cc licensed ( BY ) flickr photo shared by Håkan Dahlström
I’ve long worried that schools are focusing so much on acquiring print texts for Common Core State Standards alignment that they’re overlooking the fact that the standardized tests from both PARCC and Smarter Balanced will be administered on computers. Studies show that people read differently online versus in print: most people skim when reading onscreen. That’s fine for catching up with current events of blogs, but it impedes the kind of “close reading” that CCSS architects call for.
Now, I love print texts. I write print texts. I collect print texts. But we need a reality check here: i n many ways, the skills developed using print texts may not transfer to onscreen tests, opening up a hidden obstacle to test success. An April 22 article in the Cincinnati Enquirer, “IN OUR SCHOOLS: Delays predicted in Common Core Success,” is the first I’ve read to echo this concern about digital reading.
From the Enquirer article:
The fact that the Common Core tests in Ohio will be online also has teachers worried about getting some kids up to speed on answering questions and showing their math work on computers.
Online testing will require that teachers and students get more training and practice on a host of computer actions, including keyboarding, said Ann Marie Reinke, an assistant curriculum director at Sycamore schools.
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She said some of the Common Core test prototype questions and tasks publicized earlier “make me shake in my boots,” she said.It’s not just the rigor of the tests, it’s the fact that it’s online, she said.
“You’re looking at kids navigating computer screens, high lighting with a mouse and dragging and dropping,” she said …
“It’s a whole big ball of uncertainty for some districts.” Reinke said.
Now might be a great time to read this Salon.com/Scientific American compilation of studies on digital reading comprehension and make a plan. I know there’s so much uncertainty about CCSS right now, and one could have the instinct to set this issue aside. But the reality is that our kids are already skimming online … we should be thinking about this regardless of what happens.