TESTING, TESTING IHEs are trying to ensure the success of students by
testing their abilities using the latest online assessment software.
BY JULIE A. VARUGHESE
I
n order to produce learned, well-spoken alumni, IHEs
nowadays need to assess the skills and abilities of stu-
dents when they first walk onto campus. “No college
wants to churn out people who don’t know their subject,”
one software company president has said. IHEs already
know the GPA and SAT score of a student, as well as what
his or her teachers thought of them through letters of recommen-
dation, but sometimes, freshman arrive with reading, writing, and
math skills that are in need of remedial education.
That’s where those pen-and-paper placement tests usually enter
the equation. Now, however, paper tests are ceding to online assess-
ments designed and powered by a handful of software companies.
Tom Ewing, spokesperson for Educational Testing Service (ETS),
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knows that college faculty members, who in recent years have
been relegated to teaching essay-writing instead of delving into
the world of ideas, decry students’ writing abilities.
But, he says, “It’s a problem not only in higher ed, but in busi-
ness as well. Employers complain that a person out of college can’t
write, or perform even basic math. They are finding students are
lacking in skills central to success.”
PUTTING STUDENTS TO THE TEST
At Penn State University, 12,000 freshmen are tested each fall
in English and math, and sometimes even in chemistry. Students
take online assessments in an unproctored environment using
LXR*TEST, created by Logic eXtension Resources, a Georgetown,
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 TESTING, TESTING
S.C., company that specializes in develop-
ing software tools for testing, certification,
and licensure.
“The benefits are mostly for students,”
says Ralph Locklin, senior measurement
specialist at the Schreyer Institute for In-
novation in Learning at Penn State. “They
can complete it at a place and time that
they choose. In the past, tests were proc-
tored and all students would be crammed
together. Now, students can choose time or
day. We take great pains to tell them to get
a good fix on their ability.”
Kirkwood Community College (Iowa),
the state’s third-largest college system
behind Iowa State and the University of
Iowa, cut class time by five minutes down
to 50-minute class periods, so instructors
welcomed Questionmark’s Perception, ac-
cording to Rich Edwards, professor of learn-
ing services. Questionmark, based in Stam-
ford, Conn., created “Perception for Web,”
which is used to administer assessments the fear of losing paper, obtains immedi- will be placed in the appropriate math or
using the internet or a school’s intranet. ate scores, and provides a degree of quality English class. It is also good for the uni-
“A lot of faculty find an advantage in control. Plus, “students like accessibility,” versity, which can take a look at the level
online testing,” says Edwards. “Tests are he says. of achievement of incoming freshmen, and
not given in class, so there is more time for Kirkwood also uses ACT’s Compass to continually assess and improve its programs
instructors to teach.” test incoming students on reading, writing, as they evaluate those results, she says.
He says online testing is even more and math skills. John Hughes, vice president for aca-
beneficial for students. “Students get a WebCT, a Lynnfield, Mass.-based pro- demic affairs at The Master’s College
week’s window to go anytime to the testing vider of e-learning systems, helped the (Calif.), a Christian school, says that fresh-
center, and they get an immediate score.” University of Alberta, Edmonton (Canada) men assessments help gather information
Kirkwood, which serves 15,000 students
in a seven-county area in eastern Iowa,
found many advantages in using Percep-
“It’s a problem not only in higher ed, but in busi-
tion, a system Edwards considers extremely ness as well. Employers complain that a person out
secure and convenient. He says that stu-
dents attend classes at several different
of college can’t write, or perform even basic math.
campuses, so taking a day out of their They are finding students are lacking in skills central
schedule to congregate at the main campus
for an assessment is not easy. Instead, stu-
to success.” —Tom Ewing, Educational Testing Service
dents go to the main campus for testing at
their convenience. pull off an efficient way to test incoming on its 1,000 undergraduates.
The community college system has used freshmen. However, size matters when it comes to
the untimed Perception tests since 1998. “They will have their name added to testing, as revealed by some schools.
