PRO/CON: The national shift from paper to digital exams

PRO- Written by: Esther Cosby

On March 9, 2024 the format of the Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and Practice Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT) changed forever. The College Board decided to transition from paper SAT and PSAT to digital SAT and PSAT. The format was changed without regard to the students it would affect. Along with this SAT and PSAT switch, a large portion of AP exams and finals for classes at the high school  switched from paper to online after the major shutdown from COVID-19. These changes affected students negatively across the country and continue to do so. 

For me, digital testing has always been a chore. It is no surprise that most students dread tests, but digital tests are especially draining. Hours on end sitting, quietly typing, thinking, solving, heads pounding as you stare at a bright screen. Digital standardized testing is hours long and can cause major mental and physical strain. Not only does it cause strain but there are factors to consider when it comes to charged devices and preventing electronic malfunctions. 

I am not the only student that sees the benefits of paper testing, sophomore Elizabeth Atkinson has done almost all of her testing online her whole school career. Although Atkinson has always had digitalized standardized testing, she has been in many classes where quizzes, tests and final exams have been paper. She has found that these paper tests bring a sense of security and comfort to her compared to the digital exams. There is room to work, room to explore your ideas and room to connect thoughts on paper. 

“I feel better about my tests when they’re on paper, because I can physically write on it and write out my thoughts instead of trying to remember it all in my head, or using scratch paper,” Atkinson said. 

As well as the mental strain that digital testing brings, it also brings a physical strain that affects Atkinson. 

“My eyes are super sensitive to the light, so I always have to wear glasses. It hurts my head to test digitally. It also stresses me out when there’s a timer right in front of my face,” 

The anxiety aspect of testing is a familiar concept for most students. Digital testing only increases this anxiety, due to concerns on whether or not your computer will work. The National Library of Medicine (NLM) is the world’s largest biomedical library, they research topics and conduct many studies each year. In March of 2025 Yuhua Deng conducted a study for NLM where they found ways to manage test anxiety and show the increase in anxiety when testing is digital. They acknowledge how we are forced to test on a platform that inevitably causes anxiety. 

“In today’s rapidly evolving educational landscape, the prevalence of online assessments has become increasingly prominent, presenting both opportunities and challenges for learners. Among these challenges, test anxiety stands out as a significant barrier to effective performance,” Deng said. 

The physical and mental strain caused by testing has been proved to only increase when testing is made digital. In an additional study conducted by Kirandeep Kaur and others from NLM address the physical discomfort that can arise after being attentive to electronics for long periods of time. 

“According to the American Optometric Association, the usage of digital devices continuously for two hours is adequate to bring about digital eye strain,” Kaur et. al said. 

Digital eye strain (DES) is defined by The National Library of Medicine as irritation and eye discomfort, it can result in the inability to refocus and watering of the eyes. This can take away from the limited time you have to test and prevent you from seeing your screen. 

As well as DES, digital testing can increase burnout in adolescents. Digital burnout is defined by the NLM as fatigue and stress caused by excessive time on digital media and devices. Buğra Çağatay Savaş and other researchers at NLM investigate the negative correlation of digital screens for education and burnout in a third study.

“Digital burnout is triggered by prolonged and excessive use of digital devices,” Çağatay Savaş et. al said.

Not only does this use of digital devices cause burnout, it also causes other symptoms that are negatively correlated with success in academics.

“Those who experience digital burnout are constantly tired and less productive because they find it difficult to focus on the task while constantly multitasking,” Çağatay Savaş et. al said.

High school teacher James Haveman has been running the SAT and standardized tests at the high school for over 15 years. He has seen the slow transition from paper to digital testing, he acknowledges the cons that it brings for students and their performance. 

“For classes where there’s mathematical work problems, it’s always nice to have paper and pencil, not to have to do all the work in your head. The kids do get scratch paper for the digital testing, but I don’t think it’s the same as having it right in front of you,” Haveman said. 

As well as the physical drawbacks there are also disadvantages when it comes to preparing for the digital test and making sure that everyone’s devices are functioning properly. 

“I think the drawback is just making sure everybody’s stuff works, getting every kid in for the digital readiness check to make sure their computers work ahead of time,” Haveman said. 

The switch from paper to digital testing has definitely left many students unhappy. It has now become even more of a chore, and even more mentally and physically draining. Truthfully it is unfair to students to require them to assess on a device that they may not be comfortable with or that may make the experience more difficult. Some of these digital tests shape our future and I am disappointed  that we are not allowed to test in a more familiar and comfortable way in order to improve our success.

CON- Written by: Lexi Pepper

Many people argue whether paper or computer testing is better. The conversion to computer testing has affected students positively. 

