Pencils Down - Technology's Answers To Testing PDF

EDUCATION WEEK
American Educations Newspaper of Record Volume XXII Number 35 May 8, 2003 2003 Editorial Projects in Education / $6.00
Pencils Down: Technology s Answer To Testing

With Support From the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2003
Contents
8 To Testing
Techs Answer
School districts and states are turning to computerbased assessment for quicker results and to meet new federal accountability requirements.
35 Marketing
To the Test
Traditional test publishers and start-up businesses have developed a host of technology-based testing programs in the hope of cornering this new market.
11 Legal Twists,
Digital Turns
The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 is having the unusual effect of both encouraging and discouraging schools use of computerized testing. 12 15 State Initiatives A Test-Takers Perspective
39 Goes Digital
Essay Grading
Software that evaluates student essays has its share of critics, but some teachers say it has made it easier to add more writing exercises.
43 Trends
Tracking Tech
Student access to the Internet continues to improve, but schools are spending only a small percentage of technology dollars on professional development. 50 Analyzing the Tech Effect
A Question 17 Of Direction
Computer adaptive testing, which adjusts questions level of difficulty based on how well a student answers them, is the source of much debate.
23 Big Test
Prepping for the

Students turn to test-preparation Web sites to help them prepare for high-stakes state assessments and college-entrance exams.
54 Tables
54 58 60 92
State Data
Access to Technology Capacity to Use Technology Use of Technology Sources and Notes
27 Sparks Ideas
Spec. Ed. Tech

Testing tools for children with disabilities, such as digital video cameras and computer text readers, are attracting mainstream attention.
62 States
State of the
Snapshots of what each state is doing in the area of computer-based testing, and how the states are using technology to improve schools.
31 New Test
The Teachers
The use of computerized quizzes and exams for classroom testing is on the rise as teachers look for more efficient ways to evaluate students.
94 Advertisers
Index to
COVER BY LAURA BAKER AND ALLISON SHELLEY/PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALLISON SHELLEY
TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2003
Pe ncils Down : Techn olog ys Ans w e r to Testing

EDITOR & PUBLISHER
Virginia B. Edwards
MANAGING EDITOR
Gregory Chronister
PROJECT EDITOR
Kevin Bushweller
PROJECT DIRECTOR
Ronald A. Skinner
EDITORIAL PRODUCTION CHIEF
Darcia Harris Bowman

RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
Susan E. Ansell Melissa McCabe Jennifer Park Lisa N. Staresina

CONTRIBUTING WRITERS
Rhea R. Borja Michelle Galley Lisa Fine Goldstein Kathleen Kennedy Manzo Lynn Olson Andrew Trotter Mark Walsh
DESIGN DIRECTOR
Laura Baker
ASSOCIATE DESIGN DIRECTOR
Gina Tomko
DESIGN ASSOCIATE
Alyson Salon
PHOTO EDITOR
Allison Shelley
Technology Counts 2003 was produced with support from the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation.
E d u c a t i o n We e k ' s Te c h n o l o g y C o u n t s / M a y 8 , 2 0 0 3
EDUCATION WEEK
EDITORIAL & BUSINESS OFFICES: 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814-5233 (301) 280-3100 E-mail address: ew@epe.org FAX: Editorial (301) 280-3200 Business (301) 280-3250
EDUCATION WEEK is available on the World Wide Web at www.edweek.org.
For New Subscriptions, Subscription Problems, and Changes of Address: EDUCATION WEEK, Post Office Box 2083, Marion, OH 43305 1-800-728-2790 E-mail address: jschwar@epe.org
EDITOR & PUBLISHER Virginia B. Edwards MANAGING EDITOR Gregory Chronister DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR Karen Diegmueller SENIOR EDITORS Caroline Hendrie, Lynn Olson (Special Projects), M. Sandra Reeves (Commentary) ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITORS Ann Bradley, Kevin Bushweller, Robert C. Johnston, Ben Wear CONTRIBUTING EDITORS Mary-Ellen Phelps Deily, Sandra Graziano, Scott W. Wright ASSOCIATE EDITORS Jeff Archer, Kathleen Kennedy Manzo, Debra Viadero, Mark Walsh ASSISTANT EDITORS Catherine Gewertz, David J. Hoff, Linda Jacobson, Bess Keller, Mary Ann Zehr ASSISTANT COMMENTARY EDITOR Amy Conrad STAFF WRITERS Julie Blair, Rhea R. Borja, Darcia Harris Bowman, Sean Cavanagh, Michelle R. Davis, Michelle Galley, John Gehring, Catherine Gewertz, Lisa Fine Goldstein, Karla Scoon Reid, Alan Richard, Erik W. Robelen, Joetta L. Sack, Andrew Trotter EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Marianne D. Hurst EDITORIAL INTERN Hattie Brown DIRECTOR OF SPECIAL RESEARCH PROJECTS Kathryn M. Doherty RESEARCH DIRECTOR Ronald A. Skinner RESEARCH ASSOCIATES Susan E. Ansell, Melissa McCabe, Jennifer Park, Lisa N. Staresina CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Rich Shea, Samantha Stainburn, Mark Toner DESIGN DIRECTOR Laura Baker ASSISTANT DESIGN DIRECTOR Gina Tomko DESIGN ASSOCIATE Alyson Salon PHOTO EDITOR Allison Shelley ASSISTANT PHOTO EDITOR James W. Prichard SYSTEMS MANAGER Hunter McCleary ASSISTANT SYSTEMS MANAGER Bill Moyer DIRECTOR OF NEW MEDIA Jeanne McCann SENIOR ONLINE EDITOR Anthony Rebora ONLINE EDITOR Rachell Deutsch ASSISTANT ONLINE EDITOR Craig Stone ONLINE INTERNS Patrick Byrnett, Alex Kobulsky, Michele Owens LIBRARY DIRECTOR Kathryn Dorko ASSISTANT LIBRARIAN Claire Guimbert GENERAL MANAGER Michele J. Givens CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Eric W. Arnold ACCOUNTING MANAGER Janice Brunson GENERAL LEDGER ACCOUNTANT Kiki Aboaba ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE Barbara M. Guinn ACCOUNTS PAYABLE Sage Wicinski ONLINE BUSINESS MANAGER Angela Lunter MARKETING DIRECTOR Karen Creedon Dunn MARKETING ASSOCIATE Cheryl Staab CIRCULATION DIRECTOR Patrick Haller ASSOCIATE CIRCULATION MANAGER Christopher Klipple CIRCULATION ASSOCIATE Alicia Osgood FULFILLMENT MANAGER Laurie Breathnach CUSTOMER SERVICE REPRESENTATIVE Joel I. Schwartz PRODUCTION MANAGER Melayne Cohen (301) 280-3176, production@epe.org PRODUCTION ASSISTANT Armando Calonje Jr. ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER Sam Bonfante, Advertising Sales (301) 280-3100 SENIOR ADVERTISING SALES EXECUTIVE Irving Carpenter REGIONAL ADVERTISING MANAGERS Julie Fagan, Norlie Lin MIDWEST ADVERTISING MANAGER Brian McGoldrick WESTERN ADVERTISING MANAGER Sharon Makowka ADVERTISING SALES ASSOCIATE Jennifer S. Haley ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Carolina Calonje CLASSIFIED MANAGER Titilayo Ellis CLASSIFIED ACCOUNT REPRESENTATIVE Sean McLaughlin CLASSIFIED ADVERTISING ASSISTANT Rose Wilson EXECUTIVE ASSISTANT Shaiy E. Knowles RECEPTIONIST Jackie Briceo ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANTS Catherine Carroll, Maria Shaffer
EDUCATION WEEK (ISSN 0277-4232) is published 43 times per year (weekly on Wednesdays) except for December 18, and December 25, 2002, and January 1, June 25, July 2, July 16, July 23, July 30, August 13, August 20, and August 27, 2003, and issues will also be published Thursday, January 9, 2003, and Thursday, May 8, 2003, by Editorial Projects in Education Inc. Editorial and advertising-sales offices are located at 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814-5233; (301) 280-3100. Subscriptions: U.S.: $79.94 for one year (43 issues). Canada: $135.94, Foreign $208.94. Orders must be paid in U.S. dollars. Periodicals postage paid at Bethesda, MD, and at additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to EDUCATION WEEK, PO Box 2083, Marion, OH 43306. Volume XXII, Issue 35 . (USPS#599-870) Back issues are available at $3.50 each, except the May 9, 2002 (Technology Counts) issue at $6.00 each, and the January 10, 2002 (Quality Counts) issue at $10.00 each. Price includes first-class postage and handling. Send order to: Back Issues, EDUCATION WEEK, 6935 Arlington Road, Suite 100, Bethesda, MD 20814-5233. Copies of the newspaper on microfilm can be ordered from Bell & Howell Information & Learning, Periodicals, PO Box 1346, Ann Arbor, MI., 48106-1346 .
Tech s Answer T T o esting

