A Consumer View of Computer Generated versus Traditional Assessment Reports

Abstract

This study compared reports written following a traditional format with those generated by a computerised report writer (COMA). A traditional report and a COMA report were written for three children; a child with Down Syndrome, a child with autism and a child with speech and/or language impairment. In total there were six reports. A questionnaire was used to determine the subjects' ratings of the individualisation and the clarity for both report types. The Total Design Method (Dillman, 1983) was followed for questionnaire design and to ensure a high response rate. Completed questionnaires were received from 51.7% of parents (n = 31), 66.7% (n = 40) of special education teachers and 66.7% (n = 40) of speech-language pathologists. The COMA reports were found to be significantly “clearer” (p<.0001) and significantly more “individualised” (p<.0001) than matched traditional reports. COMA reports were preferred to traditional reports by 80.6% of parents, 92.5% of special education teachers and 77.5% of speech-l...