Performance analysis of GAME: A generic automated marking environment

  • Authors:

  • Michael Blumenstein;Steve Green;Shoshana Fogelman;Ann Nguyen;Vallipuram Muthukkumarasamy

  • Affiliations:

  • School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre Bundall, Qld 9726, Australia;School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre Bundall, Qld 9726, Australia;The Griffith School of Environment, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre Bundall, Qld 9726, Australia;School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre Bundall, Qld 9726, Australia;School of Information and Communication Technology, Griffith University, PMB 50 Gold Coast Mail Centre Bundall, Qld 9726, Australia

  • Venue:
  • Computers & Education
  • Year:
  • 2008

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Abstract

This paper describes the Generic Automated Marking Environment (GAME) and provides a detailed analysis of its performance in assessing student programming projects and exercises. GAME has been designed to automatically assess programming assignments written in a variety of languages based on the ''structure'' of the source code and the correctness of the program's output. Currently, the system is able to mark programs written in Java, C++ and the C language. To use the system, instructors are required to provide a simple ''marking schema'' for each given assessment item, which includes pertinent information such as the location of files and the model solution. In this research, GAME has been tested on a number of student programming exercises and assignments and its performance has been compared against that of a human marker. An in-depth statistical analysis of the comparison is presented, providing encouraging results and directions for employing GAME as a tool for teaching and learning.