Schools turn to computerized exams to meet new demands
ducation and technology forces have converged this year to vault computer-based testing into the headlines, raising important questions
Eventually, experts predict, technology could change the face of testing itself, enabling states to mesh the use of tests for instructional and accountability purposes. Youve got the potential that technology could be a solution, says Wesley D. Bruce, the director of school assessment for the Indiana Department of Education, but there is, right now, just a huge set of issues. Chief among them is a simple question: Do schools have enough computers to test children in this new manner? The answer in many places is no. And with most states struggling with budget deficits, its unlikely they are going to use their limited resources to fill that void. Yet researchers point out that computer-based testing has the potential to be far cheaper than its printed counterpart. Richard Swartz, a senior research director at the Educational Testing Service, in Princeton, N.J., estimates that the actual costs of putting a test online and building a customized scoring model are comparable to those of developing a good paper-and-pencil exam. Once the tests are implemented, he adds, the difference in scoring costs is enormously in favor of the computer. Still, other problems with computerized assessment have emerged.
about whether this new mode of assessment is more useful than traditional paper-and-pencil exams. To begin with, the increased testing requirements imposed by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001a far-reaching overhaul of federal education policy signed into law by President Bush in January 2002have set schools scrambling to find more efficient ways to assess academic skills and get children ready for highstakes state exams. Unlike traditional standardized tests on paper, which can take weeks or even months to score and return to schools, computer-based assessments can provide almost immediate feedback. That is arguably one of the biggest draws for educators. Already, 12 states and the District of Columbia have a computerized exam or a pilot project under way to evaluate the effectiveness of computer-based testing, according to a new Education Week survey of state departments of education. All of these testsexcept for one in North Carolina and the District of Columbia examare administered via the Internet. In five states, officials report that computerized testing was designed to partially meet requirements under the new federal law.
Tech Answer to T s esting
One prickly issue involves the use of what is called adaptive testing, in which the computer adjusts the level of difficulty of questions based on how well a student is answering them. Proponents of this form of testing argue that it provides a more individualized and accurate assessment of a students ability. But the No Child Left Behind law, a revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act that puts a higher premium than ever on schools accountability for student achievement, continues to mandate that states measure student performance against the ex-
"There is ...just
a huge set of issues" with this new way of testing.
WESLEY D. BRUCE, Director of School Assessment, Indiana Department of Education
10
pectations for a students grade level. With adaptive testing, a 7th grader, for instance, might be bumped up to questions at the 8th grade levelor dropped down to the 6th grade level. As a consequence, debate is growing about whether adaptive testing can meet the purposes of the federal law, and if it doesnt, how the technology should be modified to meet the requirements. To give educators a head start on understanding computer-based testing, Technology Counts 2003the sixth edition of Education Weeks annual report on educational technology in the 50 states and the District of Columbiaexamines these new developments
from a host of angles, beginning with an analysis of the impact of the No Child Left Behind law. Surprisingly, perhaps, the story points out that the law is having the effect of both encouraging and discouraging the use of computerized assessments. As another part of this years focus on computerbased testing, Technology Counts 2003 takes a close look at adaptive testing, with analysis from proponents and critics, and a description of how it works. The upshot of the adaptive-testing debate is that developers of such assessments are worried that they may be left out of what could be the greatest precollegiate testing boom in history. Computerized assessment may turn out to have its biggest impact in the area of online test preparation, observers of the field say. Last year, for instance, more than 200,000 students in 60 countries signed up for the Princeton Reviews online demonstrations of such tests as the SAT and state exit exams. Technology Counts 2003 tracks the online test prep trend. As educators face the new federal requirement to test all 3rd through 8th graders annually in reading and mathematics, states are experimenting with new ways of using technology to evaluate the abilities of special education students. Testing experts say that what educators learn from how to tailor assessments to the needs of special education students could also shape how they test other students, who may have more subtle individual needs. This years report examines those lessons. Technology Counts 2003 also includes a story about teachers who are using computer-based testing to give classroom quizzes and tests, an examination of the benefits and drawbacks of essay-grading software, an analysis of the growing business of computer-based testing, and a look at national trends in educational technology. Snapshots of the steps each state has taken to use computer-based testingor simply to use educational technology more effectivelyare also included in the report, as are data tables with state-by-state statistics on technology use in schools. We hope youll find information here that will help you understand computer-based testing and its evolvTHE EDITORS ing role in education.
COMPUTER-BASED STATE TESTS

