CURRENT DIMENSIONS OF TECHNOLOGY-BASED ASSESSMENT IN SPECIAL-EDUCATION

This article provides a current perspective on technology-based assess ment and its role in special education. The unique contribution of tec hnology-based assessment has been to improve quality through the merge r of assessment methods and electronic technology, including networkin g, expert systems, authoring software, and multimedia. The success of this collaboration can be measured in terms of improvements in the abi lity to describe and treat special education problems with greater con ceptual clarity, methodological expertise, and generality. The article discusses forces affecting its advance and its current dimensions in terms of technology, assessment methods, and utilization.