A 17-year-old statewide test used to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind law will be replaced with a broader approach to judging how well Wisconsin students are performing, state superintendent Tony Evers said Aug. 27 — and the new system will incorporate computer-based testing, reports the Associated Press. Education leaders heralded the move as a step toward more accountability and said it also might help put Wisconsin in a better position to compete with other states for $4.35 billion in federal education stimulus money under the government’s "Race to the Top" reform program. The new system, which combines state, district, and classroom assessments, will be more responsive to students, teachers, and parents, while also meeting state and federal accountability laws, Evers said. The new tests likely will be computer-based, with multiple opportunities to gauge student progress during the year. A computerized test, in which teachers can find out instantly how well students are learning and where the shortfalls are, is far better than the current system, in which tests are given in the fall and the results aren’t known until near the end of the school year, advocates said…