Study suggests that computerized exams hold promise as problem-solving assessment tools

Computer-based testing can be an effective way to measure so-called "21st-century skills" such as the ability to solve problems and synthesize information, according to a recent federal report.

Funded by the National Center for Education Statistics, a division of the U.S. Department of Education, the study looks at two different computer-based scenarios for measuring students' scientific skills on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), commonly known as the Nation's Report Card.
The study concludes that computer-based testing holds promise for measuring higher-order thinking skills that cannot be measured easily via traditional pencil-and-paper exams--a finding that is sure to resonate with advocates of teaching 21st-century skills in classrooms.
However, one of the researchers who wrote the report concedes the United States is probably at least five years away from adopting computer-based testing on a more widespread basis in schools.
The report, called "Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments (TREs): A Report from the NAEP Technology-Based Assessment Project," is based on a study of how more than 2,000 eighth-grade students from U.S. public schools performed in one of two computer-based testing scenarios administered in 2003: a search scenario and a simulation scenario.
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"Problem Solving in Technology-Rich Environments" report

Source: eSchool News