The Academy has encouraged teachers to move from paper testing to online testing in the last few years. Since the start of the One-on-One program three years ago, each student brings a laptop, tablet device or iPad to school every day. This requirement has made it easier for teachers to test and give assignments.
Testing online has great benefits but also some disadvantages.
“I move faster while taking an online test instead of a paper test. I save time but at the same time occasionally skip questions by accident, “said junior Nicole Baker.
Online assessments make the grading process much faster for teachers. Edline provides an automatic-correction system for multiple choice or true-false tests which give students their scores immediately after completing the test. This benefit has made it much easier for students to learn from their mistakes.
“The students and I receive immediate feedback on students’ results, which makes it easier to see how well they understand the material,” said Spanish teacher Susan Solomine.
Online testing also helps the Academy in saving paper. Testing through Edline does not require paper; hence, the school’s overall printing production is reduced dramatically.
“Turnitin.com is very helpful; however, sometimes technical issues like poor Internet connection interferes in my grading process,” said English teacher Rosalynn Cambe.
“Within the past five years we’ve had about a 35 percent reduction in our paper consumption as a school,” said Vice-principal Linda Debo.
Although online testing proves to be efficient and helpful in saving paper, it also has some disadvantages.
“Although Turnitin.com has a plagiarism check, I prefer hard copy because it is much easier to correct,” said Campus Minister, Sr. Katherine Francis Miller.
Students are often tempted to cheat while completing Edline quizzes because access to dictionaries and other resource databases are made easier on the laptop. Although most Academy students maintain a high ethical standard, temptation can be overwhelming.
“Also, some people get distracted, and it’s unfair because some students cheat!” said Victoria Lee.
Testing online also provides for a greater chance of error. Insignificant typos can contribute to point loss and lower grades. Students who have the potential to score high actually earn lower grades due to technical errors that would not occur on a paper test.
“I tend to scroll faster on my computer and sometimes skip questions by accident, so I prefer paper testing” said junior Alison Nguyen.
