Automated testing of databases and spreadsheets - the long and the short of it

Our introductory Information System subjects include the teaching and assessment of skills in word processing, spreadsheets, and databases. Having made pleasing progress with the automated generation and marking of the spreadsheet tests, we found that our move to automate the database testing highlighted some important distinctions between the two. In essence, spreadsheet testing is comparable to short-answer test and database to long-answer test, which require a markedly different approach.