Penn State to open state-of-the-art testing facility

Penn State University will be opening a new testing facility for its students this spring. … Penn State University will be opening a new testing facility for its students this spring.

The building will feature 161 cubicles that place students in isolation while they take tests on university computers.

Faculty members praise the facility because it allows them to use video and sound files on their tests.

“It gives the faculty an opportunity to give technology-based tests in a way that is more convenient for the students and more convenient for the staff,” Dawn Blasko, Chair of Penn State’s Faculty Senate, said.

According to Penn State’s manager of testing and scanning operations, William Kerr, the security measures in the new facility are also top-notch.

“We have turnstiles and card swipes,” Kerr said. “They read the magnetic strip on the PSU ID. Then, we pull their picture from our ID database. It allows us to visually verify that the student in front of us is the one using the ID.”

When the idea was pitched to students, a larger emphasis was put on this ability the facility has to monitor test taking than its test-enhancing capabilities.

“I’d say students are waiting for more information about it,” Jay Chamberlin, internal development chair for the University’s Undergraduate Association, said.

“We’ve been told it allows for better observation of exams. Students would tell you that cheating is less widespread than the professors will.”

Pitt Student Government Board president Shady Henien was less than enthusiastic about the possibility of such a facility at Pitt.

“I don’t see how students would benefit from that at Pitt,” Henien said.

“A lot of them are trained to work on pencil and paper. If it’s going to help them grasp the material better, I’d definitely be up for it. We’d just have to figure out the feasibility.”

A smaller, 30-computer testing facility already exists in room 824 of Alumni Hall, called the Computer Assisted Testing System.

A service provided under the Center for Instructional Development and Distance Education, CATS provides testing services for students taking online courses at Pitt and other campuses, as well as those enrolled in 10 or 11 on-campus courses.

According to CATS Testing Administrator Andy Schmitt, the center sees a high volume of students – nearly1,200 individual tests are scheduled for this fall, in addition to those that are a part of on-campus classes – and integrity has rarely been an issue in the lab.

“I have not seen our students really try to test the system,” Schmitt said. “They’re very cooperative, nice and easy to work with. In the four years I’ve worked here, we’ve only had two concerns that we’ve looked at.”

According to Schmitt, students aren’t isolated while taking the exams. At best, there are a few open spaces between them.

Some Pitt students said that close proximity does not tempt them to cheat.

“I never really think about cheating because we have different tests so it’s not like anyone could cheat off you anyway,” freshman Maeve Egan said.

Students who are concerned about cheating said that, despite their worries, they don’t see it occurring frequently.

“I am concerned about it,” sophomore Dai-Na Glean said. “I don’t want to be surrounded by people that don’t have integrity. I don’t see it that much. I think the school is pretty good at what they do to regulate cheating.”