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This research explores if students with learning disabilities perform better in mathematics assessments on computer or paper. Findings will benefit teachers, parents, and special education. Participants are urban NYC students from lower to medium socioeconomic backgrounds, with IEPs, and struggling in mathematics. Instrument used is STAR Math.
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A Comparison of Types of Testing based upon Mathematics By Clare Paronich
Introduction • The research problem being investigated is whether students with learning disabilities will score higher on mathematics assessments if they take an assessment on a computer or if they take the assessment using paper and a pencil. • Technology has become a prominent factor of our society. Children begin using technology at a very early age. More recently, children have begun using technology as early as toddlers. Children tend to be technologically advanced. This is part of the reason why schools teach using technology. While technology is being used in the classrooms, it is not often used during assessments. Assessments are what teachers use to see how much students are learning. If technology is used during class time, it makes sense that it would also be used for assessments. This study may prove that using technology when being assessed may be more beneficial to students with learning disabilities than if the students are assessed using a pencil and paper. • The audiences that will primarily benefit from the findings of this research are teachers, special education and general education teachers, and parents of students with learning disabilities. If teachers look at the findings of this research, they can make the proper arrangements for the needs of the students with learning disabilities. Accordingly, parents ofstudents with special needs can request certain accommodations for their children after reviewing the findings of this research. • The research purpose of this study is to determine whether or not there will be a difference in the mathematics scores of students with learning disabilities if the test is administered on a computer or if students have to complete it manually.
My hypothesis • Students with learning disabilities that are assessed using technology will have higher scores in mathematics then students who are assessed using paper and pencil.
Benefits of the Study • As a result of this study, students will ultimately benefit from this research. Whatever the findings are, teachers and parents will be able to make the appropriate accommodations for students when they are being assessed so that students with learning disabilities will perform to their highest potential.
Participants • The participants in this study will be from an urban New York City public school. The participants will be from the primary grades and will come from families who have a lower to medium socioeconomic status. The students will come from a self-contained classroom and they will have IEPs. The students who participate in this study will be learning disabled and will particularly struggle with mathematics. This is a convenience sample and therefore results cannot be generalized to a larger population.
Literature Review • These research articles comprised studies that examined paper-based testing, computer-based testing and their impacts on the scores of mathematics. Some of these studies were done in elementary classrooms with special needs students. Others were done in a high school or college setting. These studies showed the impact that technology can have on learners and how at times it can benefit students. This study will help teachers decide what kind of mathematics tests they should administer to their students with learning disabilities.
Instrument • The instrument being used is STAR Math (Appendix B). This particular test is a computerized mathematics test used for grades K-12. The test is used to track students’ achievement levels in mathematics. Each test has 24 multiple choice questions, 8 from numeration concepts (e.g., place value, fractions, decimals, powers, roots), 8 from computation processes, and 8 from six possible strands depending on the student's grade level-word problems, estimation, data analysis and statistics, geometry, measurement, and algebra. There is a 3-minute time limit on a single question and the testrequires less than 15 minutes to complete.
