Offline and online peer assessment in computer engineering: Insights from a 5-year experience

Peer assessment has traditionally represented a key tool to enhance active learning and critical thinking. However, the success of this approach is governed by different factors, which have been accentuated in recent years. The implementation of peer assessment is consequently a challenging task in the current context. This work investigates peer assessment strategies in seven Computer Engineering courses. Students’ performance and assessment accuracy are analyzed throughout five academic years, covering the transition from offline to online methodologies according to the evolution of educational environments. More specifically, peer and lecturer’s grades are examined to identify correlations or deviations in two execution phases. The first phase involves the analysis of in-class offline peer assessments during four academic years, integrated as part of continuous assessment tasks. The second phase deals with the evaluation of online peer assessments in 2021/2022, considering different platforms to manage submissions and reviews. The offline experience denotes statistical correlations between the grades assigned by the peers and the lecturer, while also revealing patterns that affected the performance of students. In addition, the switch to online methodologies does not significantly affect the assessments in courses that adopted peer strategies in the past. Finally, comparable results are obtained under single-blind and double-blind models after careful training.