Online testing is slowly becoming the norm in America. SAT’s have moved completely online and AP College Board exams are making their way into this mode as well. Exams are following in the academic footsteps of most other classes, as over the past decade schools have moved more and more of their curriculum online.
Much of the online trend for school is positive. It allows quicker and easier access to materials, quicker grading and varied lessons and activities.
However, online tests, specifically standardized tests like the SAT’s, Keystones and AP Tests, can be dangerous or foolish to give digitally.
Some students don’t have easy access to computers or laptops and can have difficulty obtaining one for SAT’s or other tests. We are lucky at Souderton to be provided with a school-issued chromebook, and many school districts are not so lucky. While most school districts will provide some kind of technology in which to take the test with, it can be difficult and frustrating for students who must be provided a device.
These devices are also not all perfect. Technology always has the capacity to malfunction or stop working in some way. Even if the device being used is absolutely perfect, the internet it is connected to may have some kind of problem with it.
Some of these imperfections can be in the forms of bugs or malware, which can hinder the ability of the computer to function correctly or move quickly – a necessity for timed tests.
The potential for spotty internet connection is also frightening for online test takers. BlueBook, the test module for the SAT’s and AP Tests, contains a warning that disconnection from the internet, or closure of the application can result in score cancellation.
This means that scores that take hours of hard work can be lost due to a simple poor internet connection.
Not only can this be frustrating, but it can also be damaging to student’s futures.
Many standardized tests like the SAT’s and the AP Tests are very important for the educational future of those taking them. SAT scores are often submitted to colleges during the admission process, and AP Tests can count for college credit at many universities.
The loss of these scores can be devastating for students that have spent significant amounts of time studying or working towards them.
Yes they can always be retaken, but what if that lost score was a student’s best performance? What if that was a time when all the questions just happened to line up perfectly and they would have gotten a perfect score?
These issues are completely non-existent when it comes to paper tests, as paper can not have glitches, paper can not disconnect from the internet and paper can not malfunction at important times.
Even beyond clear problems with technology, nobody wants to spend another three hours in front of a screen. Staring at screens for hours on end causes exhaustion and frustration in students, as people begin to get tired of seeing the same screen over and over for the course of several hours.
