Tucker, B. (2009, February). Beyond the bubble: Technology and the future of student assessment. Washington, DC: Education Sector.
The purpose of this report is to explore the use of technology to improve assessment. Tucker argues that current large-scale assessments, predominantly multiple choice fill-in-the-bubble tests, do not align with how students learn and do not provide teachers with information about how to move learning forward. Furthermore, although most states make considerable investments in technology, very little technology has been used for assessment. Tucker discusses the recent literature on technology-enabled assessments and discusses promising research projects exploring the use of technology in assessment. Specifically, he describes the Problem Solving in Technology Rich Environments (TRE) project, the River City project, and the Educational Testing Service’s Cognitively Based Assessment of, for, and as Learning (CBAL) research project. Tucker also discusses challenges associated with implementing these models including teacher quality and infrastructure, yet maintains that efforts to incorporate technology in assessments will be well worth the effort.
Balanced Assessment System
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