Twelve states and the District of Columbia are administering computer-based state exams in 2002-03. Six of these tests are pilots. Georgias online testing was temporarily suspended for spring 2003. Florida and Oklahoma are planning pilots for 2003-04.
State has a computer-based state test (13)
SOURCE: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003
Legal T i ts ws , D gi lT i ta urns
Computerized testing feels the impact of
No Child Left Behind
By
Lynn Olson
outh Dakota officials announced this past winter that they were making the states much-touted online testing program voluntary for districts, and instead
Meanwhile, officials in Idaho are forging ahead with a statewide online testing system, which they have modified to meet the requirements of the federal law. The contradictory moves illustrate the push and pull that the law, a wide-ranging revision of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act, could have on the growth of technology-based assessments in K-12 schools. While many experts predict the law could lead to a moderate slowing-down of computerbased testing at the state level, they anticipate a boom in low-stakes, technology-based assessments at the district level to help students prepare for the state exams. I think No Child Left Behind poses an interesting situation, because it could be both an impediment and an impetus to the use of technology-
requiring new paper-and-pencil tests to meet the requirements of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001.
Legal Twists, D gi l Turns i ta
based tests, says Randy Bennett, an expert on technology and assessment at the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J.
Technology can affect virtually every aspect of

assessment, from test design and administration to the scoring and reporting of results. Advocates argue that technology could make it easier for states and districts to meet some of the federal laws requirements, by providing for cheaper and more efficient test delivery, a quicker turnaround of scores, and the ability to analyze and report test data in new ways. Technological innovations also could make state tests more accessible to special populations of students, such as those with disabilities or limited fluency in English, who must be included in state testing systems under the federal legislation. Eventually, experts predict, technology could change the face of testing itself, enabling states to mesh the use of tests for instructional and accountability purposes. Youve got the potential that technology could be a solution, says Wesley D. Bruce, the director of school assessment for the Indiana Department of Education, but there is, right now, just a huge set of issues.
12
An Immediate Concern
One of the most immediate issues for states that have not yet ventured into computer-based testing is cost, particularly given ballooning state deficits. Many states dont believe that theyre going to be able to meet the federal government mandate for assessments under No Child Left Behind with the funds that the act is providing, Bennett of the ETS says. So, given that, to then go out and try to build an assessment system thats going to require even more upfront investment is just not going to be very attractive to anyone. In addition, Bennett notes, the federal laws aggressive timelinesstates must administer reading and math tests in grades 3-8 and at least once in high school by
2005-06work against the multiyear ramp-up required to do high-stakes testing on a computer. For that reason, I think its going to slow things down from the point of technology-based testing, he says, at least on the accountability end. Not everyone shares that view. Scott Elliot, the chief operating officer for Vantage Learninga for-profit company based in Yardley, Pa., that provides online testing and scoring services for both precollegiate and higher educationsays his company expects to give some 17 million tests online this year. Although its not atypical for a state to spend $8 to $10 per student to administer a paper-and-pencil test, he estimates the same test could be given on a computer for $5 to $6 a student. And while the cost of human scorers for essay and open-ended questions keeps rising, the cost of automated scoring for such questions will probably stay the same or decrease. While Elliot initially was concerned that the weak economy would deter states from venturing into technology-based assessment, he now argues otherwise. I just think its going to break wide open in the next few months with state interest, he asserts. Demand, he reasons, will be driven largely by the need to produce test results faster, cheaper, and more efficiently. Im getting more interest than ever before, Elliot says, and I think it makes sense. Richard Swartz, a senior research director at the ETS, estimates that the actual costs of putting a test online and building a customized scoring model are comparable to those of developing a good paper-andpencil exam. But, he adds, once the tests are implemented, the difference in scoring costs is enormously in favor of the computer, particularly when it comes to the computerized scoring of essays and open-ended questionsan area in which both the ETS and Vantage have worked extensively. Last year, Indiana used the ETSs automated-scoring technologies for an online pilot of an end-of-course English exam for high school students, which in-
State Initiatives
Twelve states and the District of Columbia are administering computer-based assessments in 2002-03. Six of the tests are pilots. Of the states with computer-based tests this year, five have reported that they designed the exams to partially meet federal requirements under the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires testing of students in English and math in grades 3-8 and once in high school. Georgias online testing was suspended for spring 2003 because of problems with test security. Florida and Oklahoma have planned computer-based testing pilots for the 2003-04 school year.
Name of state computer-based test
Grade(s) in which computer-based tests are available
Subject(s) tested3
All districts and/or schools are required to participate in computer-based testing
Test is administered over the Internet
Test is adaptive (questions change based on prior answers)
Arkansas Delaware District of Columbia Idaho Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland North Carolina Oregon South Dakota Utah Virginia U.S.
1 2
Vocational Student Competency Testing Program Delaware Student Testing Program Measure of Academic Progress
1 1
8-12 5, 6, 8, 9 2 2-10 8-12 7 4, 5, 7, 8, 10-12 6-12 8
V E, M E, M E, M E, M M E, M, H, S, E, M T E, M E, M E, M E, M, S E, M, H, S
Idaho Standards Achievement Test Indiana End-of-Course Assessments1 Kansas Mathematics Assessment1 Kentucky Core Content Assessment
1, 2
Maryland Functional Reading/Math Tests Computer Skills Test North Carolina Computerized Adaptive Testing System Technology Enhanced Student Assessment Dakota Assessment of Content Standards Utah Performance Assessment System for Students Standards of Learning End-of-Course Test
1, 2
4 2
3
3-8, 10 3-12 2-12 3-12 high school
12
Testing is in the pilot phase. Test serves as an accommodation option for students with disabilities to take the state assessments. Test is only available for students with disabilities. E-English/language arts, M-Mathematics, H-Social Studies/history, S-Science, T-Technology, V-Vocational studies. 4Any district or school chosen by the state for the pilot phase of testing must participate. However, there is no statewide participation requirement. State does not count in U.S. total. SOURCE: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003
cluded both essay and short-answer questions. We compared the cost of administering paper-andpencil tests and scoring all of the open-ended responses by hand to administering the tests on computer and scoring everything with computer, says Swartz, and the computer-administered and computer-scored version cost about a quarter of what the paper-and-pencil version costs. Whats more, students received the results in a matter of days, rather than months. The ETS official says more states and districts are now open to technological solutions to their testing needs, where we never saw that before. Before, it was strictly, We want paper-and-pencil, Swartz says. Now, theyre saying, If youve got a technology solution to propose, feel free. Tight budgets definitely have put a crimp in state plans, however. Indiana had hoped to create an online item bank for teachers to craft classroom assessments linked to state standards. But the planwhich would have cost about $800,000 a year for two years to generate a deep enough pool of test questionsis on hold. We certainly havent given up on that, says Bruce, the state testing director, but its going to be slightly delayed.
Adapting to Roadblocks
In Oregon, work on an online writing assessment has come to a halt because of budget cuts. Schools already can opt to administer state reading and math tests in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 either electronically or on paper through the Technology Enhanced Student Assessment program, or TESA, and the state will pilot additional online tests in other grades this spring. Were able to implement tests at new grades more quickly through TESA because essentially all the infrastructure is right there, says Bill Auty, the associate superintendent for the state education departments office of assessment and evaluation.
But he adds: Were fortunate that we started when we did. We could not start this up now. Our state funds for assessment have been cut considerably. States that have ventured into online testing have already confronted one roadblock under the federal law: a mandate that states measure student performance against the expectations for a students grade level. In 2002, that requirement forced Idaho officials to modify their plans for an online adaptive testing system, devised by the Portland, Ore.-based Northwest Evaluation Association. The system would have permitted students to take tests harder or easier than their actual grade levels, based on their ability to answer an initial set of test items. As a compromise, state officials agreed to give all students a uniform, grade-level examination in addition to a more individualized set of test questions that could provide better diagnostic information. Then, in January, South Dakota officials announced that they were making their states adaptive, online testing programunder contract to the Scantron Corp. of Irvine, Calif.voluntary for districts and instead requiring new paper-and-pencil tests to meet the federal requirements. Wade Pogany, the director of education services for the state education department, says the fact that the online teststhe Dakota Assessment of Content Standards, or DACSwere adaptive was not the primary reason for moving to a new testing program. I dont ever want to give the impression that South Dakota does not like computer-adaptive tests, he says. Were a big supporter of that. But there are some issues with the new legislation that caused us to look at a fixedform test in relation to our standards, including the requirement that students be tested at grade level. South Dakota, Pogany adds, is trying to use the best of both worlds by continuing to finance the DACS for districts that want to use it, while coming up with a new set of exams that will allow the state to measure student performance against both state standards and national norms. Those experiences have clearly caused states to think
13
Test includes multimedia features (sound or video clips)
Test includes open-ended questions
Answers to open-ended questions are machine-graded
State administers computer-based tests with special accommodations for ELL or disabled students
State uses an outside vendor to design and/or administer the test
Test provides diagnostic information about the test-taker
Test was designed to meet testing requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind law
Arkansas Delaware District of Columbia Idaho Indiana Kansas Kentucky Maryland North Carolina
1
5
Oregon South Dakota Utah Virginia U.S.
10
Tests are both machine-graded and graded by hand.
twice about venturing into adaptive, online assessments. Oregon had planned to add an adaptive feature to its Web-based assessment program this school year, but delayed it in part because of budget cuts and development work. We will implement that next year, says Auty, the associate superintendent for assessment and evaluation. Its something were looking into. He adds, though: We want to be very clear, given the controversy, were talking about adaptive testing in the grade level. Others argue that adaptive testing could meet the requirements under the federal law, but that it would take more extended discussion and explanation from testing experts.
Capacity is the number-one issue; compatibility is probably number two; and keeping your lines open is number three, says Bruce of Indiana. This year, Indiana plans to pilot both end-of-course English and algebra exams exclusively online for high school students. One of the things we ran into in one of the largest high schools in the state where they wanted to do this, Bruce says, is that in order to give the algebra test, they had to close down four computer labs for two weeks. It took that capacity. Eventually, Georgias Harmon predicts, the solution may lie with small, handheld, wireless devices that look like GameBoys, but with larger screens. Given something like that, he says, then there will be very substantial savings compared with the printing, shipping, and storage costs of a traditional exam.
A Major, Major Issue

A far bigger impediment for state testing systems is the infrastructure needed to deliver a secure computer-based exam to thousands of students under the same conditions at the same time. The major, major issue is crystal clear, and thats the infrastructure, argues David J. Harmon, the director of testing for the Georgia Department of Education. Georgia had been planning to give districts the option of offering the states Criterion-Referenced Competency Tests in grades 1-8 in a paper-and-pencil or Web-delivered format this spring. But the state was forced to suspend online testing this year after discovering that some 270 actual test questions were publicly available on an Internet site for students, parents,
The Wrong Question