Computer based testing has become the most popular way to take mandatory statewide tests. Advanced Placement (AP) along with many other statewide assessments such as Scholastic Aptitude Test (SAT) and American College Testing (ACT) have transitioned from paper to a fully online system. According to the Department of Michigan, during the school year of 2015, the Michigan Student Test of Educational Progress (M-STEP) became the first required online test for students in high school. Since then, the usage of large-scale computer testing has become widely popular, and the go-to for testing programs starting in 2016. This became so popular that College Board switched to fully online in 2024 for all AP, M-STEP, ACT, Practice Scholastic Aptitude Test (PSAT), and SAT testing.

Although I am a huge reader outside of school, I personally have trouble focusing directly on any reading portion during testing. For me, when I am not drawn into the topic I am reading about, it is easy for my eyes to drift over the page and skip lines unintentionally. On paper, it may be easy to hold in front of you but it does not offer the options to highlight sections due to the rule that you could only have a pencil like online testing offers. For me, having those tools digitally provided builds confidence for testing.Reading on a computer helps me stay more focused than on paper because I can highlight things I find important that I can then go back to if I need.

Its not just students personal preference that has many enjoying the shift to digital testing, Kristen Panzarella and Angela Walmsley from KAPPAN (connecting education research, policy, and practice) list some of those benefits from computer based testing in their article, “Assessing our Assessments: Paper VS. Computer”.

“CBT [computer based testing] offers several advantages over traditional paper-and-pencil tests or paper-based tests. These include immediate scoring and reporting of results, enhanced security, efficient administration, flexible scheduling, cost reduction,” Panzarella and Walmsley said. “Furthermore, CBT can be administered offline, online, or through networks, making it usable in most schools.”

Since the transition to online, students including accommodated testers have become at ease because test results have become smoother and faster. As a testtaker, it is so much nicer to have the scores back as soon as possible and relieves stress of having to wait. 

Teacher and high school director of accommodated testing for students with IEPs and 504 plans Julie Haveman has hands-on experience with the process of turning in tests to organizations.

“We don’t have to fill in all the information [from the paper tests], write on paper tests, mail them in, and wait for them to come back [now],” Haveman said.

Junior Sara Botsford is a student who strives to take the AP tests and push her academic ability. Botsford believes the main benefit of online testing which is the importance of making testing possible for students with disabilities. 

“It’s easier to accommodate students online than it is on paper,” Botsford said.

According to Steven Noble and Jan McSorley from ‘Learning Disabilities Association of America’ (LDA) in their article “Accommodations and Supports in Computer-based Tests” computer testing accommodates students easier and has listed benefits that students with disabilities can revel in.

“Computer-based assessments are able to provide many important benefits for students with disabilities, which can have a huge impact on the equity of student assessments. Computer-based assessment platforms that are constructed with accessibility and universal design principles, can better provide for individualized accommodations and test supports that are needed by students with disabilities,” Noble and McSorley said.

Noble and McSorley also appreciate the direct help these tools provide for students, as they can be used as needed, and pushed to use the accommodation 100% of the time.

“Some tools are particularly useful for supplying the access needs of students with reading disorders,” Noble and McSorley said, “On-demand text-to-speech or “read aloud” access to reading passages and test questions allows students to self-select the content for which they need reading support, as opposed to requesting a human reader to provide a read-aloud accommodation.”

Botsford has witnessed others enjoying the added tools that College Board has introduced to the testing world, specifically the additions to the portions of tests that may include reading.

“I know a lot of people like the line by line reader,” Botsford said, “The benefits of College Board adding the helper has changed [testing] for a lot of people, and made it easier for them to test.”

Haveman finds personal relief in the new added tools online testing has developed and adapted.

“I think it’s [accommodated testing] a lot easier [now]. You don’t have to worry about someone not having access to the tools because they’re already in there. We [proctors and leaders of testing] don’t have to worry about forgotten calculators,” Haveman said, “We have a lot of accommodations for reading the text aloud. To put in some sort of USB or CD from the old days to now it just you plug in your headphones and it automatically reads them.” 

Haveman sees the confidence online testing can give a student due to the accommodations only being seen by the student themself firsthand.

“The accommodations are more embedded into the test. They’re just automatic. The student who’s looking at the computer is the only one that sees those. It’s quite discrete,” Haveman said, “You don’t have to worry about if handwriting is a struggle or it being legible and things like that because it’s just taken care of on the computer.”

The benefits that computer testing has are life changing for some students and doesn’t change anything for others,so ultimately it is the better option. Computer testing has changed the assessment process in schools for the better and it is clear that it is the ultimately stronger testing option.