When a third of the state's fifth- and eighth-graders took the science portion of the Maryland School Assessments online for the first time in April, many hailed it as a technological advancement.
But others worry that students from poorer schools would be at a disadvantage if the online testing is made mandatory and expanded to include the math and reading portions of the assessments.
Unlike math and reading, the science part of the MSA is not considered a "high-stakes test" because it is not used to determine "adequate yearly progress," the yardstick under the federal No Child Left Behind Act.
The state Board of Education's science department volunteered to try online testing, according to Ronald Peiffer, deputy state superintendent. School systems had the option of allowing students to take the science test with the traditional pencil and test booklet or online.
The percentage of students taking the science test online varied widely by school system: 13 percent in Prince George's County; 22 percent in Baltimore City; 26 percent in Baltimore County; 50 percent in Howard County; 75 percent in Carroll County; 95 percent in Anne Arundel County; and 100 percent in Harford County. Montgomery County schools did not participate in the pilot online program. Overall, 34 percent of students statewide took the test online.
Many schools administered the test in computer labs reconfigured to accommodate a testing environment. Howard County, which rotated students into the augmented labs, "found that the schools had to set up complicated schedules to get the kids tested," said Patti Caplan, spokeswoman for Howard County public schools. "It was more disruptive than the other MSAs."
State education officials say online testing is faster to grade, helps to thwart cheating and mirrors the technology that many students regularly use. They say the logistical problems can be worked out.
"It introduces a level of efficiency which will really be profitable for the students," State Superintendent Nancy S. Grasmick said. "It is the wave of the future. This is how they communicate. We should capitalize on this."
Not everyone shares Grasmick's enthusiasm.
The American Civil Liberties Union of Maryland -- which is a plaintiff in a long-running lawsuit accusing the state of unlawfully underfunding Baltimore schools -- says it would be closely monitoring online testing.
Bebe Verdery, director of the ACLU's Education Reform Project, said she fears that students from poorer schools will not have the same access to computer resources as their peers in wealthier school systems, putting them at a disadvantage on the tests.
"It will always be a concern of ours from an equity standpoint that students have an equal playing field for test-taking and for learning," Verdery said. "Say some science classes had been using computers in the class to do experiments and research, we would be concerned that all students have that kind of access."
Leslie Wilson, assistant superintendent for accountability and assessment, acknowledges that equity issues need to be resolved before students are required to take the test online.
"I don't think all school systems have the capacity," Wilson said. "All school systems are working to have more computers. It is something we have to consider; that is why we need to take it slow."
This year, 45,693 of the 136,118 fifth- and eighth-graders in the state took the science portion of the Maryland School Assessments online. The results of the test will be available in late fall, state education officials said.
Grasmick said she is eagerly awaiting the compilation of responses from local school systems about glitches reported during the administering of the test. "Overall, I am very impressed," she said.
Although Wilson is quick to say that there are no immediate plans to switch completely to online testing, she points to a number of advantages that the new test offers.
"It is faster," Wilson said. "Ultimately, it starts with resource allocations. You don't have as much of printing, shipping. Schools have to count test booklets. ... A lot of those tasks will go away.
"We would have faster turnaround," Wilson said. "You don't have to unpack them [tests], cut spines off of them. They won't have to do all of that. ... There are a lot of advantages."
The online test features safeguards to ensure that students are not able to use technology to help them cheat, she said.
Verdery said the ACLU is not opposed to schools using new technology.
"If computers are available, and if kids have experience using them, there is some evidence that it can be a good match for kids," Verdery said.
Verdery said she was worried in particular about Baltimore, where about 2,700 of the 11,972 eligible test-takers took the science MSA online.
Baltimore school officials said they created a "science benchmark test" to help students prepare for the online pilot. In addition, an analyst worked with teachers and students to make the computer lab a familiar environment prior to the test.
"We did spend some time preparing the students to take an online test because we did not want the technology to get in the way of the students' ability to express their knowledge of science," said Bert Ross, manager of the city schools' Teacher Support System.
Overall, the online testing went relatively smoothly, said Portia White, Howard County's coordinator of testing.
"It wasn't trouble-free," White said. "We had a couple of spots where we had things happen. Things that had to do with configurations of the labs or things that were unique to schools. All of it worked out. It went much better than any of us anticipated."
Students were much more receptive to the online testing pilot than adults, Wilson said.
"The problem is not with the kids; the problem is with the teachers," Wilson said. "The kids take to it like fish [to] water. They wanted to know why they couldn't take all their tests online."
White agreed.
"Some of the students who did the test on paper and pencil were disappointed that they could not do the test online," she said. "That's just where the students are now. They are not intimidated by the technology."
john-john.williams@baltsun.com
Sun reporters Sara Neufeld, Arin Gencer, Madison Park and Ruma Kumar contributed to this article.