RCPS Highlights

Rockingham County Public Schools

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May is Testing Month!

Approximately 7,000 SOL tests to be given online during May.

RCPS is testing all high school end-of-course tests online during May, 2005. Online testing is being conducted at Broadway High School, Turner Ashby High School, Spotswood High School, and Dayton Learning Center for the following classes: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, English Reading, World Geography, World History II, and VA and US History. Online testing is conducted at Montevideo Middle School, Elkton Middle School, J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, and Wilbur S. Pence Middle School for the high school credit-bearing courses of Algebra I and World Geography.

Students shown to the left are testing in the SHS library. Note that some are using wireless laptops while others are using wired desktop computers. As many as 125 computers per high school are used at a time for the testing process. The testing window is from May 9 through May 27.

The advantages of online testing are that all of the student demographic data needed for testing can be uploaded prior to testing. Students then sign in to a secured site to test. There are no test booklets to count, answer documents to keep up with, nor bubble sheets for students to fill in. Students simply click on their chosen response. The test delivery system, developed by NCS Pearson, allows students to review their responses, mark questions for review as they test, eliminate answers that are incorrect, highlight key words in the text, etc. The results from online testing are available much quicker than with paper and pencil tests: students will find out on May 27 whether they have passed or not.

Shown to the right are students in the SHS upstairs computer lab taking SOL tests online. Note the computer "bonnets" which help provide test security. The bonnets are not the only form of test security--there are various forms of each online test so that students sitting side-by-side do not necessarily take the same test even if they are in the same class. With online testing, it is common to place students from different classes (such as Chemistry and Algebra II) side by side.

To the right and below are more examples of students testing. The Virginia Department of Education has done considerable research comparing SOL results of students who test online and those who test by the traditional paper and pencil method. There is no significant difference in performance between the two methods. However, there is a significant difference in student attitiude--students greatly prefer online to paper and pencil.

When it comes to learning, we click!

Rockingham County Public Schools
Visitors \| Employees \| Parents \| K-5 Students \| 6-12 Students \| Schools \| Search Tools \| Site Index \| Home
RCPS Highlights
Visit the Highlights Archive
May is Testing Month!
Approximately 7,000 SOL tests to be given online during May.

RCPS is testing all high school end-of-course tests online during May, 2005. Online testing is being conducted at Broadway High School, Turner Ashby High School, Spotswood High School, and Dayton Learning Center for the following classes: Algebra I, Geometry, Algebra II, Earth Science, Biology, Chemistry, English Reading, World Geography, World History II, and VA and US History. Online testing is conducted at Montevideo Middle School, Elkton Middle School, J. Frank Hillyard Middle School, and Wilbur S. Pence Middle School for the high school credit-bearing courses of Algebra I and World Geography. Students shown to the left are testing in the SHS library. Note that some are using wireless laptops while others are using wired desktop computers. As many as 125 computers per high school are used at a time for the testing process. The testing window is from May 9 through May 27. The advantages of online testing are that all of the student demographic data needed for testing can be uploaded prior to testing. Students then sign in to a secured site to test. There are no test booklets to count, answer documents to keep up with, nor bubble sheets for students to fill in. Students simply click on their chosen response. The test delivery system, developed by NCS Pearson, allows students to review their responses, mark questions for review as they test, eliminate answers that are incorrect, highlight key words in the text, etc. The results from online testing are available much quicker than with paper and pencil tests: students will find out on May 27 whether they have passed or not.
Shown to the right are students in the SHS upstairs computer lab taking SOL tests online. Note the computer "bonnets" which help provide test security. The bonnets are not the only form of test security--there are various forms of each online test so that students sitting side-by-side do not necessarily take the same test even if they are in the same class. With online testing, it is common to place students from different classes (such as Chemistry and Algebra II) side by side.
To the right and below are more examples of students testing. The Virginia Department of Education has done considerable research comparing SOL results of students who test online and those who test by the traditional paper and pencil method. There is no significant difference in performance between the two methods. However, there is a significant difference in student attitiude--students greatly prefer online to paper and pencil.


When it comes to learning, we click!