Computer-based assessment of reading

Abstract

We have reached a watershed in the history of psychological and educational assessment. It is hard to see how conventional assessment methods could be further improved – in effect, they have reached the zenith of their development. In a relatively short time, however, they are likely to be usurped by computerised assessment as swiftly as the electronic calculator banished tables of logarithms from the classroom (and for very similar reasons). The rationale for this view derives from the particular advantages that computer-based testing has over conventional methods. The purpose of this chapter, therefore, is first to outline the nature and advantages of computer-based assessment techniques and to explain why it is at this particular moment in history that such an advancement should take place. I will then go on to consider some of the critical problems concerning how computer-based approaches to assessment can be shown to have equivalence with conventional methods of assessment. Current research on computer-based assessment of reading and dyslexia will be critically reviewed. Finally, I will address the integration of screening and computer-based assessment approaches and evaluate the prospects for more effective and practical screening procedures that can be computer-based.