Laptops enhancing students' writing, study finds
Portland Press Herald, October 24, 2007
(excerpt) Maine Education Assessment scores indicate that 49 percent of eighth-graders were proficient in 2005 in writing, compared to 29 percent in 2000.
And it wasn't just a function of taking the writing portion of the test using a computer and keyboard. Students who used pen and paper and students who used a computer keyboard showed similar improvements on the test, Silvernail said.
During the same period, math scores were unchanged and science scores rose by 2 points, while reading scores actually dropped 3 points, Silvernail said. Writing showed the biggest improvement: 7 points, from 530 to 537, he said.
Silvernail said it's unrealistic to expect big increases on standardized tests tied to laptops, but writing is the exception.
Laptops make it easier for students to edit their copy and make changes without getting writer's cramp, he said. And it was important, he said, that those skills translated when the test was taken with pen and paper.
(excerpt) Maine Education Assessment scores indicate that 49 percent of eighth-graders were proficient in 2005 in writing, compared to 29 percent in 2000.
And it wasn't just a function of taking the writing portion of the test using a computer and keyboard. Students who used pen and paper and students who used a computer keyboard showed similar improvements on the test, Silvernail said.
During the same period, math scores were unchanged and science scores rose by 2 points, while reading scores actually dropped 3 points, Silvernail said. Writing showed the biggest improvement: 7 points, from 530 to 537, he said.
Silvernail said it's unrealistic to expect big increases on standardized tests tied to laptops, but writing is the exception.
Laptops make it easier for students to edit their copy and make changes without getting writer's cramp, he said. And it was important, he said, that those skills translated when the test was taken with pen and paper.
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