This spring, Kentucky will join the growing number of states implementing computer-based testing of students. A state pilot program will offer online testing to more than 3,000 students in more than 30 high schools across Kentucky.

Select students at the schools will take 10th-grade reading or 11th-grade social studies tests on computers, while the rest of the students will continue to take pencil-and-paper tests.

Students in the pilot program will take the tests on a secure server, and their answers will be transmitted to an out-of-state contractor for grading. It's Kentucky's attempt to broaden the online testing that it already uses for students with learning disabilities or who have limited English skills.

"In general, all states are moving in this direction," said Roger Ervin, a senior systems engineer in the department's division of validation and research, who is also managing the pilot.