Addressing Educational Management Challenges in Programming Assessment: The Case of Py-Grader for Python

This chapter delves into the escalating demand for digital literacy and computational thinking skills in higher education, particularly within STEM disciplines. It highlights the challenges educational managers face in effectively delivering and assessing practical programming skills at scale. Traditional manual grading methods are labor-intensive, time-consuming, and prone to inconsistencies, straining teaching resources and delaying formative feedback crucial for student learning. The chapter introduces Py-Grader, a web-based automated assessment platform designed to address these issues. Py-Grader leverages client-side technologies, such as Brython for in-browser Python execution and CodeMirror for an enhanced code editing interface, to shift computational load from the central server to the user’s local machine. This innovative approach mitigates server strain, enhancing system responsiveness and scalability. The chapter also discusses the limitations of existing automated grading tools, which often focus primarily on code correctness and overlook deeper aspects of code quality, efficiency, or style. Py-Grader aims to provide comprehensive, actionable feedback, supporting a more dynamic and responsive learning environment. The methodology section outlines the data collection process, including direct engagement with stakeholders such as students and lecturers, and the design specification of the Py-Grader system. The results and discussion section present the system's architecture, usability testing outcomes, and the potential threats to validity. The chapter concludes by highlighting the benefits of Py-Grader in enhancing scalability and responsiveness in programming education and outlines future work to expand its impact and utility.