On the measurement side, the biggest challenge for state testing programs is the comparability of test results. To compare performance fairly, each student should be tested under the same conditions. If there are any variations, they shouldnt affect performance. But Bennett of the ETS points out that, in reality, the equipment used in statewide computerized-testing programs often varies from one school to the next, and sometimes even from one machine to the next within the same building. Researchers dont yet know how to adjust for such variations in scoring results. In states such as Virginia, where some students will take a test online while others take a paper-and-pencil version, policymakers need assurances that neither group is particularly advantaged or disadvantaged by the mode of delivery. A study by researchers at Boston College, for instance, found that students accustomed to writing on computers scored higher on test questions answered electronically than on those answered by hand, while those who were used to writing in longhand scored worse than similar students who took the exam on paper. Although several testing companies report they have conducted comparability studies, few have been published. Moreover, observes Wayne Ostler, the director of eMeasurement Services for Pearson Educational Measurement, based in Iowa City, Iowa, you really have to perform comparability studies on every program. You cant just say, Oh, I tested math in Virginia, and it turned out to be comparable, therefore everything is comparable. But Elliot of Vantage Learning suggests the concerns are off target. When the car was introduced, can you imagine them conducting a car-horse comparability study? he says. Its the wrong question. The car is coming. Ive got news for you. If theyre not comparable, so be it. Not surprisingly, though, such concerns are leading some states to focus their initial online efforts on lowstakes examsones that arent used to rate schools or decide students futures.
14
"How many computers

does it take? I think thats the biggest problem."
DAVID J. HARMON, Director of Testing, Georgia Department of Education
and teachers. The state had developed the Web-based test-item bank to help schools prepare for the exams. Kathy Cox, the state superintendent of education, says a miniscule amount of school districts even wanted that online option, about half a dozen out of 181 districts. But in Oregon, where tests are available online, Auty estimates about one-third of schools use the Technology Enhanced Student Assessment program electronically. In Virginia, where districts can choose to offer most high school end-of-course tests online or on paper, Mark J. Schaefermeyer, the associate director of Webbased assessment in the state department of education, estimates that up to 85 of 135 districts will choose the Web-based version this spring. Heres the challenge: High-stakes tests, such as those in Virginia, which are used to make key decisions about individual students or schools, must be given under secure conditions so that there are few opportunities for cheating. Theyre typically administered during a limited time window. And they are supposed to be given under the same conditions to every student. So how many computers does it take? asks Harmon. I think thats the biggest problem. In addition to the upfront and ongoing costs of buying and maintaining hardware and software systems, computers and Internet connections dont always function dependably. And testing sessions may be interrupted or proceed so slowly that the conditions interfere with student performance.
Low-Stakes Testing Boom

