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Rhode Island Questions the Effects of Taking Tests Online

Students seemed to perform differently on paper tests compared to online tests in a recent analysis.

(TNS)  — PROVIDENCE — Rhode Island students who took the latest standardized tests on computers performed lower than those who took them on paper, raising questions about the fairness and the validity of the assessments, according to some school superintendents.

In English language arts, scores were nine points higher on the paper version of the test, the Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers, which was administered statewide for the first time last spring. The disparity between the paper and online versions was much less in math — three percentage points.

The Rhode Island results echo the disparities found elsewhere, including in Illinois and the 111,000-student Baltimore County, Maryland, school district, according to a recent story in Education Week, a national education magazine. Baltimore analyzed the paper-versus-computer testing and concluded that the differences were large enough to make it hard to draw meaningful comparisons between students and schools in certain grades.

The multistate PARCC consortium told Education Week that the score differences may be explained by students' lack of familiarity with online testing.

Superintendents agree that schools need a high-quality standardized test that is comparable across districts. But several question whether the paper and online tests measure the same things. Some suggest that the scores on the paper and pencil tests are higher because students are less adept using an online format, which requires keyboarding skills and the ability to maneuver drop-down menus.

"It seems to me that if you offer different testing modalities, you are actually offering different tests," said Jeremy Chiappetta, executive director of Blackstone Valley Prep, a network of charter schools in northern Rhode Island. "For example, a student's experience in marking up text on a computer screen versus a test booklet is significantly different. I'm not suggesting that one modality is better or worse, but if we are using the assessments for comparative purposes, test modality is another data point that should be considered."

In Chariho, a regional school district, students who took the English tests on paper scored more than 17 percentage points higher than those who did so online. The difference was similar for math.

"There is no doubt in my mind whatsoever that when kids used technology to take PARCC, they didn't do as well," said Supt. Barry Ricci. "The fair thing would have been to take a step back until everyone was ready" to take the test online.

In North Kingstown, paper and pencil scores in English were 7 percentage points higher than the online scores and 11 points higher in math.

"I do think there is a learning curve," said North Kingstown Assistant Supt. Michelle Humbyrd. "I watched students type their constructed responses. Their typing skills are slow, especially at the elementary level. At the same time, the future is headed this way. Let's get them used to [computers]."

Many people assume that today's children are completely at home with technology. But East Greenwich Superintendent Victor Mercurio said there is a big difference between dropping a child in front of a laptop and using technology in the classroom every day.

"It's more than just having everyone buy a computer," he said. "That's not the solution on how to engage kids in blended learning. This takes time."

For the 2016-17 school year, all Rhode Island students will take the PARCC tests online. The question is, will this new test further disadvantage students of color and children from low-income families, whose schools lack the technology afforded to more affluent districts. Providence, for example, has one computer for every 2.8 students and not all of those devices are compatible with the PARCC.

Two districts, Providence and South Kingstown, have received permission to use only the paper version for the March 2016 test. Providence will leave that decision to each principal.

Christopher N. Maher, the city's interim superintendent, has no issue with standardized testing or the PARCC. He just wants to make sure that the test results are measuring what students actually know, not their facility with keyboarding skills.

"I'm not against going to computers," Maher said. "I want to make sure we're leveling the playing field."

State Education Commissioner Ken Wagner acknowledges that Rhode Island has "a readiness issue" with online testing. He also said, however, that the differences in results are not significant enough to question the validity of the tests.

"Increasing technology is the right way to go," he said. "People have assumed that if there is a difference in scores, that the online ones are too low. But one could argue that the paper scores are too high. It's not clear which is the right score."

Wagner agrees that these results have "shined a light on the need to address the digital divide.

"But that doesn't mean that the test isn't measuring what it's supposed to," he said. "I haven't heard anyone say we should go back to index cards."

©2016 The Providence Journal (Providence, R.I.), distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.