Background: Over the last 20 years, educational large-scale assessments have undergone dramatic changes moving away from simple paper-pencil assessments to innovative, technology-based assessments. This comprehensive switch has led to some rather technical improvements such as identifying early guessing or improving standardization. Objectives: At…

This article explores the history of digital testing technology. Using an organisation that pioneered the use of international large-scale assessments -- the International Association for the Evaluation of Educational Achievement (IEA) -- I discuss the role of computers, punched cards, answer cards and scanning machines as an example of…

Digital technologies have the potential to revolutionize education by enhancing quality, fairness, and efficiency. However, equitable access to these technologies remains a challenge. ILSAs (international large-scale assessments) have shown that the relationship between digital use and performance varies across countries and over time. To fully…