In contrast to some of the reticence about giving high-stakes tests electronically, experts predict a boom in the use of technology for instructional and diagnostic purposes spurred by the new federal legislation. What I think No Child Left Behind may speed up is the development of low-stakes, computer-based tests that are designed to help kids do better on the high-stakes ones, Bennett of the Educational Testing Service says. I think thats where were really going to see a lot of movement. In December 2002, Texas unveiled the first phase of the Texas Math Diagnostic System, a roughly $2 million, online practice assessment program for grades 4-8. This spring, the state is adding a 3,400-question item bank that teachers can use to come up with their own tests, quizzes, and homework assignments. And it is translating the test items in grades 4-6 into Spanish. Texas also is working to add open-ended questions to
Continued on Page 16
A Test-Taker Perspecti s ve
Survey asks Oregon students what they think about the states computerized assessments
By Jennifer Park
In math, about 76 percent of the high school students either felt that they had done their best work on the computerized test or that they had done equally well on both versions. Fewer than a quarter of the high school test-takers felt they had done better on the paper exam or were frustrated using the Web assessment. Most of the high school students reported finding that the Internet version had taken less time or the same amount of time as the paper test. But a considerable number of the students disagreed. Thirty-one percent of the high school students tested said the Web version of the reading test had taken more time than the paper test. The same percentage reported that the computerized math test had taken longer to complete than the paper test. Thirty-seven percent of the high school students rated the computerized version of the reading test easier to use and more enjoyable to take than the paper version; 38 percent found the Webbased math test easier to use and more enjoyable to take. Twenty percent of the high schoolers surveyed in Oregon said that the Web-based reading assessment was harder to use than the paper-and-pencil test.
n informal survey of students about Oregons online testing system shows they find computer-based testing faster and more enjoyable than the paper-and-pencil variety, and they report feeling that they perform better on computerized assessments than on traditional tests. While some states are just beginning to contemplate the possibility of computerized testing, Oregon piloted a program in spring 2001 that is now being expanded across the state. The system delivers the Oregon Statewide Assessment over the Internet. The main goal of the Technology Enhanced Student Assessment, or TESA , program is to provide test results quickly, so teachers can more effectively determine how well students are meeting state standards. The program also aims to offer more flexiCOMPUTER VS. PAPER TESTING bility: Teachers can administer the online tests Third graders responded positively about their performance on a Web-based test, whenever they deem appropriate, whether to an compared with a paper-and-pencil version of the Oregon state reading exam. While individual student, a group of students, or an enhigh school students were less positive, most still felt they either did better on the tire class. Web-based test or equally well on the Web and paper versions of the test. To assess the pilot phase of the online testing program, Oregon state education officials surveyed 740 3rd graders and 730 high school students from around the state about their experiences taking 79 I feel sure I did my the state assessment online compared with taking best work on the Web 39 the hard-copy version. About 2,500 students had taken the online tests. State officials also held de16 I did equally well briefing sessions and hired evaluators to conduct on Web and paper 40 interviews with teachers. Third graders were especially positive about Web-based testing. Seventy-nine percent of those 4 I didnt do as well as I did on paper pupils surveyed believed they had done their 16 best work on the computer-based reading test, 3rd grade reading compared with a little more than 5 percent of I was too frustrated 2 High school reading 3rd graders who felt they either had done better using the Web 6 on paper or were frustrated using the computer0 20 40 60 80 100 ized test. Percent of students Results were similar for the online math test. On that assessment, more than 94 percent of the 3rd NOTE: Percentages do not add up to 100 because of rounding. graders said they felt that they had done their best work on the computer test or that they had A majority of 3rd graders found the online version of the Oregon state math test done equally well on both versions. Only 6 percent easier to use than the paper-and-pencil version. Thirty-eight percent of high school students found the Web version easier to use and more enjoyable. believed they had performed better on paper or had felt frustrated with the computer-based exam. A majority of the 3rd graders enjoyed taking the 3rd Grade Math High School Math Web-based version more than they did the paper 6% 5% test: Sixty-two percent reported that the online 15% reading test was easier to use and more enjoyable 17% than the paper test, and 58 percent said the same 22% about the Web-based test in mathematics.
38%
15
Not as Positive
58%
39%
High school students were slightly less positive about their performance on the Internet-based tests. On the reading test, 78 percent of the high school students believed they had either done better on the computerized version or equally well on the Web and paper tests. About 22 percent of the high schoolers felt they had either done better on paper or were frustrated using the computer-based exams.
Web test was easier to use and more enjoyable About the same as paper-and-pencil test It was harder than paper-and-pencil test More difficult at first, then easier
SOURCE: Oregon Department of Education, Technology Enhanced Student Assessment (TESA), student survey, 2001
Continued from Page 14 the system, as well as an adaptive-testing component. And in Florida, teachers can use the FCAT Explorer, a free, Web-based program that provides a series of test prompts and skills packages designed around the states academic-content standards, which guide the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test. We are currently getting about 11.5 million hits a day, says policy consultant Don Griesheimer, and I think the company thats hosting this has said we have about 4,000 simultaneous users a second. So its taken off big guns here in the state of Florida. Other states have offered schools access to commercially developed assessment-and-diagnostic packages through state Web portals. Indeed, the greatest activity is taking place at the district level, where companies are offering schools a range of products to help monitor student progress and provide teachers with instant feedback on what to do next. This indirect market, generated by the No Child Left Behind Act, I see as the real impetus for how technology will be used in schools, says Michael T. Nesterak, the director of product management for CTB/McGraw-Hill, one of the countrys biggest commercial test-makers.
16
Untapped Power
