Editing Standardized test (section)

=== Machine and human scoring ===
[[File:Cito Eindtoets Basisonderwijs.JPG|thumb|right|Some standardized testing uses multiple-choice tests, which are relatively inexpensive to score, but any form of assessment can be used.]]
Since the latter part of the 20th century, large-scale standardized testing has been shaped in part, by the ease and low cost of grading of multiple-choice tests by computer. Most national and international assessments are not fully evaluated by people.

People are used to score items that are not able to be scored easily by computer (such as essays). For example, the [[Graduate Record Examinations|Graduate Record Exam]] is a computer-adaptive assessment that requires no scoring by people except for the writing portion.<ref>[http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=302433c7f00c5010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=7196e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD#Scoring_and_Reporting ETS webage] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090618054925/http://www.ets.org/portal/site/ets/menuitem.1488512ecfd5b8849a77b13bc3921509/?vgnextoid=302433c7f00c5010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD&vgnextchannel=7196e3b5f64f4010VgnVCM10000022f95190RCRD#Scoring_and_Reporting |date=2009-06-18 }} about scoring the GRE.</ref>

Human scoring is relatively expensive and often variable, which is why computer scoring is preferred when feasible. For example, some critics say that poorly paid employees will score tests badly.<ref name="Houtz">Houtz, Jolayne (August 27, 2000) [http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=4039520&date=20000827&query=wasl+pearson+pay+hour "Temps spend just minutes to score state test A WASL math problem may take 20 seconds; an essay, 2{{frac|1|2}} minutes"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070310174605/http://archives.seattletimes.nwsource.com/cgi-bin/texis.cgi/web/vortex/display?slug=4039520&date=20000827&query=wasl+pearson+pay+hour |date=2007-03-10 }}.  ''Seattle Times'' "In a matter of minutes, a $10-an-hour temp assigns a score to your child's test"</ref> [[Inter-rater reliability|Agreement between scorers]] can vary between 60 and 85 percent, depending on the test and the scoring session. For large-scale tests in schools, some test-givers pay to have two or more scorers read each paper; if their scores do not agree, then the paper is passed to additional scorers.<ref name="Houtz" />

Though the process is more difficult than grading multiple-choice tests electronically, essays can also be graded by computer.  In other instances, essays and other open-ended responses are graded according to a pre-determined assessment rubric by trained graders. For example, at Pearson, all essay graders have four-year university degrees, and a majority are current or former classroom teachers.<ref>{{Cite news|last=Rich|first=Motoko|date=2015-06-22|title=Grading the Common Core: No Teaching Experience Required|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2015/06/23/us/grading-the-common-core-no-teaching-experience-required.html|access-date=2015-10-06|issn=0362-4331}}</ref>