Effects of Computer Versus Paper Administrations of a State-Mandated Writing Assessment
description- – This article builds on two previous studies (Russell, 1999; Russell&Haney, 1997) that explored the effect mode of administration, that is computer versus paper-andpencil, has on student performance on open-ended items requiring written responses. Whereas the two previous studies have focused on middle school students, the study presented here focuses on students in eighth and tenth grade. In addition, whereas the previous studies examined the effect on relatively short open-ended items that ranged from two to thirty minutes in length, this article focuses on extended composition items designed to be completed during two 45 to 60 minute blocks of time. Finally, whereas the previous studies focused on students attending an urban school district that had just begun placing large numbers of computers in its schools and which generally performs below the state average on state tests, this article focuses on students attending school in a suburban district in which computers are used regularly in most classrooms and which generally performs well above the state average on state tests. Given the increasing emphasis many states are placing on student performance on state-level tests, the study presented here provides further evidence that state-level tests containing open-ended items are under-estimating the achievement of students accustomed to using computers for writing.
- – 2001-12-01
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Does It Matter With What I Write? Comparing Performance On Paper, Computer and Portable Writing Devices
collectiondate- – 2001-12-01
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An AlphaSmart for Each Student: Does Teaching and Learning Change with Full Access to Word Processors?
description- – Although increasing numbers of schools are investing in portable writing devices, few have attempted to provide one device for each student. Instead, classroom sets of portable writing devices are often shared across classrooms or classrooms are equipped with a limited number of devices that are shared among students. As an example of the latter, Wellesley Public Schools, a suburban district near Boston, has placed six to eight AlphaSmarts in each third, fourth and fifth grade classrooms. Although students make regular use of the AlphaSmarts in their classrooms, students are often unable to access the device when needed because other students are using them. In the current study, we use a variety of methodological tools (teacher interviews, student interviews, student drawings, and over 50 classroom observations) to examine what happened in three Wellesley 4th grade classrooms when each student received their own AlphaSmart. Before describing our methodology and presenting the results of this study, we first summarize the literature on the effects of computers and writing as well as research on laptops and portable writing devices in schools.
- – 2002-04-01
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Performance Differences According to Test Mode and Computer Familiarity on a Practice GRE
description- – Ideally, test performance is unrelated to the mode under which one administers the test. This study investigated relationships between test mode (paper-and-pencil vs. computerized-with-editorial-control, and computerized-without-editorial-control) and computer familiarity (lower, moderate, and higher) with test performance on the Graduate Record Exam (GRE). The GRE test was administered to 222 undergraduate students who were stratified by gender, then randomly assigned to a test mode group. With self-reported GPA as a covariate in a MANCOVA, the authors found that examinees in the paper-and-pencil group outperformed the computerized-without- editorial-control group on all subtests. The computerized-with-editorial-control group outperformed the computerized-without-editorial-control group on the Analytical subtest only. The authors also found a significant main effect for computer familiarity on the Analytical and Quantitative subtests. A significant interaction between computer familiarity and test mode on the Quantitative subtest confounded the main effect for that subtest. The subtests were dramatically more speeded in the computerized forms. Results emphasize the importance of evaluating time constraints when converting exams from paper-and-pencil to computer-delivery.
- – 2002-04-01
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The Influence of Computer-Print on Rater Scores
description- – This study replicates and extends the work of Powers et al. (1994) by examining the influence computer-print and handwriting have on raters' scores. This replication study employs an experimental design that presents the same set of responses to raters in four different formats. A second experiment is conducted to explore the extent to which the presentation effect can be reduced by supplemental training that focuses specifically on the causes of this presentation effect and includes practice scoring of responses presented in different formats. As Powers et al. found, the first experiment indicates that responses to composition test items presented in handwritten form receive significantly higher scores than the same responses presented in computerprint form. This effect is due to the visibility of errors and higher expectations for computer-printed responses coupled with increased identity with the writer generated by handwriting. Through supplemental training, the presentation effect was
- – 2002-04-01
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It's Time to Upgrade: Tests and Administration Procedures for the New Millennium
collectiondate- – 2002-04-01
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How Computer-based Technology Can Disrupt the Technology of Testing and Assessment
description- – Over the past decade, the presence of and access to computer-based technology in K-12 schools has increased rapidly. In turn, computer-based technologies are changing the tools with which teachers teach and students learn. As computer-based tools continue to evolve and become more prevalent in K-12 classrooms, their use provides challenges to and opportunities for assessment. In some cases, the challenges result from pressure applied on testing programs as a result of classroom uses of technology. In other cases, the technology itself can increase the efficiency of testing. And in still other cases, computer-based technology provides opportunities to radically transform testing and assessment. In this paper, I briefly discuss how classroom uses of technology and the efficiency afforded by technology impact testing. The bulk of this paper, however, focuses on disruptive applications of computer-based technology to educational assessment.
