Computers Putting Students to the Test Like Never Before

With the public and politicians seemingly obsessed by the idea that more tests will produce more learning, today’s kindergartners will probably spend more hours laboring over standardized exams in their educational careers than any who have preceded them.

But before they graduate, it is likely they will be taking tests in a different way.

Just as computers and the Internet have changed how we communicate, shop and learn, so too are they revolutionizing testing.

Soon, instead of putting pencil to paper, students will be using a computer to dial up a Web site loaded with thousands of questions. The tests could be jazzed up with video clips, music and even animated characters to capture students’ interest.

Already, computers can customize tests to a student’s ability. Standardized tests today rank students against an average. The new tests pinpoint a student’s skills on a continuum--say from first grade to 12th grade. A highly skilled sixth-grader might be given questions on the ninth-grade level or even higher.

“You’re not saying every kid should learn up to a certain level and stop there,” said Stephen Klein, a senior research scientist at the Rand Corp. who is studying such systems under a contract with the National Science Foundation.

There are other advantages, among them greater student motivation to do well because they would get scores back instantly.

But Klein says the biggest benefit would be in test security. Today, he said, “we have very convincing, hard evidence” that teachers prepare students for tests in ways that undermine their validity.

Cheating or, more politely, cramming that focuses on getting answers right rather than on learning the material, would be thwarted by a system that included thousands of potential questions.

Technologically, such a system is already possible--either on CDs or over the Internet. Some college professors, particularly in science, give tests that way. But it remains problematic for use on a broader scale.

Some worry about security. If hackers can worm their way into Pentagon computers, can a bank of test items remain secure?

A bigger problem has to do with equity, for schools and students. Right now, only 40% of schools have five or more classrooms equipped with Internet-ready computers. And poor children are far less likely than their more affluent counterparts to have computers at home.

Even so, Klein and other researchers believe that just as roads and rails were built in response to the production of autos and trains, eventually enough computers will be available, and most standardized tests will be computerized. Already, schools in Australia are trying out such a system. Also studying it are commercial testing publishers who do not want to be left on the sidelines, Klein said.

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The Internet is also proving its value as a means of public engagement, helping the public understand what the scores mean.

If you have a computer, try this: Get on the Web and go to one of these sites: https://timssonline.cse.ucla.edu or https://cressttimss.cse.ucla.edu or https://timsschallenge.cse.ucla.edu. Depending on your browser, you may have to download some free software for displaying animated images. You then select one of the Simpsons-like cartoon characters to be your guide.

You will be able to try your hand at math questions that were part of the eighth-grade portion of the Third International Math and Science Study a couple of years ago. That 44-nation comparison found that U.S. eighth-graders rate well below average in math.

In doing so, you will get a feel for what “below average” means. Then, the computer will show you the percentage of students that got each question right in each country.

The site was designed by experts at the Center for Research in Evaluation, Standards and Student Testing at UCLA in conjunction with Imagistic Media Studios, a Venice Web site company. One goal was to make the site entertaining enough to keep children, if not their parents, coming back to improve their scores.

The U.S. Department of Education supported the site’s development as a way to show Americans what kind of math their children can--and can’t--do, said Eva Baker, CRESST’s co-director.

Massachusetts already has posted parts of its state test on the Web for the same reason. Baker and her colleagues want to set up similar sites for the Los Angeles Unified School District and other places. They also want to put exemplary essays, research papers and other student work on the Web.

“We’ll show the parents the requirements and they can compare what they see in their own classrooms,” Baker said.