When the tests fail

"One thing seems certain here," he says. "Things change whenever tests all of a sudden become part of high-stakes accountability."

Idaho may best be known for the Sawtooth Mountains and spuds, but soon the Gem State will have another notch in its belt: It's about to become the first state in the US to trade in its No. 2 pencils for "smart tests."

Starting this fall, Idaho public schools will rely on a new generation of testing technology. The computerized tests will adapt questions to what a student knows – and they'll return the results the next day.

After decades of research, a number of small companies are now producing software that they claim can grade writing tests with more accuracy than a teacher.

"It sounds like 'Star Trek,' but these tests are actually being widely used today," says Scott Elliott, a spokesman for Vantage Learning, an East Coast firm that uses "artificial intelligence" technology not only to grade writing, but also to give pointers to students instantaneously.

While computerized instruction is a controversial topic in American schools, the idea of using computers in assessment is gaining adherents from Los Angeles to Boston.

"It's an extremely high priority right now to improve how well we measure students' abilities," says Chrys Dougherty, research director for the National Center for Education Accountability in Austin, Texas. "Think how important it is for the economy to have accurate business accounting. And look at the catastrophe that occurs when we don't."

In Idaho this fall, students will log onto computerized tests that can figure out almost exactly each one's achievement level, by automatically increasing the difficulty depending on how well each answers the questions.

"Like people mark the growth of a child by marking their height on a doorjamb in the garage, we've created a tape measure that allows us to identify how tall a child is academically every year, and to calculate the number of inches of growth in math, in reading, in language, and in science," says Allan Olson, president of the Northwest Evaluation Association (NWEA) in Portland, Ore., which created the Idaho test.

In NWEA's case, the programs are based on nearly two decades of research, using studies done by the military and universities to create software that can instantly gauge a child's achievement level.

Getting test data in a fraction of the time it takes to grade paper tests isn't just manna for states trying to abide by the new testing requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act. It also will let teachers instantly figure out which students are struggling in each class – and let principals know which teachers are having trouble in specific areas of instruction.

Instant results, proponents say, can eliminate the "test lag" that occurs when students get tests back long after they've forgotten what they wrote.

"You'd hate to get on a scale in the bathroom and three months later get your weight back," says Mr. Dougherty. "These new tests eliminate those kinds of problems."

Companies that make computerized tests also say they tend to be cheaper to administer and grade.

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