School management software is a comprehensive solution for schools of any sizes to streamline their daily activities and functions. It comes with a number of features that are meant to make the learning process simple. Over the past few years, such an online solution has been implemented in hundreds of schools successfully. Since the last year, such implementations have increased pursuant to the worldwide coronavirus pandemic.
The main purpose of any educational institution is to teach children in an effective manner. Students need to show progress in their capabilities as they climb up the grades and this is measured by way of examinations/assessments at regular intervals. School ERP software makes this effortless with its exam management system. Offline/online exam management features are being used extensively by schools globally. So, what is the basic difference between these two? Let us understand in the following lines.
  • Online exam management system
    As the name suggests, this is an exam system that happens online. The schedule is sent with the date and the topics to the students. Before the specified date, the online exam is updated onto the system by the teacher. At the exact time, the same is made accessible to the students so that they can take the exam. Once they complete it, they can submit it immediately. The grading happens simultaneously on a real-time basis without the intervention of admin staff or the teachers. Reports are generated based on the grades and individual performances can be reviewed.
  • Offline exam management system
    In this system, the exam schedule is decided upon and it is uploaded onto the system at the prescribed time. It can be printed and sent to the students. However, students need to take it offline, either on paper or in other means specific to the educational institution. OMR (Optical Mark Recognition) answer sheet is ideally used. Once they finish it, they need to upload their answers in a format that is pre-decided. Teachers need to evaluate these and upload the grades online in batches. Individual grades are made available online post this, as are the reports.
Benefits of offline/online exams in a student management system
  • Ease of report generation
    With hundreds of students studying in each grade, it becomes quite difficult to check the progress of each one if the manual system is followed. However, with school management software, reports for each one of them are generated and stored online. It can be accessed by the teachers, admin staff and other relevant members so as to track the grades and work on those who need extra help. The whole process is automated and hence, reduces the effort of all those involved to a minimum.
  • An enhanced data storage system
    Student data is equally important. Schools need to have a system that is able to store huge amounts of data in a secure manner. Everything that is stored online is available for however long it needs to be. There are no chances of any information being lost. Furthermore, only those who have the necessary credentials can access it, which takes just a few clicks.
  • Easier for teachers to conduct exams
    With the exam management system, the teachers’ effort is considerably decreased. They just need to schedule it on a particular day, set the paper and upload it online. Whether it is the online or the offline system, the work is reduced considerably. Furthermore, teachers need to identify those students who need personalized attention and this is possible by checking their reports and analyzing their grades over time.
  • Better accessibility for students
    An online school management system helps students take exams even from a remote location. There are no limitations to it. Just with the help of a laptop/mobile and internet connection, they are able to proceed with their studies even in these difficult circumstances.
Managing exams with an online school management system
The situation with the pandemic is getting worse. Schools are looking at online studies even for this academic year as many vital examinations are being cancelled or postponed to prevent the spread of the disease. So, in order to check the students’ progress and make sure that they are up to date with their learning, an exam management system is the way forward.