This story from The Chronicle of Higher Education
(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from: mcbride3@xxxxxxxxxxx
_________________________________________________________________
The following message was enclosed:
This article will recall an old discussion on drawing vs
computers, when used at early stages in arch pedagogy:
_________________________________________________________________
Monday, July 10, 2000
Computer-Savvy Students Perform Poorly on Handwritten
Composition Tests
By SCOTT CARLSON
Students who have been taught to write using a computer don't
perform as well on composition exams that use paper and
pencil, researchers at Boston College have found.
Although the study was conducted on groups of elementary-,
middle-, and high-school students, Michael K. Russell, one of
the lead researchers in the project, says it might apply to
the test performance of college students as well.
However, Mr. Russell says the Massachusetts Department of
Education, which provided a grant for the study, didn't
approve of its results and asked to have its name removed from
the report.
The study tested more than 500 students from grades 4, 8, and
10 from five schools in the Wellesley, Mass., school district.
The students, who were randomly assigned to write their essays
on computer or with paper and pencil, answered a composition
question from the state's assessment test. Before the essays
were graded, all were transcribed to computer text.
Out of a total of 20 points, students scored about 2 points
higher when using computers. The report says that if students
were allowed to use computers on all of the essay and
open-ended questions on the state test, the number of students
performing in the advanced category would double. About 19
percent of the fourth graders tested would move from the
"needs improvement" category to the "proficient" category.
Before taking the test, the students completed a survey that
assessed their past computer use. The students had used
computers for more than three years on average, most said they
used a computer when composing final drafts, and most said
they preferred to write on computer rather than on paper.
In an interview, Mr. Russell says the results are "indirectly
relevant" to higher-education concerns. An increasing number
of states are using assessment tests to make decisions about
diplomas. "If we're mismeasuring kids and making bad decisions
about which kids get diplomas, it raises questions about which
kids go on to having higher-ed eligibility," Mr. Russell says.
"We want to make sure that we're providing students the best
opportunity to show what they can do."
If the results apply to older students, Mr. Russell says, the
questions raised by the study apply to college tests as well.
"Within colleges themselves, you have final exams and doctoral
examinations, and a lot of those are written. If you want to
get accurate measures of what students can do, you have to
ask, should professors start thinking about if students should
have the option of writing on computers."
Wayne J. Camara, vice-president for research and development
at the College Board, says the board has studied the issue
over the past few years. He says the results of the Boston
College study were most relevant to the Advanced Placement
exams, which include a 90-minute essay portion, and the SAT II
writing tests, which are required by all the Ivy League
colleges and many large university systems. Students use paper
and pencil on both tests.
Mr. Camara thinks that administering the tests by computer
will be the "wave of the future." But for the time being, he
says, a shortage of resources make that impossible. Although a
high school might have several computers, he says, they are
generally scattered throughout the building; A.P. and SAT II
tests are offered in one large space, where only a few
teachers are needed to monitor several students.
In a short, prepared statement, David P. Driscoll,
commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education,
also said that the department couldn't put the results to use
for some time.
"We find the results of the limited study to be very
interesting," he said in the statement. "It will take quite a
while before it can be implemented. We'd have to make the
availability and the keyboarding experience equal throughout
the Commonwealth for all children, and that's going to take a
while."
"Frankly, I think that's their way of justifying not providing
an option because it complicates procedures," Mr. Russell
says, adding that the department wasn't satisfied with the
study's conclusions, and "when they found the results, they
essentially tried to discount them."
"For a long time they resisted us releasing the study," he
says, "and then when it was released they asked us to take
their names off the press release."
Gregory G. Nadeau, chief technology officer at the department,
said that he didn't remember how talks of the report's release
were negotiated. But he said that the report might overstate
the underachievement of computer-savvy students. The state
assessment test's grading scale, he noted, works on the
assumption that children are writing with pencil and paper,
and that the scale might be tougher if they someday start
taking the tests on computers.
Indeed, an addendum to Mr. Russell's study showed that graders
might treat handwritten essays differently. In a follow-up
study, he gave the same essays to graders in their original
handwritten and typewritten formats. He found that graders
were more lenient on the handwritten essays. But he wasn't
sure if that was because it was more difficult to find errors
in the handwritten forms, because graders associate typed text
with final drafts and are more critical of errors, or because
graders felt connected to writers through their handwriting
and "gave them the benefit of the doubt."
However, Mr. Nadeau added: "It's a good study, it's well done,
and it points to the fact that we should be doing more work on
this next year."
The study follows two similar but more limited ones conducted
by Mr. Russell, which reported that middle-school students
performed much better on essay tests when they used computers.
Mr. Russell plans to conduct a broader version of the study,
and he's seeking financing in part from computer companies.
_________________________________________________________________
Chronicle subscribers can read this story on the Web at this address:
http://chronicle.com/free/2000/07/2000071001t.htm
If you would like to have complete access to The Chronicle's Web
site, a special subscription offer can be found at:
http://chronicle.com/4free
Use the code D00CM when ordering.
