ENTERING EQUATIONS: COMPARISON OF HANDWRITING RECOGNITION AND EQUATION EDITORS.

Once a novelty, Digitally-Based Assessments (DBA) have become commonplace in the USA. With mathematics, it is often a necessity to include items that require the student to input a mathematical formula, equation, or expression. Many of these responses, especially in the upper grades, cannot be input with a standard keyboard, but must use some type of equation entry. In this study, we compare ninth-graders' entry of mathematical expressions using an equation editor versus using handwriting recognition on a tablet. While neither method is currently without flaws, we discuss the benefits and drawbacks of each as well as potential methods for improvement and the implications for mathematics assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]