Eclectic Technology

What will the new assessment tests look like when we move to testing on computers? Christopher Lehman explores this issues, noting that "there are loads of questions swirling around the development of these tests. My aim in this post is specifically to make sure you are aware of what is ahead, and more importantly, to suggest that you help your school keep an eye on what matters most — your students’ learning."

He provides a look at what "technology-enhanced" items may look like on the new tests, including a link to a site where you may intereact  with the test items. (Link to this site is http://pages.uoregon.edu/kscalise/taxonomy/taxonomy.html)

There are also links to addtional computer-based assessments.

After sharing this information Lehman asks us to consider an essential point - "our students' learning" and sharing some of the issues that computer-based testing may raise. This article provides much food for thought. 

Back in January 2012 this article was posted suggesting that "if our 'standards' in education are to have any meaning at all, they must be standards for policy makers as well."  Rick Roach, who is on the Orange County (Florida) School Board took the state FCAT (10th grade exam) and states: "I won’t beat around the bush. The math section had 60 questions. I knew the answers to none of them, but managed to guess ten out of the 60 correctly. On the reading test, I got 62%. In our system, that’s a ‘D,’ and would get me a mandatory assignment to a double block of reading instruction… It seems to me something is seriously wrong. I have a Bachelor of Science degree, two masters degrees, and 15 credit hours toward a doctorate...” Many other resources are available in this post.

For additional information and comments from Scott McLeod, who took on the challenge, taking the ACT. Check out his post "Taking the ACT a Quarter Century After High School" at 

http://bigthink.com/ideas/taking-the-act-a-quarter-century-after-high-school ;