Some English tests allow test takers to take notes in a little widget on the screen, instead of on paper or on a white board. I like this. A few thoughts come to mind:
- Taking notes on a whiteboard is not fun, especially at home when you are using whatever board and marker (probably way too thick) that you were able to scrounge up locally. And God help the poor souls who try to take notes using the “sheet of paper in a page protector” method.
- The widget approach allows the test maker to control which sections the test taker is able to take notes. Obviously, there are parts of a test where test makers might not want the test taker to take notes. Indeed, some observers have expressed concern that the “listen and repeat” task on the TOEFL might be gameable by test takers who are able to write down the sentences as they are played.
- One imagines that test makers could gather some useful data by capturing notes written in a widget.
- The kids today aren’t great at cursive. And the thought of taking lecture notes using non-cursive writing gives me the shakes.
- I’ve read that note-taking on a test makes it more “fit for purpose” since it simulates what students do in classes. If so, it is important to keep that simulation up to date.
That said, a few bad things come to mind:
- The kids aren’t great at touch typing either. Maybe they wouldn’t like it. Perhaps it is best to just go the “no notes” route like on the DET and the new Pearson test.
- On the other hand, geriatric millennials like myself could probably transcribe an entire 5-minute lecture in real time with few errors, potentially breaking the test. Would you believe I took an entire year-long high school course about how to type?