This semester, I took a course in writing assessment. Throughout the course, I was surprised to learn the extent to which technology plays a role in contemporary writing assessments. We discussed a number of large-scale assessments which depend on Automated Essay Scoring (AES), including the GRE and other high-stakes tests. For my final project, I investigated the M-STEP (Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress) because the state legislature recently passed a law requiring third grade students who failed the ELA portion to be retained. I found that high-stakes decisions were to be made on a test that in its second iteration dropped all requirements for students to write (no AES needed here) and relied instead on a computer-adaptive, multiple choice questions.

Up until this semester, I had always been eager to try the newest technology. I found opportunities to organize my work, ease some of repetitive teaching responsibilities, and engage my students with new tools. However, my analysis of the M-STEP taught me that behind these advantages hide serious dangers. Because the "objective" data is available, lawmakers feel justified in imposing strong penalties for students who do not perform well on the assessment. Teachers and parents, those one would expect to be best equipped to make decisions in a child's best interest, are no longer allowed to make the decision to promote.

Technology does not erase the biases of human designers; it can multiply them. I have learned to consider not only the advantages of efficiency and the potential for improved learning, but also the disadvantages of technology in my evaluations.