Oregon helps lead the way in online testing
View full sizeTom Birch, a student at Western Governors University, takes a tax accounting final exam at his Southeast Portland home. He drapes his windows and aims a web cam at his face and hands so a remote proctor can see that he is not cheating on the all-important exam.Nationally, jitters abound as schools prepare to go whole-hog into online testing. But Oregon's long experience giving all state reading, math and science tests via computer shows it can be done with few glitches, even in remote schools, on outdated computers and by 8-year-olds.
By 2014-15, students in most states, including Oregon, will take a new breed of harder, more open-ended reading and math tests -- all online. Separately, themakers of the ACT college-entrance exam just announced they'll begin giving the test on computers and iPads starting in spring 2015.
"The trend in student usage is definitely moving to digital," said Jon Erickson, president of the education division of ACT. "We'll be freeing students from No. 2 pencils."
Doug Kosty, Oregon's assistant superintendent over testing, said other states want to know how Oregon shed the pencils and bubble sheets that are still the norm in