_________________________________________________________________
You may visit The Chronicle as follows:
* via the World-Wide Web, at http://chronicle.com
* via telnet at chronicle.com
_________________________________________________________________
Copyright 2000 by The Chronicle of Higher Education
(http://chronicle.com) was forwarded to you from: mcbride3@xxxxxxxxxxx
_________________________________________________________________
The following message was enclosed:
This article will recall an old discussion on drawing vs
computers, when used at early stages in arch pedagogy:
_________________________________________________________________
Monday, July 10, 2000
Computer-Savvy Students Perform Poorly on Handwritten
Composition Tests
By SCOTT CARLSON
Students who have been taught to write using a computer don't
perform as well on composition exams that use paper and
pencil, researchers at Boston College have found.
Although the study was conducted on groups of elementary-,
middle-, and high-school students, Michael K. Russell, one of
the lead researchers in the project, says it might apply to
the test performance of college students as well.
However, Mr. Russell says the Massachusetts Department of
Education, which provided a grant for the study, didn't
approve of its results and asked to have its name removed from
the report.
The study tested more than 500 students from grades 4, 8, and
10 from five schools in the Wellesley, Mass., school district.
The students, who were randomly assigned to write their essays
on computer or with paper and pencil, answered a composition
question from the state's assessment test. Before the essays
were graded, all were transcribed to computer text.
Out of a total of 20 points, students scored about 2 points
higher when using computers. The report says that if students
were allowed to use computers on all of the essay and
open-ended questions on the state test, the number of students
performing in the advanced category would double. About 19
percent of the fourth graders tested would move from the
"needs improvement" category to the "proficient" category.
Before taking the test, the students completed a survey that
assessed their past computer use. The students had used
computers for more than three years on average, most said they
used a computer when composing final drafts, and most said
they preferred to write on computer rather than on paper.
In an interview, Mr. Russell says the results are "indirectly
relevant" to higher-education concerns. An increasing number
of states are using assessment tests to make decisions about
diplomas. "If we're mismeasuring kids and making bad decisions
about which kids get diplomas, it raises questions about which
kids go on to having higher-ed eligibility," Mr. Russell says.
"We want to make sure that we're providing students the best
opportunity to show what they can do."
If the results apply to older students, Mr. Russell says, the
questions raised by the study apply to college tests as well.
"Within colleges themselves, you have final exams and doctoral
examinations, and a lot of those are written. If you want to
get accurate measures of what students can do, you have to
ask, should professors start thinking about if students should
have the option of writing on computers."
Wayne J. Camara, vice-president for research and development
at the College Board, says the board has studied the issue
over the past few years. He says the results of the Boston
College study were most relevant to the Advanced Placement
exams, which include a 90-minute essay portion, and the SAT II
writing tests, which are required by all the Ivy League
colleges and many large university systems. Students use paper
and pencil on both tests.
Mr. Camara thinks that administering the tests by computer
will be the "wave of the future." But for the time being, he
says, a shortage of resources make that impossible. Although a
high school might have several computers, he says, they are
generally scattered throughout the building; A.P. and SAT II
tests are offered in one large space, where only a few
teachers are needed to monitor several students.
In a short, prepared statement, David P. Driscoll,
commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Education,
also said that the department couldn't put the results to use
for some time.
"We find the results of the limited study to be very
interesting," he said in the statement. "It will take quite a
while before it can be implemented. We'd have to make the
availability and the keyboarding experience equal throughout
the Commonwealth for all children, and that's going to take a
while."
"Frankly, I think that's their way of justifying not providing
an option because it complicates procedures," Mr. Russell
says, adding that the department wasn't satisfied with the
study's conclusions, and "when they found the results, they
essentially tried to discount them."
"For a long time they resisted us releasing the study," he
says, "and then when it was released they asked us to take
their names off the press release."
Gregory G. Nadeau, chief technology officer at the department,
said that he didn't remember how talks of the report's release
were negotiated. But he said that the report might overstate
the underachievement of computer-savvy students. The state
assessment test's grading scale, he noted, works on the
assumption that children are writing with pencil and paper,
and that the scale might be tougher if they someday start
taking the tests on computers.
Indeed, an addendum to Mr. Russell's study showed that graders
might treat handwritten essays differently. In a follow-up
study, he gave the same essays to graders in their original
handwritten and typewritten formats. He found that graders
were more lenient on the handwritten essays. But he wasn't
sure if that was because it was more difficult to find errors
in the handwritten forms, because graders associate typed text
with final drafts and are more critical of errors, or because
graders felt connected to writers through their handwriting
and "gave them the benefit of the doubt."
However, Mr. Nadeau added: "It's a good study, it's well done,
and it points to the fact that we should be doing more work on
this next year."
The study follows two similar but more limited ones conducted
by Mr. Russell, which reported that middle-school students
performed much better on essay tests when they used computers.
Mr. Russell plans to conduct a broader version of the study,
and he's seeking financing in part from computer companies.
_________________________________________________________________
Chronicle subscribers can read this story on the Web at this address:
http://chronicle.com/free/2000/07/2000071001t.htm
If you would like to have complete access to The Chronicle's Web
site, a special subscription offer can be found at:
http://chronicle.com/4free
Use the code D00CM when ordering.
_________________________________________________________________
You may visit The Chronicle as follows:
* via the World-Wide Web, at http://chronicle.com
* via telnet at chronicle.com
_________________________________________________________________
Copyright 2000 by The Chronicle of Higher Education