Online Assessment of SQL Query Formulation Skills

Being able to formulate useful SQL queries is a fundamental skill required by many software development professionals. Masteringthis skill is a difficultprocess, requiringconsiderable practice and effort on the part of the student. In addition, assessment of SQL query formulation skills is a process that does not appear to have been thoroughly researched, and numerous problems are inherent to the approaches commonly taken in universitiesto do this assessment. Thispaper examines two of these approaches, identifies problems with them, and then proposes another method of assessment. The way that students are assessed in a subject has a significant impact on their learning approach, and it is crucial that assessmenttasks are carefully designed and implemented to inculcate a deep learningexperience. The online assessmentmethodproposed is described,evaluated,and the challengesand benefitsof using it are discussed. This is a work-in-progressand the conclusion states that further validationis needed,and there is opportunity for additionalresearchand developmentin this particulararea of assessment.