This may not be the best time to argue for educational testing given its bad press, given the many arguments against testing. For instance, testing could reduce education to the dog wagged by its tail. Test-driven educators may focus narrowly on preparing students to get good grades in high-stake tests, ignoring other significant realms of students’ minds and lives.
However, if a test is done well, it really prepares students for learning. This week, I participated in the EduDebate of Wise Ed Review together with several other panelists, discussing various aspects of technology-enhanced standardized testing. Read more here. Please also consider reading the views presented by other panelists on the same issue.
Adams Center for Teaching Excellence is committed to supporting faculty in developing more tests to be conducted online. There are many ways you can develop tests for use online, by manually creating it in a learning management system, by importing a publisher test, or by converting a test written in Word to be an online test. We would like to help you to get started.