What do you think are some of the pros and cons of computerized testing?

Sounds like spam to me.

Anyways, not really any cons once it’s set up, it’s faster, more efficient, and you don’t need to pay someone to go over the tests to check the answer. It’s like the tests where you fill in dots and a machine just checks it and grades it. (what’s the name for that again?)

[Mod says] This question is not spam.

There are a few ways in which computerized tests can be modified to be more flexible than a regular test.

For example, you can easily gather user statistics and determine exactly what types of questions are easiest/hardest for the student. You could provide live score updates to the test taker as he submits answers.

You can also do things such as allowing second guesses for partial credit. I’ve actually taken a test like this before.

There are a lot of pros, mainly that computerized testing is highly flexible and provides instant results.

The only con I can think of is that sometimes the user interface is not very good. It can be difficult to skip a question and come back to it later, especially if there are only “forward” and “back” arrows.

One form of computerized testing, called CAT, allows the difficulty of the test to change in “real-time” based on the student’s performance so far. Each question in the question bank is assigned a difficulty. If the student performs well, then harder questions are asked. If the student is performing poorly, then the questions get easier. This allows the computer to determine exactly at what “level” the student is performing. Something like this would be near impossible on a physical test. From what you describe (an online class), this will probably not work for you, since you are probably testing for a specific set of standards.

The only con I can think of is if those taking the tests aren’t monitored, it would be fairly easy to cheat, such as searching the course materials or the web for the answers.