Any CIO knows this rule: When in doubt, blame the computer.

That was the first reaction when the Association of American Medical Colleges, which runs medical school admission exams, used computerized tests for the first time Jan. 27. When the verbal reasoning section asked students to read passages about robotic tuna and dolphins, and then asked questions about warblers, fingers pointed at the new computer system.

But the problem was of human origin, inserted during the review process, says Robert Jones, AAMC's senior VP of medical school services and studies. Digitization actually helped resolve the problem faster: AAMC worked with the test publisher to verify the problem, then e-mailed all 341 testing sites, so staff could tell students to ignore the warbler and robotic fish sections.

Students who believe the glitch hurt their overall performance can void the test before grades are handed out and retake it. Those who retake will appreciate another benefit of computerization: The test used to take 10 hours, what with passing out paper booklets in several stages; now it takes half the time. And that's no fish tale.