Kirkwood administered more than 7,000 the course list, but will not be officially “Having large numbers of students cre-
Perception tests on its main campus in added until the placement test confirms ates different kinds of problems for admin-
2004. their ability for math or English,” says Barb istrators that smaller schools don’t have,”
Edwards listed a number of benefits for Ross, chief operating officer of WebCT. says Penn State’s Locklin. Penn State tests
using Perception: It produces a more ef- Ross says the system “saves wear and more than 12,000 incoming freshmen each
ficient and effective testing environment, tear on the student and institution.” It is year, but, he says, “We’re trying to be stu-
creates a high degree of security, removes beneficial for the students, because they dent-centered in everything we do.”

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 TESTING, TESTING
However, in a community college set-
ting like Kirkwood, with its generally open-
door policy, Edwards says, “It becomes ex-
tremely important that students know what
they need to improve on.”
Although Kirkwood continually assesses
students, Edwards considers it “more criti-
cal at the front end,” when students are
first admitted.
“You typically, philosophically, keep
your doors open,” he says.
WHEN ASSESSMENTS GO WRONG
Some software companies agreed that as-
sessing students can create unwanted test
anxiety. “You can worry students,” says
Questionmark President Eric Shepherd. “Ul-
timately, you want students to perform in
a work environment. Some schools might
overstress students.”
And although incoming students are
typically more web-savvy than ever, Melissa
Anderson, a pedagogical advisor at Black-
board, a software company specializing in
“e-education,” says, “If [students] don’t
have experience doing online tests, they
may be at a loss.”
“The placement testing provides valu-
able information because it’s standard-
ized,” says ETS’ Ewing. “But the informa-
tion is only useful when it’s combined with
other factors like a good AP score, SAT
score, GPA, the personal essay, and the rec-
ommendation.”
“We do have pitfalls,” admits TMC’s
Hughes. “You add a whole extra layer of
assessment that is not complementary to
what students are studying and have no
motivation to do it.”
WebCT’s Ross says the results of tests
are not helpful to a university or to stu-
dents if the test framework is inadequate.
“As always, assessment is one of those
issues that come down to the design of
the assessment itself. The quality of the
student’s answer is only as good as the
test’s design.”
“Student assessment tools are an in-
tegral part of the learning process, but
it matters when or how you do it,” says
Kirkwood’s Edwards. He adds that despite
the licensing cost, assessments are neces-
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TO FUND OR NOT TO FUND:
Debating Remedial Education
S
tate colleges and universities already cation consulting firm. “Students don’t
had enough on their plates when know how to write or read critically.”
newly appointed U.S. Secretary of Legislators argue that remedial courses
Education Margaret Spellings announced drain states of funding that could easily go
that public IHEs, along with public el- toward other education-related endeavors.
ementary and secondary schools, would be But Greene says that with remedial
required to prove they are doing their job: training, the student may make it through
educating students. the freshman year, so “they’re more likely
Remedial education has spurred a de- to persist through years two, three, and
bate among IHEs, faculty and even leg- four. And the longer they go, the like-
islators, especially since more than 76 lihood of completion gets higher and
percent of students are enrolled in public higher,” he says. “It’s that huge freshman
institutions, and approximately two-thirds year drop-off and sophomore year drop-
of those students are ma- off that colleges are so wor-
triculated at four-year pub- “It’s that huge ried about.”
lic schools, according to a Tom Ewing, spokesperson
2001 report by the National freshman year for the Educational Testing
Center for Education Statis- drop-off and Service (www.ets.org), which
tics (nces.ed.gov). designs the SAT and GRE, but
However, the American sophomore year does not create traditional
Council on Education’s Cen- drop-off that placement tests, thinks such
ter for Policy Analysis (www tests “only give you a snap-
.acenet.edu) reported that colleges are so shot of skills. They don’t
in 1999, 20 percent of fresh- worried about.” measure creativity or ability
men and sophomores said in science.”
—Matthew Greene,
they had taken a remedial Greene explains, “A lot
Howard Greene & Assoc.
course, while 32 percent of of colleges don’t call these
all students admitted to en- classes remedial now. It’s a
rolling in a remedial course at some point. sort of common denominator-level of writ-
And at university systems such as the ing or math. So it could be a quantitative
University of Nevada, where 40 percent course requirement, but if you get a 650
of incoming freshmen needed remedial on the math section of the SAT, you don’t
education in the summer and fall of 2004, need it.”
the stakes are even higher. “I think the issues will be different
The state has notified the university for different schools,” says Greene. “For a
system that it will stop paying for reme- community college system, that’s largely
dial courses at state universities by the seen as their mission, as part of their job.
