North Carolina Online Test of Computer Skills
Background
In May 1991, the North Carolina State Board of Education approved the requirement that all students beginning with the class of 2000, demonstrate computer proficiencies in order to receive a high school diploma (Feature C of the Quality Assurance Program). In October of 1995, the State Board of Education modified the requirement making it effective beginning with the graduating class of 2001. Students in grade eight for the 1996–1997 school year and beyond are required to satisfy the computer proficiency requirement in order to receive a North Carolina high school diploma. The goals of the requirement are to ensure that: (1) most students enter high school with sufficient computer skills, and (2) no students exit North Carolina high schools without sufficient computer skills.
Original assessment designs implemented contained separate multiple choice and performance tests. This dual assessment design was used to test for curricula adopted in 1992 and updated in 1998. Students who entered grade eight from 1996–1997 through the 1999–2000 school year must meet the computer skills graduation requirement based on the 1992 computer skills curriculum. Students who entered grade eight from 2000–2001 through 2004-2005 must meet the computer skills graduation requirement based on the 1998 computer skills curriculum. Students entering grade eight from 2005-2006 and beyond will be required to meet the requirement based on the 2004 curriculum.
Beginning in spring 2001, the North Carolina Department of Public Instruction began the test development process for an Internet-based computer skills test. The goal was to combine the previously designed dual multiple choice and performance tests into one test and to deliver it online. The redesigned computer skills test, as a single test, will be used to fulfill the computer skills proficiency graduation requirement. The online test’s presentation and format will:
As part of this development process, the NCDPI conducted a feasibility study in September 2003. The purpose of this feasibility study was to conduct research and further develop the redesigned instrument as well as gain feedback on the newly developed Java editor program known as NCEdit.
Results and feedback from the September 2003 study provided impetus to alter the original vision of the test interface to include additional applications and restructure the design of the test interface significantly. This new suite of applications and test interface is being called NCDesk and was used during the 2004-05 school year for study and field testing purposes. Check out the NCDesk web site for more information on this software at http://ncdesk.ncsu.edu.
During the fall of 2004 another feasibility study was conducted, this time with the new NCDesk application. Each middle school was required to test ten students. A field test was administered in the spring 2005 to collect form and item data for creating an operational test for fall 2005. The field test participants were selected using sampling techniques. Schools could voluntarily administer the spring field test.
Additionally, an alternative test was developed to address the needs of schools and/or individuals were the NCDesk application or bandwidth limitations presented administration difficulties. This assessment was administered to a subset of the spring 2005 field test participants. Results from this assessment was used to create an equivalent operational alternative computer skills test for the 2005-06 school year. The alternative assessment does not require a connection to the Internet nor the need to use the NCDesk application.
During the 2005-06 school year the operational test of the Online Test of Computer Skills was administered to all eligible students. There were two windows during the accountability year. The first window (October 17, 2005 - January 13, 2006) was an operational pilot with delayed results. The majority of students eligible were tested (109,584). After the standard setting process in Feburary the State Board of Education meeting adopted cut scores during its March meeting. Results were reported on March 6, 2006. The second testing window was between March 20, 2006 and June 16, 2006 with results reported bi-monthly with 50,941 administrations. Both windows had high completion rates (99%+).
During the summer of 2006 a third window was offered to student who had tested, yet not met the requirement. This window was a new opportunity for students to complete the computer skills requirement since the older performance tests summer administrations had not been conducted in several years.
Test items for this test assess the newly revised K-12 Computer/Technology Skills Standard Course of Study (adopted by the State Board of Education in February 2004).
This file was modified on Wednesday, August 29, 2007; at 2:45:26 PM