Technology Programs/Software for Assessments

An article I recently read in The Reading Teacher provided information about how several different types of computer software can be used in the classroom to help provide assessment information for teachers, parents, and administrators. The article discusses how Pearson Learning provides an online management system for teachers and schools using the DRA. The software allows teachers to input their students’ names and keep an ongoing track of their students’ running record scores (fluency, miscues, and comprehension scores) throughout the course of that students’ elementary school years. The information on each student can easily be generated into individual student reports or a class or school report.
The article also discusses a similar program available called Renaissance Place by Renaissance Learning that can be used to track students’ development throughout their school years. Different from the Pearson Learning product, this management system keeps track of three different levels of assessment information. The first level includes ongoing monitoring of results from Accelerated Reader, the second level has placement testing information from STAR Reading test, and the third level provides input of additional formal assessment information the school has available.
There are also computer scanning software that allows schools to process answer sheets that normally must be sent a central location to be scored. Degrees of Reading Power (DRP) tests, makes it available for teachers and school buildings to generate computer scoring reports. In addition, tests can sometimes be administered on computers. For example, STAR Reading offers CAT (computer adaptive testing). CAT shortens the time needed to take the test and the computer individually administers questions to students. The computer also determines the student’s ability level and if initial questions are answered quickly will move on the more challenging questions. If initial questions are answered incorrectly, the computer moves on to easier questions. This type of administration can save time because it avoids a teacher administering unnecessary questions.
The article also explains that there are many assessments that can be administered through the Internet. Harcourt Assessment publishes the Stanford Diagnostic Reading Test (SDRT) offers a fourth edition that provides the option of administering the test online.
Overall, I think this article provides some suggestions for districts who are deciding upon what types of assessments they would like to use with their students. Unless a school district has enough computers for each student to sit down and take an assessment online, it would be very time consuming to administer an assessment in this manner compared to the traditional paper and pencil method. I do however, feel it is important for schools to have an electronic management program that keeps track of students’ progress and make it easy for administrators to easily produce reports on individual students, grades, classes, or the overall progress of the school building.

Balajthy, E. ( 2007). Technology and current reading/literacy assessment strategies. The Reading Teacher. 61(3), pp. 240-247.