Online Testing on the Rise - Digital Education - Education Week

Online Testing on the Rise - Digital Education - Education Week:

By guest blogger Mike Bock

According to a recent press release from publishing market analyst firm Simba Information, online K-12 testing is poised to increase significantly in the next few years, and will make up 50 percent of the market for testing by the 2014-2015 school year. Presumably, the report speculates, big publishers like CTB/McGraw-Hill and Vantage Learning are starting to ramp up their online test production to meet the demand for more virtual assessments.

In the 2011-2012 school year, only 38 percent of assessments were offered online. Simba Information is attributing the big jump to the rise of Common Core assessments:

"New Common Core classroom assessments, which will be used to help drive instruction and gauge individual student progress, will focus on more performance-based and media-driven items, including adaptive learning technologies. Coupled with a move towards digital textbooks and instruction, the report finds the implementation of a formative learning process into an individualized learning environment is a key factor for success."