Keyboarding (typing) is a ubiquitous skill for most UK students, and most coursework essays must be word processed. However, few examinations, other than for students with disabilities, permit the use of a word processor. It is not known how students would respond given a free choice between handwriting and word processing in an essay examination.…

Most of our students complete most of their written assignments using a word processor, but they are still asked to handwrite responses in an examination. It could be argued that they have not practiced this task and the validity of the assessment could thus be questioned. This paper explores the possibility of bringing computers into the…

Students at the University of Edinburgh do almost all their work on computers, but at the end of the semester they are examined by handwritten essays. Intuitively it would be appealing to allow students the choice of handwriting or typing, but this raises a concern that perhaps this might not be "fair"--that the choice a student makes,…

Recently, the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL) changed by including a direct writing assessment where examinees choose between computer and handwritten composition formats. Unfortunately, examinees may have differential access to and comfort with computers; as a result, scores across these formats may not be comparable. Analysis of…