Despite such inroads, most observers agree that the potential power of technology to redesign assessment remains largely untapped. The powers of the computer have not been fully used yet in any of the state testing programs, says Neil Kingston of Measured Progress, a Dover, N.H.based company that has worked on online testing programs in Georgia and Utah. Most computer-based programs at the state level remain exclusively multiple-choice. Thats not surprising, observers say. The reality is we have to start where schools and districts are, says John E. Laramy, the president of Riverside Publishing, one of the nations largest test companies. He believes that in time, you will see companies introducing more innovative, interactive assessments. But with the federal laws emphasis on providing more tests, at more grade levels, faster and more efficiently, no one expects that breakthrough anytime soon. No Child Left Behind might be pushing states, says Doris Redfield, a technology expert at the Appalachian Education Laboratory in Charleston, W.Va., but its pushing them in the direction that theyre already going of getting quicker results and ensuring that their assessments are aligned with their standards. Is it really pushing them to create assessments that are more true-to-life or out of the ordinary? Redfield wonders. I dont know that it is. At least one observer, Ed Roeber, the vice president of external relations for Measured Progress, worries that the current emphasis on cheaper, faster, better is leading states to eliminate or reduce the number of open-ended responses in their testing programs. After an initial burst of steam, experts admit, the expansion of computer-based testing at the state level is happening more slowly than they had expected. Its kind of frustrating, says Greg Nadeau, the director of the U.S. Open e-Learning Consortium, a collaboration among 14 states for sharing online educational tools. The economic contraction is taking some of the wind out of the sails of the [information technology] industry and of state and local and federal projects. It takes years to develop online testing, Pogany of South Dakota says. So you cant come in and say: OK. We have a new test. Put it online. Do it. Until I know that we have a solid and reliable test, he adds of South Dakotas new assessment system, were not going to put kids at a computer. Now, will that happen next year? I dont know. It will happen when were ready, and were not going to do it before.
A Question O D rect on f i i
Adaptive testing puts federal officials and experts at odds
By
Andrew Trotter
omputer adaptive testing is used to test recruits to the U.S. military, for licensing nurses and computer technicians, for entrance tests to graduate school, and for a popular place-
ment test used by community collegesbut not for academic testing in all but a handful of K-12 schools. Most notably, computer adaptive testing has been left out of nearly all the large-scale testing programs that states are ramping up to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. A prime reason: The U.S. Department of Education interprets the laws test-driven accountability rules as excluding so-called out-of-level testing. Federal officials have said the adaptive tests are not grade-level tests, a requirement of the law. Psychometricians regard that decision as humorous, Robert Dolan, a testing expert at the nonprofit Center for Applied Special Technology in Wakefield, Mass., says of the departments stance. Adaptive tests deliver harder or easier items, depending on how well the individual test-taker is doing. They are considered out-of-level because the difficulty range could include skills and content offered in higher and lower grades. Dolan and other test experts concede states may have reason to say no to computer adaptive testing, because of cost, uneven technology levels in schools, and even educators unfamiliarity with the methodbut not because of grade-level testing. The span of [test item] difficulty from easiest to
18
hardest is entirely under the control of the test developer, says Tim Davey, the senior research director of the Educational Testing Service, based in Princeton, N.J. Some experts say adaptive tests give schools a better return on the time and money devoted to testingincluding more accurate measurement of the proficiency of students who are above and below average, and speedier access to the test results. But Education Department officials say their hands are tied. The regulations are very clear in saying all students have to be held to the same standard as the foundation for school accountability, says Sue Rigney, an education specialist in the department. The focus here is very explicitly on the grade level the state has defined. Federal officials worry that out-of-level testing might lead to lower expectations for below-average students. They also note that states are free to use computeradaptive tests outside the accountability purposes of the No Child Left Behind law, which requires yearly assessments in reading and mathematics of students in grades 3-8. But the upshot, for now, is that computer adaptive tests are left out of the federal law, along with the public attention and federal money for test development that come with it. And the developers of adaptive tests feel they are missing out on what may be the greatest precollegiate testing boom in history.
Made Us a Pariah
[The Education Departments] decision made us a pariah, says Allan L. Olson, the president of the Northwest Evaluation Association, a nonprofit testing organization in Portland, Ore. The group was developing a computer adaptive test for Idahos assessment when the department ruled its method out just over a year ago. Federal officials gave the same message to South Dakota and Oregon. South Dakota subsequently made voluntary its once-required computer adaptive test, and has adopted a conventional paper-and-pencil test for its statewide program. Oregon has postponed for a year the addition of a computer adaptive feature to its online test.
I think the [departments] interpretation in the case of South Dakota was based on a sort of misunderstanding of what adaptive testing does, says Davey of the ETS. He says computer adaptive tests typically span more than a single grade levela diagnostic benefitbut they dont have to, and in any case, gradelevel information is recorded for each test item. Researchers express puzzlement because the federal government has been deeply involved in the development of computer adaptive testing, starting with seminal research at the U.S. Office of Naval Research in the 1970s and 1980s. A decade later, Education Department grants paid for new computer adaptive reading tests in foreign languages, and department officials lauded the methods potential for school-based testing. David J. Weiss, one of the original leaders of the Navy research, says there is no reason why computer adaptive testing is not appropriate for K-12. Now the director of the psychometric-methods program at the University of Minnesota, Twin Cities, Weiss notes that a study of children who took such tests in Oregon for several years produced beautiful data on improvements in math and reading. Federal officials say they would consider the use of a computer adaptive test if it tested within the grade level. But other test experts say the federal government is right to be wary of computer adaptive testing. The technology is not ready for prime time, contends Robert A. Schaeffer, the public education director for the National Center for Fair & Opening Testing, or FairTest, a Cambridge, Mass.-based advocacy group that opposed the No Child Left Behind Act because of its testing mandates. He says the computer adaptive version of the Graduate Record Examination launched at ETS testing centers in 1994 was initially flawed because it had a pool of test items that was too small, and there were insufficient facilities for the number of test-takers. ETS spokesman Tom Ewing acknowledges those problems occurred but says they were quickly resolved through enlarging the pool of questions and improving test scheduling. But Schaeffer warns that schools could face a rougher transition, considering their budget limita-
A Question of Direction
tions and the high stakes involved in testing. W. James Popham, a professor emeritus and educational testing authority at the University of California, Los Angeles, says the theoretical accuracy of computer adaptive testing does not necessarily translate into reality: Even though [such testing] makes measurement types quite merry, they can play games with numbers and it doesnt help kids. Popham, a former president of the American Educational Research Association, contends that the testing technology is opaque to the public and policymakers. He says federal officials may believe the testing method could introduce loopholes into the education law. They fear educational con artists who have historically frustrated congressional attempts to safeguard disadvantaged youngsters, Popham says, referring to educators who wish to avoid accountability. The fear is, theyll pull a fast one and downgrade expectations.
whether youre really smart or not, the test will stop administering items when equal precision is reached. By contrast, most of the items on conventional testson paper or computerare aimed at the average student in the target population. If Im a very low-performing student, there may be only two or three items on the [conventional] test that are appropriate to my level of performance, Davey of the ETS says, adding that the same is true for highperforming students.
Inside the IRT

