IT Fitness Test 2020 revealed that the corona-crisis improved the digital skills of pupils.
The nineth year of IT Fitness test was conducted in exceptional circumstances and at the time of closed schools, but the results of the largest IT test in Slovakia would be better compared with the previous year.
Bratislava 18. december 2020
The test authors explain that discrepancy by the fact that the involvement of schools in digital distance learning undoubtedly has a positive effect on the digital skills of pupils and pupils. In so far as they were obliged to use digital technologies with their parents, their numerical skills also increased. The detailed results of the test were published in final IT Fitness test 2020 report (in Slovak language only) .
The authors of the test assume that a greater success increase could also have contributed to a change in the conditions of the test. In view of COVID-19 pandemic, the tests were carried out not only in schools, but also in the home conditions. That means less stressful conditions and longer test duration. It appears that more favourable conditions can be, for example, to carry out the test in cooperation with the person who better understoods the IT.
In the final report, the authors also assess positively the activity of teachers who take part regularly in the tests. It is, in their view, in particular because of, those schools contribute to improving the results of the areas of skills which are tested over several years. However, it is not only by attendance to the tests, but above all because they are active schools which achieve the improvement in training in voluntarily.
Target groups and test results
The priority target groups were students from secondary schools and higher education, pupils and pupils of primary schools and, most recently, teachers and pedagogos.
The test for students of secondary schools, numbering this year was 13 649 respondents (compared with 2019 an increase of 2 685), the average success was 61.65 % (11.78 % compared with 2019). 7 246 pupils from basic schools were engaged in a lighter version of tests for primary schools (compared with the 2019 reduction in 6 102), the average success was 64.98 % (unlike 13.36 %).
Testing tasks were classified in both tests into five categories, internet, security and IT systems, complex tasks, office tools, collaborative tools and social networks. Five tasks were assigned in each test category for secondary schools. The primary schools test had the same number of categories, each comprising four tasks. At the end of the test, every respondent received an information about a success in each of the categories, accompanied by the certificate of result.
Students from 376 secondary schools took part in the testing (in 2019 311 schools). A pupils of 445 schools (in 2019 496 schools) took part in the tests for the basic schools from 7 to 16 years. The youngest IT Fitness Test 2020 respondents were two 7 -year respondents from Bratislava, Rusovce. The oldest respondent came from Osčadnica, he was 80 years old. The most succesfull respondents for secondary schools with 100 % success were 8 teachers, 82 students and 16 pedagogs. A more easy version of the test for the basic schools have resolved without error, out of 34 pupils (18 boys, 16 girls).