Should Computers be used by everyone in school exams?

As we are living in a technological society with young people most familiar with working online, should school exams including GCSEs be taken online? Stephen Holsgrove, Executive Head of Thames Christian College argues this could be a big mistake. 
 

“As an IT teacher, I can see the value of the use of computers in the classroom and think it is important that all pupils are highly IT literate, but when it comes to taking exams online it can be detrimental to students success.  Often pupils who take tests online achieve grades lower than expected and I think this is for a number of reasons…
  

When using pen and paper pupils have to think through carefully what they are going to write and how they are going to get their point across before they start writing.  Online there is too much temptation to rush in and start typing knowing the text can be reviewed and corrected later.  I think this interrupts the flow of analytical thinking and results in work that lacks depth.  When you write it out by hand, you have to make sure you get it right first time!
  

Also when presented with lines of text to fill in a hard copy test, pupils will usually fill in all of the lines provided but online they are more likely to draft shorter answers which do not fulfil the requirement.  

Resources can also be a problem in schools where it is not possible for all pupils to sit an exam online at the same time due to lack of computers.  In addition, computers in schools are often not reliable enough at the moment for such an important task.  Computers are a tool and tools can go wrong, you should always have a back up. 

Using computers to write and mark papers has created the perception that this will be a more accurate system. However, the recent revelation that online marking of essay scripts has caused problems shows that human’s writing and reading are not so bad after all. AQA revealed that mistakes cost 13 students their first choice places at university last Summer. 
 

Although, Functional Skills exams becoming available to sit online ensures that they can be sat when candidates are ready, rather than only at fixed times of year, there are still numerous opportunities for traditional pen and paper sittings with the advantages outlined above.

I think we also need to remember that basic skills like writing are still required in our daily life and in many modern workplaces.  Pupils still need to be able to write clearly and efficiently by the time they leave school. 
 

That is not to say that using computers in exams is not beneficial in certain cases. Some students, particularly those with dyslexia find it much easier to touch type than to write and if a pupil’s writing is indecipherable it could let them down. However, I think in the majority of cases the advantages of using pen and paper far outweigh technology. 
 

For now the pen is mightier than the computer.