South Dakota Aims To Put Online Assessment to the Test

By Michelle Galley

Legislators in South Dakota approved a plan last week requiring students to take a series of tests linked directly to the state's recently developed academic standards. And in a pioneering move, state education officials plan to implement the new mandate through assessments administered exclusively over the Internet.

If Republican Gov. William J. Janklow signs the measure, as he is expected to do, South Dakota would be poised to become the first state to give its tests solely online. The exams would start in the spring of next year, under a bill given final approval last week by the House of Representatives.

State school leaders around the nation have become increasingly interested in the prospect of administering tests online. Plans are under way in Virginia to start giving the state's Standards of Learning exams to all high school students via the Internet in the spring of 2003. In Oregon, 17 high schools and 14 elementary schools were chosen last month to begin a pilot...