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Technology-based Assessment in Special Education
Direct observations, along with scores from both achievement and
norm-referenced tests, are good evaluation methods, but very time
consuming. In the meantime lists of referred students pile up only to end
up on a waiting list for evaluation, while the semester continues to
proceed. This lag time is very discouraging to many classroom teachers,
diagnosticians, and students and parents alike. Technology-based
assessment can speed up the entire process as computers store and
compute test results.
Technology-based Assessment Solutions
Computers can store and manage large data sets that may then be easily
accessed by school personnel and parents; thus technology can
facilitate interagency coordination of service.14 Technological trends in
assessment practices allow a greater volume of information to be
handled by fewer personnel, to better serve the needs of individuals, to
comply with ever changing regulations, and to manage and evaluate
special education programs.1
Advances in technology have also made it possible to integrate more
holistic evaluations of students in different contexts. For instance, when
addressing students with physical limitations, technologies such as
voice recognition, hand-writing interpreters, pointers, stylus tools and
touchscreens enable people to communicate with computers without
using keyboards and their rather restrictive fine-motor skill
requirements.7 Further, integrating text, graphics, audio and video
enables more comprehensive evaluations to take place.
With such options available in our schools, special education students
will become more familiar and comfortable in the world of technology.
Comfort and familiarity with the testing environment and testing tools
results in more authentic evaluations.15
Support for a Holistic Approach
While computers were first applied in assessment by scoring student
test forms, contemporary uses support a variety of other functions. New
software features, for instance, enable the student to perform at a
comfortable pace and also provide control over the instruments at hand,
such as the video segments or preferred language options mentioned
earlier. Computers linked to interactive videodiscs, for example, let
students learn according to their individual needs and skills.16
Evaluators also benefit from the latest technological features concerning
evaluation. Irvin and Walker's study,7 which focused on the uses of
technology applications to assess social competence among students
labeled as handicapped, suggests that when different abilities are tested
in a number of different constructs, the evaluator gains perspective by
viewing students in a variety of contexts. This holistic approach
formulates a picture of students in everyday life situations that allows a
full view of students' abilities.
