[Bridging_the_digital_divide] Taking tests on computers - how about the special needs?

[Jason Barkeloo]

State may issue tests on school computers

  By CLAUDETTE RILEY
Staff Writer

All public students could be participating by 2010

If Tennessee can work out the kinks, all public school students will be  
taking their mandatory exams on computer by 2010.

State education officials plan to try out select online end-of-course  
exams in about 10 districts during the next school year, make  
adjustments and then phase in other tests — and districts — statewide.  
The state hasn't picked the pilot districts.

Schools would probably use computerized testing for the state-mandated  
reading, language arts, science, math and social studies exams given to  
students in grades 3–8; end-of-course exams given in high school; and  
the Gateway Algebra I, biology and English II exams that students must  
pass to get a diploma.

''Four or five years from now, we'd like to have all our assessments  
online,'' said Keith Brewer, deputy commissioner of education. ''It's a  
vision we hope to cultivate and make a reality.''

Advocates of the change say it would save taxpayer money, reduce  
testing time, allow students to take tests closer to the end of the  
school year, speed up test results and give schools more time to help  
struggling students catch up to their peers.

''I'd love to see this happen. This is the future,'' said Paul Changas,  
student assessment coordinator for Metro schools. ''We could use it to  
more quickly determine what's happening in the classroom and the  
school. Right now, there's a lot of lost time.''

For the change to become a reality, state officials said, the system  
must be secure and each of the state's 136 school systems must have the  
technology needed to support computerized testing.

''We'd have to make sure there is no security breach,'' Brewer said.  
Teachers would still be used to monitor testing, he said, and several  
versions of the tests might be given at one time.

A statewide survey is planned to find out which districts have the  
right computer equipment and which need help getting up to par.

''Once we know how much we've got, we'll start to brainstorm on how to  
partner with districts to put money toward that,'' Brewer said.  
''You'll have some districts out there good to go.''

Officials said they would like to have one fully equipped computer  
laboratory in every school but might consider having a tiny district or  
several small schools share a common location.

Alfred Boyter, co-chairman of the Robertson County School Board, said  
using computers ''would be fantastic.''

''It would be a good use of our resources, it would bring technology  
into the classroom and save our taxpayers money.''

Boyter said quicker test results would also help schools get struggling  
students into tutoring or other remedial programs earlier than usual.

''You are hitting the target immediately instead of waiting eight  
months or even a year later,'' he said.

Officials said some schools might elect to use computers for other  
exams that aren't administered statewide.

But educators concede that some students, particularly those with  
special needs, may never be able to take all their exams on a computer.  
''There will probably have to be a small number of paper-and-pencil  
options,'' Changas said.

Other testing changes

As Tennessee education officials consider giving mandatory exams on  
computer, these other testing changes are being studied or have been  
approved:

• LESS TESTING TIME

The amount of time students spend taking mandatory exams will drop by  
about 25% — or roughly two hours — this fall, state education officials  
said.

Testing time nearly doubled last year after a new set of questions was  
added to state tests to satisfy federal law. The time ballooned from an  
average of 4½ hours to almost 9½ hours a year for many students.

In response to frustration over the longer testing times, officials  
retooled the exams so the same set of questions can satisfy both state  
and federal testing requirements.

''More items serve a dual purpose,'' said Keith Brewer, the state's  
deputy education commissioner. ''We have cut back on the testing  
time.''

But even with the changes, the average time will still hover at 6½ to 7  
hours for most students.

''I don't think we're going to see it go back to the same amount of  
time,'' he said.

• LINING UP STANDARDS

Tennessee might be tweaking its academic standards to make sure they  
line up with what students are expected to know on a national level.

In the coming months, educators are going to look at the state's  
academic standards for every grade and compare them with those designed  
by the National Assessment of Education Progress, which puts out the  
Nation's Report Card every year.

The goal is to make sure students can compete nationally.

''We'll see how they align or mirror our standards,'' Brewer said. ''We  
hope there's some congruence there. We need that congruence to keep our  
students on the cutting edge.''

Tennessee has participated voluntarily in some of the NAEP exams since  
1992 but it no longer has a choice. All 50 states and Washington, D.C.,  
must now test students in grades 4 and 8 every other year in reading  
and math to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law.

NAEP provides a national yardstick for measuring what students know in  
key subjects. The results of the report card provide a tool for  
comparing states, which have different academic standards and ways of  
assessing students.

• CUTTING COSTS

While some states use the same test questions every year with little  
change, Tennessee has required that nearly all the questions on  
mandatory exams be brand-new every year.

State education officials said the rule created headaches for  
test-makers and cost the state more money because it couldn't recycle  
the same exams year after year.

Now the state is limiting the percentage of original questions that  
must be used every year. About 70% of the test items will have to be  
new, but any question can be reused after five years.

It's unknown how much the change will save taxpayers, and educators say  
they doubt students will notice a difference because they won't be  
taking the same test within a five-year period.

''We really defined what we meant by the term 'fresh and non-redundant'  
items,'' Brewer said. ''We can now rotate forms. It's a savings for  
us.''

— Claudette Riley

http://www.tennessean.com/education/archives/04/06/52878863.shtml? 
Element_ID=52878863


---

Jason Barkeloo
President
TouchSmart Publishing
http://www.touchsmart.net
tele 513.225.8765


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