A Comparison of Computer-Administered and Written Tests

A computer testing program designed by the authors using HyperCard was tested for equivalence with written formats of a test. The study group in this research consisted of 50 adult basic education students enrolled in an introductory computer course at a small community college. Each student completed 3 written and 3 computer-administered tests. Additional information about these tests was collected through the use of student pre- and posttreatment surveys and by an innovative HyperCard script that tracked each student’s path through the tests. The results of the comparative analysis of tests scores indicated that there were no significant differences between computer-based and written test scores. Additionally, survey responses indicated a student preference for the computer-based test over the written format and that this preference increased after exposure to the different test formats. Finally, an analysis of student test-path data recorded by the computer indicated that the computerized tests took, on average, 2 min longer for students to complete. The computer test-path data and survey responses also gave an indication of which test-design features were the most useful for students.