I'm telling you this because I ran into a (debatably) similar situation last week. I'm currently taking two classes, one at the graduate level, and one in undergraduate territory. The fact that I vastly prefer grad school territory has nothing to do with the midterms and finals that undergrads need to take, but that's another story. (Ask me in the comments area if you really want to hear it.) So anyway...
Once upon a time, last week, I was attending a class whose entire topic was reviewing the previous weeks' classes and preparing for the midterm. Toward the end of class, I raised my hand, "Excuse me, but at the risk of showing my age, what format will the test be? Bluebook? Worksheet? Scantron?" I threw in the last as a joke, looking for a laugh from the teacher while risking the ridicule of my classmates for seriously considering such an old test-taking method. When the confirmed that it would be Scantron, I thought he was joking - then I felt insulted.
Why did I feel insulted by being asked to take a Scantron? Maybe it is because Scantron is older than I am, and I'd thought we'd left it in the dust.
It is only a slight exaggeration to say that this was my first Scantron test in 20 years. I know I took them in high school, and I'll maybe attend my 20 year reunion in 2015. While I might have done a Scantron in college (graduated almost 15 years ago), I'm only remembering bluebook and short answer on worksheets. In my senior year, I took the GRE (the graduate school version of an SAT) and was among the first groups of people taking the test on a computer. I don't remember any Scantron tests in grad school, ten years ago, but grads tend not to do midterms or finals - we do projects, papers, and presentations (the 3 P's of advanced education). So, with my last brush with Scantron being 15 years ago, when I was given a choice between Scantron or computer... is it any wonder that I thought that the testing method had gone the way of the slide rule?
After I put a county line between me and my teacher, I was quite vocal in my indignation over being asked to take a Scantron test - and got a mixed response. Some folks agreed with me - shocked surprise that anyone was still using that stone age technology, and I should brush up on my Cuneiform just in case the teacher used it while writing the test. Other folks were surprised at my response - Scantron tests were quite normal - used all the time in fact. Sure its an older technology, but we still use books, don't we?
My old roommate from Undergrad is a substitute teacher in Harford County's middle schools. She heard me out, then told me that Scantron was used frequently in her schools because they were easier to grade and very time efficient from the teacher's point of view. I suppose another benefit of the Scantron, as opposed to a more computer based solution, is that they already have the Scantron infrastructure set up. My old roommate has told me about how many of the students attending her school come from disadvantaged homes - homes where academics need to take a back seat because the students weren't sure if they had food for dinner or a safe place to sleep that night. Maybe she was exaggerating, and maybe she wasn't - but her kids aren't likely to be able to participate in any BYOD programs their school starts.
BYOD? What's that got to do with Scantrons?
I firmly believe that it isn't enough to complain about things that bother you - you need to also offer suggestions for how to improve the situation. Thinking back to my earlier post about Howard County's BYOD pilot program and my computerized GRE test 15 years ago, why can't computerized tests replace Scantrons? The test can be presented using software that is readable by students' BYOD devices, and laptops can be distributed to students who either don't have a device, or who don't feel that their screen is large enough for comfortable test taking. Maybe the teacher only uploads the test on the morning of the test, and the software prevents the use of other windows/tabs, which could be used for cheating. If such a scenario were to take place, multiple choice tests could be graded instantly (as my GRE was) and short answer/essay questions could be integrated into the test and graded manually.
Its an idea anyway. All the benefits of Scantron, with even faster grading and an opportunity to evolve. Think about it - if YOU were to make a hyperspace jump, would you rather the navigator use a slide rule, or something a bit more up to date?
The real problem is infrastructure, standardizing the test software and hardware. Howard and Montgomery counties are two of the most affluent in the country. I am a librarian/cataloger in NYPL (New York Public, now in partnership with Brooklyn Public library-- and we also partner with the NYC Department of education). The digital divide is real especially in immigrant and lower income communities.
ReplyDeleteYes, I would want the navigator to be using an advanced computer, but I don't think it is as simple as that. I used to bring a portable typewriter to school, no possibility of cheating, instant printout.
As big a kluge as Scantron is, it is the fairest option in a diverse setting at this point and time. More so in the situation where students are expected to provide their own devices. Teachers would have to be able to troubleshoot malfunctions, and theft is always an issue (how often were school supplies stolen, an Ipad costs more than a thousand pencils!). Some students would be relegated to using unfamiliar devices, while others would have a home field advantage.
As a metadata junkie myself, it would definitely be advantageous to have a standardized-standardized test software (ANSI-NISO are you listening?) compatible with multiple hardware platforms-- coupled with a technology grant (Apple/Microsoft are you out there?) so that teachers could hand out a uniform test-tablet to the entire class that would be pre-loaded with the test, upload and tabulate the data and generate statistics for the principal.
In the meantime-the kludge is working.
As a student, I have a hard time seeing what is possible & being ignored, vs. what is (currently) impossible. I suppose that, having taken the GRE on a computer so many years ago, there was the presumption that technological capability had continued marching (and spreading) in that direction. I'm not worried about that - because I presume this is just a delay on the parade, not a complete cancellation.
ReplyDeleteI think of non-urgent problem solving as a two step process. First, dream up something that would solve the problem at hand. Pretend that money isn't a factor, and that technology similar to what you've already seen actually exists. Work out exactly what you want, and how it would work. Once you have completed the dream phase, apply the practicality phase. Do research - does the technology actually exist? Is there something that acts in a similar way, which can be made to do what you want it to? How much does it cost (and how much money can I dump into this project)? Since there's never enough money, can I break down the project into more achievable steps? What materials do I already have on hand? Can I use these found materials to get the project up and running at a lower cost? Even if they need to be replaced later? In other words, now that I know what I want, is it something that I can do?
We've discussed at least the beginnings of a solid dream phase solution - and I hope that, when I don't have other deadlines looming, I can come back to bat ideas around some more. Until then... if you're handing out a tablet or something, with the test pre-loaded, maybe students can't upload their completed test - they must return the tablet so the teacher can download their response. Tablet goes missing? Who was in attendance but didn't turn in a test? As for the money to support this - maybe it gets rolled out in phases, starting with the more affluent counties. Grants can be used to get the poorer counties up an running - just not all at once - and Technology Class can be used to ensure that students are familiar with the hardware being used to take the test.
Hmmm... actually, if the test is being distributed on pre-loaded tablets, maybe everything that's not the test (especially the internet) could be disabled. Create a user profile "Exam" which only has access to the test itself, and requires a hefty password to exit the profile?
Ideas, ideas.... I hope that someone who can do something with these ideas will read this conversation, take from it what they find useful, and run with it.