Multiple-choice, fill-in-the-bubble tests in math and reading are being overhauled in the U.S. Over the next four years, 44 states will receive federal funding to work with university professors and testing experts to design a new computer-based assessments. The tests will be designed to measure higher-order skills ignored by the multiple-choice exams used today, including students’ ability to read complex texts, synthesize information, and perform research. “The use of smarter technology in assessments,” said U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan, “makes it possible to assess students by asking them to design products of experiments, to manipulate parameters, run tests, and record data.”Source: The New York Times