{rfName}
Au

License and use

Icono OpenAccess

Altmetrics

Analysis of institutional authors

Barra ECorresponding AuthorLópez-Pernas SAuthorAlonso AAuthorSánchez-Rada JfAuthorGordillo AAuthorQuemada JAuthor

Share

October 11, 2020
Publications
>
Article

Automated Assessment in Programming Courses: A Case Study during the COVID-19 Era

Publicated to:Sustainability. 12 (18): 7451- - 2020-09-01 12(18), DOI: 10.3390/SU12187451

Authors: Barra, Enrique; Lopez-Pernas, Sonsoles; Alonso, Alvaro; Sanchez-Rada, Juan Fernando; Gordillo, Aldo; Quemada, Juan

Affiliations

Escuela Técnica Superior de Ingenieros de Telecomunicación, Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Sistemas Informat, Dept Sistemas Informat, Madrid 28031, Spain - Author
Univ Politecn Madrid, Escuela Tecn Super Ingn Telecomunicac, Dept Ingn Sistemas Telemat, Madrid 28040, Spain - Author
Universidad Politécnica de Madrid - Author

Abstract

© 2020 by the authors. The COVID-19 pandemic imposed in many countries, in the short term, the interruption of face-to-face teaching activities and, in the medium term, the existence of a 'new normal', in which teaching methods should be able to switch from face-to-face to remote overnight. However, this flexibility can pose a great difficulty, especially in the assessment of practical courses with a high student-teacher ratio, in which the assessment tools or methods used in face-to-face learning are not ready to be adopted within a fully online environment. This article presents a case study describing the transformation of the assessment method of a programming course in higher education to a fully online format during the COVID-19 pandemic, by means of an automated student-centered assessment tool. To evaluate the new assessment method, we studied students' interactions with the tool, as well as students' perceptions, which were measured with two different surveys: one for the programming assignments and one for the final exam. The results show that the students' perceptions of the assessment tool were highly positive: if using the tool had been optional, the majority of them would have chosen to use it without a doubt, and they would like other courses to involve a tool like the one presented in this article. A discussion about the use of this tool in subsequent years in the same and related courses is also presented, analyzing the sustainability of this new assessment method.

Keywords

AssessmentAssessment processAssessment techniquesAssessment toolsAutomated assessmentComputer science educationE-learningOnline education

Quality index

Bibliometric impact. Analysis of the contribution and dissemination channel

The work has been published in the journal Sustainability due to its progression and the good impact it has achieved in recent years, according to the agency Scopus (SJR), it has become a reference in its field. In the year of publication of the work, 2020, it was in position , thus managing to position itself as a Q1 (Primer Cuartil), in the category Energy Engineering and Power Technology. Notably, the journal is positioned above the 90th percentile.

From a relative perspective, and based on the normalized impact indicator calculated from World Citations from Scopus Elsevier, it yields a value for the Field-Weighted Citation Impact from the Scopus agency: 1.35, which indicates that, compared to works in the same discipline and in the same year of publication, it ranks as a work cited above average. (source consulted: ESI Nov 14, 2024)

This information is reinforced by other indicators of the same type, which, although dynamic over time and dependent on the set of average global citations at the time of their calculation, consistently position the work at some point among the top 50% most cited in its field:

  • Field Citation Ratio (FCR) from Dimensions: 9.36 (source consulted: Dimensions Jul 2025)

Specifically, and according to different indexing agencies, this work has accumulated citations as of 2025-07-06, the following number of citations:

  • WoS: 23
  • Scopus: 34
  • Google Scholar: 59

Impact and social visibility

From the perspective of influence or social adoption, and based on metrics associated with mentions and interactions provided by agencies specializing in calculating the so-called "Alternative or Social Metrics," we can highlight as of 2025-07-06:

  • The use of this contribution in bookmarks, code forks, additions to favorite lists for recurrent reading, as well as general views, indicates that someone is using the publication as a basis for their current work. This may be a notable indicator of future more formal and academic citations. This claim is supported by the result of the "Capture" indicator, which yields a total of: 177 (PlumX).

With a more dissemination-oriented intent and targeting more general audiences, we can observe other more global scores such as:

    It is essential to present evidence supporting full alignment with institutional principles and guidelines on Open Science and the Conservation and Dissemination of Intellectual Heritage. A clear example of this is:

    • The work has been submitted to a journal whose editorial policy allows open Open Access publication.

    Leadership analysis of institutional authors

    There is a significant leadership presence as some of the institution’s authors appear as the first or last signer, detailed as follows: First Author (BARRA ARIAS, ENRIQUE) and Last Author (QUEMADA VIVES, JUAN).

    the author responsible for correspondence tasks has been BARRA ARIAS, ENRIQUE.