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"LANSING -- The Michigan Department of Education says the future of student testing is an exam produced by the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium. For some students across the state, however, that future has already arrived."

Fourth graders had trouble using some of the basic functions on a computer-based writing assessment, including drop-down menus, editing icons, the highlighter tool, and text-to-speech, according to a recent study by the National Center for Education Statistics. The results, which could be seen as a foreshadowing of the types of problems students might have with computer-based common-core tests in the spring, are part of a larger federal pilot study I wrote about last week. That study found that 4th graders can use computers to type, organize, and compose well enough to be assessed on their writing.

Student and teacher feedback on online assessment 

Fun quizzes on a variety of topics. Certainly tested my mouse skills. You lose a mile for every mile your answer is from the correct answer.

But some struggled as they learned to use the Smarter Balanced test's new tools, such as highlighting and on-screen calculators, said Travis Moorman, the director of teaching and learning for the Milford school system. These and other problems are discussed.