The use of digital technology to support teaching and learning in schools has been rising for years, but in March 2020, it became the only option when the Covid-19 pandemic resulted in the closure of almost all educational institutions worldwide. This article reports on a survey of secondary school leaders (n = 72) in Ireland, conducted three months after the closures. Leaders' beliefs about technology, digital practices before the pandemic and responses to the emergency are considered. The findings suggest that leaders are positively disposed towards technology, and that, prior to the crisis, approaches to digital learning were aligned with some best practice recommendations. Although schools endeavoured to continue provision during the closures, challenges were reported, particularly in rural schools and those serving disadvantaged cohorts. Leaders perceived teachers' 'digital competence' as an area in need of development, and noted that the pandemic may have provided an impetus for this.

The linguistic complexity of many text-based tests can be a source of construct-irrelevant variance, as test-takers' performance may be affected by factors that are beyond the focus of the assessment itself, such as reading comprehension skills. This experimental study examined the extent to which the use of animated videos, as opposed to written text, could (i) reduce construct-irrelevant variance attributed to language and reading skills and (ii) impact test-takers' reactions to a situational judgment test. The results indicated that the variance attributed to construct-irrelevant factors was lower by 9.5% in the animated version of the test. In addition, those who took the animated test perceived it to be more valid, fair, and enjoyable, than those who took the text-based test. They also rated the language used as less difficult to understand. The implications of these findings are discussed.

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The role of digital technology in assessment has received a great deal of attention in recent years. Naturally, technology offers many practical benefits, such as increased efficiency with regard to the design, implementation and scoring of existing assessments. More importantly, it also has the potential to have profound, transformative effects on the field of assessment by facilitating the integration of formative activities with accountability requirements and broadening the range of abilities and the scope of constructs that can be assessed. This article provides an overview of the current state-ofthe-art in digital technology-based assessment, with particular reference to advances in the automated scoring of constructed responses, the assessment of complex 21 st century skills in large-scale assessments and innovations involving high fidelity virtual reality simulations. Key challenges with respect to each are highlighted before the extent to which digital technology is truly transforming assessment is considered. | I NTR OD U CTI ONThe interconnectedness of technology and assessment 1 has a long history. Madaus (2001) refers to a technology as any body of special knowledge, skills and procedures that people use to satisfy a need, solve a problem or attain a societal, economic, or educational goal. Under this definition, it is clear that educational assessment itself is a technology and, as Kellaghan and Madaus (2003) point out, one that has existed since an external civil service examination system was invented in China around 1100 BC. While the system changed over the centuries until its demise in 1905, the general approach involved candidates writing up to eight essays within an allocated time period in which they explained ideas from the Four Books and Five Classics of Confucianism (www.sacu.org/examinations.html). In many respects, the artefacts and processes of assessment that make it a technology have been visible from the very beginning in the form of test booklets and answer sheets, as well as in the specialist knowledge, skills and language of its community of practitioners. What has changed in the recent past is the speed with which one technology (digital technology 2 ) is transforming another (assessment) in terms of the constructs that can be measured and the types of 160 | How to cite this article: O'Leary M, Scully D, Karakolidis A, Pitsia V. The state-of-the-art in digital technologybased assessment. Eur J Educ. 2018;53:160-175. https://doi.

Effective teaching encompasses both a pedagogical and an interpersonal dimension. Despite this, the latter typically receives little attention in initial teacher education and professional development programmes because of its tacit, non-conscious, and context-specific nature. In this study, the interpersonal dimension of teaching was conceptualised in terms of an explicit set of problemsolving strategies. Using the Tacit Knowledge Inventory for High School Teachers (TKI-HS), the perceived effectiveness of these strategies amongst a sample of Irish post-primary teachers (n=69) was explored, and the extent to which this varied across certain individual and contextual factors was also investigated. The findings suggest that, when faced with challenging social situations in the course of their professions, Irish post-primary teachers demonstrate preferences for strategies involving either rational discussions with the source of the problem, or appealing to a colleague for advice. These preferences were independent of the teachers' gender, education level, degree of job satisfaction, and the climate of the school in which they worked. Some implications for teacher education programmes are outlined. Potential future directions, including links to broader issues concerning the assessment of noncognitive skills and competencies more generally, are also discussed.