Software & Technology As Tools of Assessment
Walden University
EDUC 8806
Educational Measurement & Evaluation
Instructor: Dr. Timothy Powell
Submitted by: Robert Kennedy III
August 25th, 2006
Introduction
As we begin to understand the different types of students and learners, and as society continues to develop and become even more complex, it becomes paramount that we develop systems for tracking and assessment. As the number of students increases, as more standards are developed and methods expressed, it also becomes important that these systems are efficient while allowing the teacher time to concentrate on the student learning process. The job of developing the tools that will make the systems run falls to software companies. These companies are not only modeling the software for school educational purposes, however. Many assessment tools are also being utilized in corporate settings as well as government agencies (Harris 2005). The purpose, therefore, of this paper will be to look at various companies that produce assessment software or software to complement the assessment aspect of educational process. In addition, we will explore the uses of the software in some of the different environments and the criteria companies use to determine the efficiency and success of the software.
A Look At Software Companies
At its most basic, assessment is simply creating a tool which measures the knowledge or learning obtained by students. Therefore, assessment software is simply that which facilitates that process. The School Software Group produces software called BuildYourOwnAssessment. This software gives the ability to create tests using different question formats such as multiple choice, short answer, true or false, or other formats such as essay. This basic software offers the option of administering the assessment in an online format or printing the assessment in hard copy. As a selling point, this company notes that it has another...