Online Assessment Tests Arbitrary

Tufts Education Expert Says Computer Generated Evaluations Aren't Good Guides

Medford/Somerville, Mass. [01.24.01] -- Will online assessment tests be the next tool for parents to evaluate their children's educational progress?

   While the New York Times reported this week that William J. Bennett -- former U.S. education secretary -- is investing in the new test, the newspaper noted that many experts on education are skeptical about the value of online assessments.

   Tufts' Steven Cohen is one of them.

   "Any number that a machine is giving you, without having a sense of what your child does in school each day, and what that school is like, is arbitrary," Cohen told the Times.

   The Tufts lecturer said that, just as in the medical field, straight numbers and percentiles can be arbitrary.

   Drawing a comparison to a personal experience as a nervous parent, Cohen asked a pediatrician about his child's height and weight percentile. "Our pediatrician said, 'The right one.' The number is meaningless and a good pediatrician knew that," the Tufts expert said.

   Instead, Cohen suggested that parents ask a couple of basic questions to measure their children's progress. "Does your child read, and does your child read on his or her own?" Cohen told the Times. "If your child does that, I think they're going to be O.K."