HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) – Students at several Connecticut schools are among a growing number nationwide using new Internet-based programs that analyze their writing and provide instant feedback.
Only about 1.5 million of the nation’s almost 50 million public school students have access to the online assessments, but industry officials say the business is growing.
In Connecticut, schools in Bristol, Glastonbury, Windsor, New Fairfield, Killingly and Stonington received state grants last year to try the technology. East Haven also has a pilot program.
The online assessment tools, which are accessed by subscription, analyze a student’s writing sample to point out potential problems in organization, grammar, sentence complexity and other issues.
The technology doesn’t replace teachers, however, because computers cannot provide subjective feedback on skills such as analysis, creativity and interpretation.
However, many educators say the programs are a helpful tool that offer the kind of individual attention often not available in crowded classrooms.
“Students still need guidance, but the fact that they can get immediate feedback is amazing,” said Brooke Unger, who has been piloting the program in East Haven with teacher Christine Bauer.
Many students who use the technology say they like the instant feedback.
“It takes, like, two seconds,” said student Robin Squirrell, who attends East Haven High School, which uses a program called My Access from Pennsylvania-based Vantage Learning.
That system and others emulate the process used by human scorers, such as those who grade the essays written each year by students taking the Connecticut Mastery Test.
Today’s students are more attuned to technology than students in past years, said Don Knezek, who runs the Washington-based International Society for Technology in Education.
“We know that if they have access to technology, they write more, they revise more. And you have kids getting competitive with the assessment tool,” he said. “They take it as a challenge, as a kind of gaming activity.”
But the technology isn’t getting universal raves. Some critics warn it could squelch creativity, while others worry it might eventually displace teachers.
“It appears to encourage formulaic writing,” said Robert Schaeffer of the National Center for Fair and Open Testing, an advocacy group. “It drills the basics and tends to ignore the nuances of good writing.”
Cost is also a factor. For instance, Vantage generally charges schools $18 to $24 annually for each student subscription.
“Right now it’s cost-prohibitive because it comes down to, ‘Should we fix the roof on the elementary school or do we buy this program?”‘ said Art Skerker, a consultant at the state Department of Education who works on technology issues.
Skerker said he hopes the grant-funded projects in Connecticut will help determine the value of online assessments. Ultimately, he said, the state might make subscriptions available to students and schools through the Connecticut Education Network, a fiber-optic connection that links all districts.
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