Recently, it has become more common to assess students’ learning in online settings. For the last several years, ACS Exams has been working to design and deliver its tests online. Even though technology is quickly establishing itself as efficient tool in education, only few studies have examined whether online assessment can offer similar learning benefits to students as traditional, paper-and-pencil tests. This study investigated the effect of test mode on the chemistry content with 660 students from introductory chemistry courses. In the present study, we measured student performance on two General Chemistry practice tests. All students took the practice tests on paper or online. Half of students took both tests in the same mode (e.g., first practice test on paper and the second practice test on paper) whereas other students switched the test mode (e.g., first practice test on paper and the second practice test online). Student characteristics and test features that provide insight why students perform differently in online versus paper-and-pencil administration will be presented.

Test-based learning with online vs. paper tests

249th National Meeting (2015)

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.