Test season is here for New York City students, and this year may prove to be even more challenging than the previous, as some grades will have to take the tests exclusively on computers. In the Digital Age this may seem obvious, and one wonders why the change has not happened before this, but the challenge comes from the fact that many students don’t know how to type, and the lack of this skill may severely affect their test scores.
The shift to computer-only exams for math and English Language Arts starts with grades 5 and 8 and follows the SAT’s move to an entirely digital format earlier this spring. The reason alleged is greater efficiency and that this will prepare students for higher education and work. But critics of the change are concerned it will aggravate inequities based on class, race and special education status.
Tazin Azad, a parent and member of the Panel for Educational Policy that votes on Department of Education contracts, said she worries about both “system capacity and student capacity.”
Trust in the system was severely impaired over what Aza calls the “snow day fiasco,” when thousands of families struggled to get online for remote learning in February. As a result, she does not believe that school are able to maintain connectivity as they administer tests. She also worried about “variance” in typing skills among students.
“Computer literacy is not equitably accessible across the system,” she said.
She was particularly concerned about students from poor families with lower access to technology at home, as well as English language learners. For some it may be their first sustained encounter with a computer.
State Education Commissioner Betty Rosa is confident that districts across the country had “successfully implemented” the shift which was announced in 2022. She also noted that schools have made “unprecedented investments” in technology since the pandemic.
City officials said schools are required to teach keyboard skills as part of state standards.
“Our students continue to live in a more digital world, both in and out of the classroom,” said Jenna Lyle, a spokesperson for the city’s education department. “The state’s transition to computer-based testing is an extension of this shift.”
However, educators—who are the frontline that actually observes their students’ skill levels, said their students still haven’t mastered basic keystrokes, including moving cursors or starting new paragraphs. How will they be able to do their best on tests that may have a crucial impact on their academic development?
Martina Meijer, a teacher at a Brooklyn elementary school, addressed the issue: “No one is teaching [students] how to type, make capital letters [or] make paragraphs except for classroom teachers, and we have absolutely no time to do it,” she said. “Test scores will plummet and teachers will be blamed.”
Solving math problems on the computer may be even more difficult, as one Manhattan elementary school principal, who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to speak to the press, noted.
The testing window opened this week, and English Language Arts and math exams will be administered between now and mid-May.
