The availability of computers suggests reevaluation of (1) the need for teaching mathematical modeling and numerical analysis of structures in engineering education when most of these applications can be performed easily by computer and (2) computer use for formative evaluation of student learning. (MSE)

The Northwest Evaluation Association, serving over 300 U.S. school districts, is developing an Internet-enabled assessment system that adapts questions to each student's performance. Shorter, adaptive tests help students avoid frustrations or boredom caused by too-difficult or -easy questions. Scores are as valid as traditional test scores. (MLH)

Purpose: The benefits of an educational shift to graduate attribute development have been foregrounded in the educational literature since the early 1990s. Attribute mapping in documentation with no change to assessment constitutes a surface approach. This paper aims to use as an example a deep approach that uses software to facilitate staff and…

Within large scale educational assessment agencies in the UK, there has been a shift towards assessors marking digitally scanned copies rather than the original paper scripts that were traditionally used. This project uses extended essay examination scripts to consider whether the mode in which an essay is read potentially influences the…

This article explores the effect on assessment of "translating" paper and pencil test items into their computer equivalents. Computer versions of a set of mathematics questions derived from the paper-based end of key stage 2 and 3 assessments in England were administered to age appropriate pupil samples, and the outcomes compared.…

In educational testing, one is concerned to get as much information as possible about a given examinee from each minute of testing time. Maximum information is obtained when the difficulty of each test exercise matches the estimated ability level of the examinee. The goal of adaptive testing is to accomplish this. Adaptive patterns are reviewed…

The computerization of attention tasks has allowed clinicians to incorporate objective data into evaluations of attention deficit disorder or hyperactivity. The Gordon Diagnostic System (GDS) is described and case histories are presented which illustrate the contribution of GDS data to evaluation and treatment monitoring. (DB)

The goal of this program was to evaluate health care students' skills in data collection, diagnosis, and management of illness through computerized patient management simulations. Methodology of case management simulations and a sample case are provided. (SK)

An interactive, computer-based assessment system implemented at the University of Luton (England) delivers end-of-module examinations, formative assessments, and self-assessment options. Student and faculty response to computer-based objective testing has been positive and suggests the approach is desirable both pedagogically and economically.…

Considers how computers might help broaden assessment practices by examining the types of test items that might be used in computer environments. Explores ideas from cognitive psychology and research on problem solving. Contains 17 references. (DDR)

Reviews the current literature concerning distance education and student assessment, including a focus on the unique circumstances found at the community college level. Topics include computer-based assessment; online computer-based testing; commercial testing agencies; and assessment styles. (Contains 10 references.) (Author/LRW)

This paper reports on the results of a study of English children's performance on a computer mathematics assessment compared with a pencil-and-paper assessment. Two matched samples of children were each assessed on one of two mathematics pencil-and-paper tests and assessed a month later on a cloned computer test. The performance scores were better…

This paper investigates how students' attitude and performance are affected by using an asynchronous learning network (ALN) to augment exams in a traditional lecture/lab course. Students used the ExamNet ALN to create, critique, and revise a database of questions that subsequently was drawn upon for course exams. Overall, students considered…

This paper reviews the concept of high-stakes assessment against a background of postmodernism, and argues that the inaccessibility of cognitive processes is only one part of the problem of reading assessment: even greater challenges are posed by a postmodern analysis, in which an incredulity toward metanarratives leads to a series of six…

To accurately analyze the problems of students in learning, the composed test sheets must meet multiple assessment criteria, such as the ratio of relevant concepts to be evaluated, the average discrimination degree, difficulty degree and estimated testing time. Furthermore, to precisely evaluate the improvement of student's learning performance…