- – 2002-04-01
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Meta-Analysis: Writing with Computers 1992-2002
description- – The study presented here responds directly to the call for research-based evidence that the use of word processors has a positive impact on student writing. As is described more fully below, the study presented here employs meta-analytic techniques, commonly used in fields of medicine and economics, to integrate the findings of studies conducted between 1992-2002. This research synthesis allows educators, administrators, policymakers, and others to more fully capitalize on the most recent findings regarding the impact of word processing on students' writing.
- – 2002-12-01
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Testing on Computers: A Follow-Up Study Comparing Performance on Computer and on Paper
collectiondate- – 2002-07-02
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Bridging the Gap Between Testing and Technology in Schools
description- – The widening gap between the increased use of technology in schools and the absence of computers in state-level testing programs raises important implications for policies related to the use of both technology and testing in schools. In this article, we summarize recent developments in the use of technology in schools and in state level testing programs. We then describe two studies indicating that written tests administered on paper underestimate the achievement of students accustomed to working on computers. We conclude by discussing four approaches to bridging the gap between technology and testing in US schools.
- – 2002-07-01
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USEiT Report 1: An Overview of the USEIT Study and the Participating Districts
collectiondate- – 2003-01-01
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USEiT Report 2: Students' Beliefs, Access, and Use of Computers in School and at Home
collectiondate- – 2003-01-01
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Elementary Teachers' Use of Technology: Characteristics of Teachers, Schools, and Districts Associated With Technology Use
description- – This research examines how technology is being used by elementary school teachers, and examines the school and district characteristics that are associated with the use of technology in the classroom.
- – 2003-11-01
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USEiT Report 4: Teachers' Beliefs by Content Area About Access, Use, Support, and Obstacles to Technology Use
collectiondate- – 2003-11-01
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USEiT Report 6: Teachers' Beliefs About Technology and Instruction
collectiondate- – 2003-09-01
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USEiT Report 7: Teachers' Beliefs About Technology-Related Professional Development
collectiondate- – 2003-09-01
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USEiT Report 8: Teachers' Beliefs About Vision and Leadership
collectiondate- – 2003-09-01
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Assessing Effects of Technology on Learning: Limitations of Today's Standardized Tests
description- – Over the past decade, students' use of computers has increased sharply, particularly for writing and research (Becker, 1999; Russell, O'Brien, Bebell,&O'Dwyer, 2003). At the same time, the use of large-scale tests to make decisions about schools and students has exploded. But, in addition to making decisions about students and their schools, results from large-scale tests are also used to assess the impact of computer-based technology on student learning. As one example, Wenglinsky (1998) used test scores from the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) mathematics test to examine the relationship between computer use during mathematics instruction and mathematics achievement.Clearly, the use of standardized test scores to assess the effects of technology is attractive for at least two reasons. First, the public and political leaders tend to accept standardize tests as valid and reliable measures of student achievement. Second, these tests provide a common measure across large numbers of students. Yet, despite these advantages, using test scores from standardized teststo assess the impact of technology on student learning can be problematic.
- – 2003-08-01
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Computer-Based Testing and Validity: A Look Back and Into the Future
description- – As elementary and secondary school-level testing programs begin administering tests on computers, several issues related to the validity of using test scores provided by computer-based tests to make decisions about student and school performance must be examined. In this paper, we describe how efforts to examine the validity of computer-based test (CBT) scores have evolved over the past thirty years. We then discuss how variations in tudents' use of computers for writing complicate efforts to obtain valid measures of student writing skills, regardless of test mode. In this discussion we explore aspects of validity, namely construct and consequences, which may be threatened by paper or computer-based tests. We conclude by discussing the conflict caused by the traditional desire to deliver tests in a standardized format. During this discussion, we argue that while standardization is necessary for norm-referenced tests, it may be less applicable for the standards-based criterion-referenced tests used by many state testing programs.
- – 2003-08-01
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USEiT Report 5: Teachers' Beliefs About and Use of Technology: Enhancing the Use of Technology for New and Veteran Teachers
collectiondate- – 2003-07-01
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