2006 school year, and now the system They want to offer all levels of courses for
is moving all its remedial courses to the students to come in.
community colleges in that year, where it “For the four-year state system, it’s a
will be less expensive to administer the resource issue for sure, but it’s certainly
courses. a complaint that the college faculty has.
“It’s one of the biggest issues out The focus gets pushed down on helping
there for faculty, and every college, in- the high schools. This is a big initiative
cluding the most selective Ivy Leagues,” out there. Colleges are now taking a more
says Matthew Greene, educational direc- active role in helping high schools un-
tor at Howard Greene & Associates (www derstand what the students need to get
.greenesguides.com), a Conn.-based edu- through to college.” —JAV
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 GETTING PAST
ABC AND 123:
ETS’ Groundbreaking Exam
Besides the traditional placement
tests that assess reading, writing and
math skills, the Educational Testing
Service has introduced the Informa-
tion, Communication, and Technology

TESTING, TESTING (ICT) Literacy Test.

“It helps IHEs with the selection pro-
sary. “In the long run, it is a cost-efficient and a statistical analysis, but present it in cess to assess if students have the es-
testing tool.” a consumable way for the student to un- sential technology information process-
On the other hand, Penn State’s Locklin derstand.” ing ability to succeed,” says Ewing.
doesn’t think there is a particular downside On the other hand, Blackboard’s An- “The ICT Literacy Test assesses stu-
to student assessments. “It’s just another derson says her company’s product offers dents’ ability to access information, and
opportunity for us to find out a little more a “more robust assessment experience and interpret and communicate their find-
information about who our students are,” ease of use.” ings in a technological environment,”
he says. he says. “It looks at their thinking pro-
As might be expected, the companies FUTURE OF ONLINE ASSESSMENT SOFTWARE cess as they go through the test.”
give each other very harsh critiques. Some Penn State’s Locklin raves, “The really ex- Students are asked scenario-based
think of themselves as highly specialized, citing thing about testing is new tests.” questions in real-time. One question
focusing on security and analyzing stu- Locklin praised Questionmark, calling might first describe a situation where
it an “exciting de- a woman has been diagnosed with a
velopment.” Ques- hole in her heart, and her doctor rec-
“Student assessment tools are an tionmark is known ommends surgery. The student is asked
in the industry for to scour the web to find three sources
integral part of the learning process, t e s t i ng s t ude nt s of information to support the conclu-
but it matters when or how you do it.” using pictures, not sion, and explain why the source is
just words, since not considered reliable.
—Rich Edwards, Kirkwood Community College everybody learns in “We created this test because uni-
the same way. “You versities wanted it, but didn’t have the
may be missing stu- knowledge and ability to create it,”
dents’ results, while others claim to offer dents that really need to see a picture,” Ewing says.
a broader experience by featuring chat ses- says Locklin, of word-based assessments. The ICT test was designed with
sions and class schedules. “Things are much different now than advice from the University of Califor-
Ross says WebCT integrates third-party they were five or 10 years ago,” says nia and University of Texas systems,
software, like Questionmark, but indicates Questionmark’s Shepherd. “There are more among others. The pilot version of
that students are able to track their re- tests, and people see the advantage of the test is being used at universities
sults and can participate in chat sessions, being tested. As our society matures, we across the country. One such school is
even if they have yet to matriculate. see the benefits.” Portland State University (Ore.). Jenni-
“[WebCT] take students down different Shepherd anticipates plenty in the fu- fer Dorner, social sciences librarian at
paths, and only release a certain question ture for assessment software, such as bet- PSU, says that if students matriculated
if they get above this number or group or ter stimulus, videos, sounds, simulations, since their freshman year do worse on
by a certain date.” and better measurement of abilities. the test than transfer students, PSU
However, Shepherd says what makes “We don’t want to show students a will adjust its curriculum.
Questionmark different is its enhance- thousand statistics, and we don’t want to According to ETS, “In the future,
ments. “We offer security, we lockdown merely show a pass or fail score,” he says. the test may also be used as a pre- and
PCs—even with open-book tests—and “We want to show what the student did post-program assessment for selected
include sounds and videos,” he says. “We wrong and how they can improve on it. The university programs.”
offer a different presentation of questions student then sees the value of it.” —JAV

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