Paper-based versus computer-based testing in engineering education

Using computers for assessment can provide several benefits for educators and test-takers. However, in the literature, there is no consensus on the equivalence of paper-and-pencil and computer-based test environments. Accordingly, more evidences are needed especially for the engineering education. In this study, students' performance on different test modes was evaluated on 209 first year engineering students of a chemistry course. The results of this study showed that, there is no significant performance difference between paper-and-pencil and computer based tests. By comparing results with the previous studies, this study concludes that, personal characteristics of test takers, the features of computer-based testing systems and the test content are all possible confounding factors when comparing test modes and need to be considered by the implementers. The results of this study show that, once these factors are controlled, students' performance on computer-based tests and paper-and-pencil tests in chemistry courses for the engineering students will not vary. This finding is encouraging the educators to get benefits of computer-based tests without any affect on students' performance.