Online Quiz and Test Taking as an Alternative to Paper and Pencil Assessment  Katherine McNeil

Many teachers find they are just stretched to the limit every day. When you find a student that is struggling or are told that you have to modify the delivery of the curriculum because of Special Ed issues where do you start?

I have found that if teachers (including myself) design a lesson and the delivery is identical to all students, we have left 1/3 to a 1/2 of our students fall into the cracks. Some students will quietly pretend they understand, some will seek our help, some under perform, and some will start demonstrating inappropriate behaviors to deal with their frustration.

I would like to suggest one small modification that a teacher could do to help students succeed when required to take a quiz or test. Many students have problems with auditory processing or just plain hate paper and pencil tests. If students have access to a classroom or school computer it is easy to put your quizzes online, have the students take the quiz, and the results are e-mailed back to you. 

There is a wonderful site where all this and more can be accomplished and my students use it for every test they take. The result of allowing my students take their tests online has been dramatic. Their test scores have risen from a D and F average to A's and B's. Now remember my students are not the norm, they are student with severe behavior disorders, but I have made this suggestion to other teachers and they have seen similar results. 

Ok, so how can you try this? Well the site is called Funbrain. It is simple, you register (it is free), you have your choice of using a test that other teachers have designed or you can enter your own. This is nice because the test stays online unless you delete it. You can use it from year to year if you want. The only suggestion that I make when you make or modify the tests or quizzes is that there is a box where you can let the students see if their answer was incorrect or do not allow them to see. I don't allow them to know because I found it creates problems. 

When you register you have the options of setting a class password or not. Have each student sign in with their first and last name, tell them which test or quiz they are to take, and the rest is downhill. You can access their scores; tell them specifically which question they missed and what their answer was. The online grade book keeps track of their scores. 

Allowing students access to a variety of tools for assessment is essential to their academic success.