IELTS and Cambridge exams - Computer-based or Paper-based?

     

 Is the computer-based format better for IELTS and Cambridge exams?  

All teachers who have worked in the field of English exam preparation know this scenario. Your student comes back from their exam looking a bit glum and you ask them what went wrong. They complain that they couldn’t concentrate because people were coughing and sneezing or there was building work going on outside. Moreover, typically, they say the sound system at the venue was poor quality and they couldn’t hear the audio recordings properly.

Furthermore, the tables weren’t close enough together so it was almost impossible to cheat. Well, ok, I made up that last one! When students complain about exam conditions I usually reassure them that it probably won’t have had a big effect on their overall performance, and maybe I privately think they are getting their excuses in early.

However, at the back of my mind I do feel a lot of sympathy as regards the quality of the audio. It really can be poor and I know this from experience invigilating with different exam providers. If there is just one good reason for opting for the computer-based format it’s because the candidates are provided with headphones and can control the volume themselves.

But is this the only reason? Are there other factors that outweigh this in favour of the paper-based version?

Let’s have a summary of the pros and cons of both formats. In the end, the format chosen will depend on the needs and circumstances of each candidate. Nevertheless, we can draw some general conclusions to help them make their choice. I’m currently publishing a series of videos on social media about this subject and you’ll find the first one embedded here:

So, what’s best for Cambridge and IELTS exams? Let’s look at a few general considerations, and then look at specific skills tested. A huge advantage of the computer-based format is that candidates get the results more quickly. Another big factor is simply familiarity. This is the reverse from the past when students did most of their preparation on paper. Now they probably do more online and with electronic devices.

Many of the candidates will type faster than they write. Unlike me, they don’t bash the keys like an elephant trampling a field of potatoes, so the sound of tapping buttons isn’t a huge distraction either. In addition, it was not infrequent for computers to suffer technical issues during exams in the past, but that doesn’t happen to anywhere near the same degree these days.

Our final general point is more subjective. The question of transferring answers on paper. This can lead to silly errors, but of course it also provides a final opportunity to revise the answers too. The jury is out on that one.

I mentioned the listening part of the exam already. Here it’s pretty clear that the computer-based formats win hands down. Having headphones, control over the volume and a countdown timer is obviously better than listening to loudspeakers with the risk of poor audio quality or external noise issues.

What about the writing tasks? The aforementioned typing speed is an individual question, but many young people probably do type faster than they write. More important for clumsy oafs like me is poor handwriting. Examiners make a huge effort to read and understand poorly-written texts with lots of crossings out and things scribbled above and below the lines. But they are human beings.

Why not take the subjectivity out of the process? Typed text is more neutral. The format also makes it easier for candidates to edit their work. They can ask for paper anyway and have the best of both worlds if they prefer to plan on paper and type on the screen. Finally, there is a word count in the computer-based version.

Let’s move on to the reading tasks. I’m not so sure there are clear advantages either way here. Some would argue that navigation is easier with a computer. However, scroll may be considered a problem and I’d suggest it’s easier to move your eyes up and down paper-based texts. You can highlight and make notes on the screen and also underline and make notes on paper so that evens itself out.

Perhaps the countdown timer on the computer helps as time management is very important in these parts of the exam. What's more, you can preview answers on the computer by dragging and dropping and this is definitely a benefit.

To sum up, it does seem that there are quite a few points in favour of computer-based versions of the exams. However, I’d like to finish with one big argument in favour of paper. Physically writing and making notes activates the haptic senses more than typing on a computer. These are the senses related to touch. And this activity aids memorisation. The research demonstrates this. So, if making notes of key language, tips and exam strategies on paper helps to memorize them, it could be argued that doing the exam on paper allows candidates to tap into those neural pathways.

My advice for candidates is to choose the format early in the process and then do the bulk of the exam practice and the exam in the same format. By the way, let’s not even get into the question of at-home testing for now!

He who blogs and runs away, May live to blog another day.

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