Shontel Jones

7/5/15
EDU-225 Technology in Education
Robert Clutter
Website Address: sjones234weebly.com
Socrative.com Class Code: GDWVUE31
Technology to Support Assessment
Technology is now a more important part of education than ever before. Not only is it
being used as a teaching tool it is also being used as an assessment tool. The several assessment
applications, differences between formative and summative assessment, the pros and cons of
using technology to assess students, the impact of using technology on student achievement and
the importance of assessment technology in connection to ISTE standards will all be discussed in
this paper.
There are an abundance of assessment applications available to educators. Research
needs to be done to find the best fit for your students. According to Pellegrino & Quellmalz,
The DIAGNOSER project is based on the facets framework for mapping aspects of student
knowledge combined with principles of guided inquiry (2010). This assessment application is
used for physics content and can measure data for students in both formative and summative
assessments. Another application that is being used for math assessments is the ASSISTment
system. This system uses scaffolding or giving hints to students to help them determine the
correct answer without giving them the answer (Pellegrino & Quellmalz, 2010). These are only

two examples of many assessment applications.

There are many differences in formative and summative assessments. A formative
assessment is an assessment that takes place throughout the unit or project and can be formal or
informal (van Niekerk, Ankiewicz, de Swardt, 2008). A summative assessment is the learners
final attempt to master the skills and is formal assessment (van Niekerk, Ankiewicz, de Swardt,
2008). A formative assessment can be something as simple as a quiz with just a few question or
simply having a discussion with your students. Formative assessments are used by students to
gain meaningful feedback and teachers use it to evaluate which students are learning and if the
content structure needs to be revised (Redecker & Johanessen, 2013). Summative assessments
are formal assessments that are more complex. These can be in the form of an essay, final
project or final exam. Although there are different ways to assess students these assessments will
give teachers valuable data to better understand how students learn.
There are several pros and cons when it comes to using technology to assess students.
Some of the pros are that technology can be used to assess students both formatively and
summatively and that the results can be instantaneous. This will help the student and teacher
evaluate the data immediately to see where the student needs help with the content. Redecker &
Johannessen state, computer-based tests tend to have a positive effect on students motivation,
concentration and performance (2013). Some of the cons of the use of technology to assess
students is the reliablilty of the assessment. In some cases it has been found that assessments
taken on paper and assessments taken on computers may not measure the same skill (Redecker &
Johanessen, 2013). There is more research that is being done to remedy this issue. Another con
is that because educators are evaluating the data collected there needs to be some kind of

requirements to evaluated data based on pedagogical principles (Reddecker & Johannessen,

2013).

Technology is becoming a useful tool in education. Using technology for assessments

has a big impact on student achievement. According to Pellegrino & Quellmalz assessments can
not only evaluate a students knowledge with one correct answer but can also assess the range of
knowledge, skill and cognitive process by using more complex and interactive tasks (2010).
Students think differently and learn differently and these assessments can help them understand
that they are not only learning facts, but they are learning processes, why and how things work
and critical thinking skills. All of these combined have a big impact on student achievement.
By using technology for assessments it covers the technology standards for both teachers
and students. The standard of designing and developing digital age learning experiences and
assessments (ISTE Standards for Teachers, 2015). Also, for students is covers critical thinking,
problem solving and decision making (ISTE Standards for Students, 2015).
The several assessment applications, differences between formative and summative
assessment, the pros and cons of using technology to assess students, the impact of using
technology on student achievement and the importance of assessment technology in connection
to ISTE standards all show how technology is being used to assess students.

References
ISTE Standards Teachers. (2015). Retrieved July 3, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-teachers.
ISTE Standards Students. (2015). Retrieved July 3, 2015, from
http://www.iste.org/standards/ISTE-standards/standards-for-students.
Pellegrino, J. W., & Quellmalz, E. S. (2011). Perspectives on the integration of technology and
assessment. Journal Of Research On Technology In Education, 43(2), 119-134.
Retrieved from http://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ907019.
Redecker, C., & Johannessen, . (2013). Changing assessment - towards a new assessment
paradigm using ICT. European Journal Of Education, 48(1), 79-96.
doi:10.1111/ejed.12018.
van Niekerk, E., Ankiewicz, P., de Swardt, E. (2010). A process-based assessment framework for
technology education: A case study. International Journal of Technology and Design
Education, 20(2), 191-215. doi10.1007/s10798-008-9070-8.