Designing Web-Based Training: How to Teach Anyone Anything Anywhere Anytime

7.1. Do WEB-BASED TESTS WORK?

The Web provides an effective yet inexpensive way to test knowledge, skills, and attitudes. Tests conducted over the Internet obtain the same results as those on paper, and learners in one study strongly preferred the Internet-delivered tests [101]. In a study of 400 vocational-technical learners in Pennsylvania, Internet-conducted tests showed no differences in scores, redesign needed, or any bias due to gender, economic disadvantage, or educational disability relative to the same test on paper. In that test, 75% of the learners said they preferred taking the test over the Internet, even though 68.8% of the learners had no Internet experience. Test administrators said that tests conducted over the Internet took a little less time to prepare and to conduct and a lot less time to analyze data.

Web-based testing eliminates the costs and effort of printing, distributing, and collecting test papers. For many kinds of tests, answers can be scored and results recorded automatically. The cost savings multiply with the number of distributed test-takers. Costs for converting a 100-question paper test to Internet delivery were about $1500 to $2500 USD. Costs for conducting and scoring the test were $2 USD per test-taker [101].