Moving from Face to Face to Virtual Assessment: Pakistani University Students' Perceptionsregarding Assessment in a Time of Covid -19

Assessment is an important part of the higher education system. Due to the pandemic Covid-19, Pakistan’s education system has shifted to online assessments.  The current study aims to explore Pakistani university students’ perceptions regarding online assessment as it can help in identifying the strengths and weaknesses of the online testing. In this qualitative study, the social constructionist epistemologyapproach is employed to understand students’ preferences and apprehensions regarding online assessments. A focused group discussion questionnaire was used to gather qualitative data. For this study, there were 40 students selected through non-random convenience sampling procedures from the department of English, University of Central Punjab, Lahore. Braun and Clarke’s (2006) framework for thematic analysis was carried out through Atlas.ti software. The findings highlight that students were reluctant to prefer online assessment over actual classroom testing as they believed that classroom assessments were more effective. Students faced many issues in online assessments. The major issue was the unstable internet connection in Pakistani settings. They preferred close-ended test items for online assessments, as they required less time, less detail, and no typing. They viewed online assessment to be an unfair means of judgment, as it is highly prone to cheating. Another issue was the unreliability of technology and the incompetency of teachers regarding the use of/handling technology. The findings of the current study may help the policymakers to decipher the preferences and apprehensions stated by the students so that online