Computer adaptive tests often use the same types of questions as conventional tests, though with adjustments for display on a screen. Other features are distinctive, such as the order of items being irreversible. Students are not allowed to recheck or change answers. This one-way street is necessary because of the process that takes place after each answer: A central computer recalculates the test-takers ability level, then selects the next item, based on the individuals success to that point. As the student completes more items, the computer tracks the statistical accuracy of the score until a set accuracy level is reached. Then the test moves to another skill or content area. Reaching that level may require fewer items if the student answers with consistent proficiencyor many more items, if the student answers inconsistently. Adaptive testing doesnt waste the examinees time by asking questions that were already pretty sure we know how the student is going to answer, says Davey. To make the crucial decisions about which items to present, the test is outfitted with an item response theory modelessentially its brains and the part of the system that some critics consider opaque. The IRT model governs the interaction between the test-taker and the test items. It weighs the students record of right and wrong answers against several known characteristics of the test itemssuch as difficulty, the ability to discriminate between higher- and
Zeroing In on Skills
But proponents of adaptive, computer-based testing fear that schools may wait decades for access to a major improvement over conventional, linear standardized tests, which present each student with the same set of test items. The logic of the new tests is that of a coach pitching to a young batter: If the youngster is missing, the coach eases up a little; if not, he increases the challenge. Sooner or later, the coach zeroes in on the batters skill level. Some testing experts argue that the adjustment improves test accuracy. In paper-and-pencil tests, items tend to be grouped around average kids. Those in the tails of distribution we dont get as much information about those kids, says Michael L. Nering, the senior psychometrician at Measured Progress, a testing company in Dover, N.H. The great thing about adaptive testing is that it has equal precision, meaning the results are accurate at all proficiency levels, says Nering, who helped design two state assessments and developed computer adaptive tests for ACT Inc. No matter what your ability is,
20
lower-ability students, the degree to which guessing may succeed, and coverage of academic content. By solving the complex algorithm written into the IRT model, the computer determines which test item should be presented to the student next. Test developers concede that IRT models are unfathomable to lay people and even challenge the intellects of experts unfamiliar with a given test. Schaeffer of FairTest calls the IRT model the pig in a poke that makes computer adaptive testing hard for policymakers to accept. Who knows what the algorithm is for test delivery? he asks. You have to accept the test manufacturers claims about whether the test is equivalent for each student. Scott Elliot, the chief executive officer of Vantage Learning, a major maker of computer-based tests located in Yardley, Pa., says, There are many technical nuances under the IRT; some differences [between IRTs] are sort of like religion. Davey of the ETS agrees that the IRT resists attempts to explain it, but adds that the apparent simplicity of conventional testing is based largely on oversimplification of how paper testing typically is done. In fact, he says, virtually identical IRT models are used with some conventional state tests to ensure that the same score in different years represents approximately the same proficiency level on the testa vital issue for accountability.
21
Breaking With the Past

Because of technology hurdles and spotty acceptance of computer adaptive testing, experts generally predict that the field will struggle for the next five or 10 years, but that schools will eventually turn to the approach. Davey believes educators will be persuaded by the greater amount of diagnostic information the tests produce from fewer school days spent testing. Thats not to overlook other formidable problems that computer-based testing poses for schoolsnotably, the difficulty of providing technology that is reliable and consistent for all students, so the playing field is kept level. The tests must be delivered over a robust infrastructure to avoid processing and communications delays that would leave students waiting for their next test items. Computer adaptive tests also require larger banks of test items than conventional tests do. Yet the adaptive method gives items a longer useful life because its harder for test-takers to predict which items they will encounter. Finally, adaptive tests are subject to some of the same well-documented problems as other standardized tests, such as cultural biases, says FairTests Schaeffer. Automating test items that are used inappropriately, in many ways makes matters worse you add technical problems and dissemination-of-information problems, he says. Referring to the ETS adaptive Graduate Record Examination, he adds, The GRE, in spite of all the hoopla, is the same lame questions put out using a hidden algorithm, instead of linearly on a sheet of paper. Ewing of the ETS counters that its test items are what the graduate deans have said are the math and verbal skills that they want students to be able to handle. Meanwhile, researchers are working on new kinds of adaptations that could be applied in computer adaptive testsincluding presenting items using multimedia or computer simulations and catering to an individuals preferred learning style. Already, some tests present items in different languages. Those changes highlight another potential pitfall. Today, policymakers insist on having new tests demonstrate comparability with old tests, a task that Davey says becomes vastly more difficult as testing methods change. Benefiting from many promising innovations will require letting go of comparability, Davey maintains. Its like when we moved away from strictly essays and constructed-response items 100 years ago and introduced multiple-choice items, he says. For tests based on simulations, theres no paper-and-pencil equivalent anymore. You have to make a clean break with the past.
Prepp ng f i or The B g T i est

