can still register for onscreen assessment. Students will sit paper 1 onscreen but will continue to complete and submit the coursework component as normal.
How will onscreen and paper-based assessment be awarded?
Both paper-based and onscreen will follow the normal awarding process. Measure will be in place to ensure fairness and consistency so that no student is advantaged or disadvantaged as a result of the medium they choose to take the exam.