Kobrin, J. L., & Young, J. W. (2003). The cognitive equivalence of reading comprehension test items via computerized and paper-and-pencil administration . Applied Measurement in Education , 16 (2), 115–140. https://doi.org/10.1207/S15324818AME1602_2

The cognitive equivalence of computerized and paper-and-pencil reading comprehension tests was investigated.

The participants consisted of 48 postsecondary students attending their third or fourth academic years at a public university in the Northeast (U.S.).

Participants were tested using reading comprehension items from the ETS Graduate Record Examination (GRE) General Test Big Book. Two long passages, each consisting of 55 lines and 7 corresponding test items, were selected and administered via computer and paper-and-pencil formats. Participants' self-reported Standard Aptitude Test (SAT) Verbal scores were also collected for screening purposes.

The results indicated that computerized and paper-and-pencil reading comprehension tests may be more cognitively similar than originally thought. The only significant difference between computerized and paper-and-pencil tests was in the frequency of identifying important information in the passage. Limitations of the study were reported, and future research directions were suggested.