Students turn to the Web to get ready for high-stakes exams
By
Rhea R. Borja
s test-preparation materials leap off the printed page and onto the Web, an increasing number of states and districts are turning to online test-prep programs
to help raise student scores on high-stakes assessments, Advanced Placement tests, and college-entrance exams. California, Florida, and Massachusetts are among the states signing up for Web-based remedial offerings and other academic help, spurred on by stiffer state and federal accountability requirements. Soon, experts predict, most states and districts will use online test prep because of its flexibility, its reasonable cost, and some promising, though very preliminary, results on its effects. This is definitely not a fadyoull see Web-based assessments broadly adopted in the next several years, says Adam J. Newman, the vice president of research for Eduventures Inc., a Boston-based research firm that tracks the K-12 market. Print will never disappear, but institutions will have more cost-effective solutions with the Web. Also, the ability for educators to customize their assessments will really enhance what they already do [for students]. The many companies that have jumped into the testprep market range from the well-established, New York City-based Princeton Review to small, aggressive upstarts such as Test University, also in New York, and the Washington-based Smarthinking Inc. The money has followed. The Princeton Reviews
Prepping for the Big Test
K-12 revenue shot up 43 percent last year, boosted in large part by a $2.5 million boom in online testprep subscriptions and other supplemental programs, according to the Heller Reports, an educational newsletter and market-research publisher based in New York. Last year, more than 200,000 students in 60 countries signed up for the Princeton Reviews online demonstrations of such tests as the SAT and state exit exams, according to Drew Deutsch, an assistant vice president of the company. Our online test prep is growing by leaps and bounds, he says.
And critics of online test preparation wonder whether its approach of drill and repetition is supplanting more lively, creative teacher-led instruction. Are the students taking online test prep getting only the chunks of information they need to know to improve their scores, instead of a more balanced education? Web-based, online computerized coaching pretty much focuses on the basics, so the kids pretty much lose out on everything else, says Robert A. Schaeffer, the public education director for the National Center for Fair & Open Testing, or FairTest, a test-reform advocacy group based in Cambridge, Mass. What is tested is what is taught.
Not for Everybody

Eduventures Newman and other experts caution, though, that online test preparation is only as good as a students motivation to use it and a teachers ability to analyze the data gleaned from it. Web-based test prep is a tool to improve learning, they emphasize, not a magic bullet. Teachers need to know how to use this resource and apply it to their classroom pedagogy, Newman says. Otherwise, its useless. Online test prep isnt for everybody, adds Burck Smith, the chief executive officer of Smarthinking, which serves 29,000 high school and college students in at least 15 states. He says students who use the method must be highly self-motivated or have teachers monitoring them. He found that out with students who had failed their state assessments the first time and didnt seem especially impelled on their own to improve their scores. With any online test-prep program, youre not going to see a lot of success unless theres someone there making sure the students are doing what theyre supposed to be doing, Smith says. Motivation is a huge factor.
Its a Conversation
But supporters of online test prep point out that the programs can be customized with lessons and practice tests to fit each students academic needs, can provide a wealth of student data, and can be used anytimein class during the day, and at home at night and on weekends. The Princeton Reviews Homeroom.com, for example, has a 130,000-question bank for grades 3-12, which districts and states can mine to produce online practice tests and courses specifically aligned to state exams. Its online SAT-prep program offers 185 interactive, multimedia lessons and drills, and an online coach to answer questions 24 hours a day. Test Universitys online SAT course has interactive microcourses covering 145 basic skills, 18 practice tests, a 2,000-word vocabulary lab, and two full-length SAT tests with immediate feedback. TestU also features lessons covering 55 test-taking strategies. Smarthinking, meanwhile, uses e-tutors, or online instructors, and digital whiteboards to give students more intensive tutoring help. Students can communicate with e-tutors in real time, as well as submit questions or assignments to the instructors online and receive feedback
24
COMPUTER-BASED PRACTICE
Several states are using technology to help their students prepare for state tests by offering computer-based practice exams. These practice exams range from tutorials that mainly serve to guide students through an online testing format to those that test students knowledge of content related to state standards.
Computer-based practice exams (12)
Prepping for the Big Test
within 24 hours, the company says. The virtual whiteboards act much like real chalkboards: A student can write out or draw a multistep trigonometry problem using an online toolbox of mathematical symbols. The e-tutor sees the students work, and can comment on the whiteboard and help correct any missteps. The 12,000-student Whitfield County school system in rural northern Georgia uses Smarthinking in part to help its 164 Spanish-speaking, English-as-a-secondlanguage students pass the Georgia Graduation Test. For two hours a day, ESL-trained, Spanish-speaking math tutors answer students questions online, says Lorijo Calhoun, the districts ESL instructor. Its a conversation, she says. Its literally back and forth. In Marylands 107,400-student Baltimore County system, teenagers preparing for the PSAT, the SAT, or the ACT can log on to TestUs Web site and get extra help on their vocabulary, for example, or more in-depth information on algebraic algorithms.
26
"You can take your

time ... without having to frustrate anybody."
DAVIS HO, 15, Timber Creek High School, Orlando, Fla.
Students first take a 30-minute diagnostic pretest, or brainscan, that TestU uses as a baseline for the online curriculum. If a student does poorly on grammar but well on comprehension, for example, TestU offers more intensive work on the former. Like many other school districts and states, the Baltimore County system is making TestU available to all students, but especially pupils from low-income families. We want to ensure equity of access, says Barbara Dezmon, the assistant to the superintendent of the Baltimore County district, which does not include the city of Baltimore. It started as an effort to assist schools that had significant minority student populations, significant poor populations, and it spread from there. Diane Young, an assistant principal at the 1,350-student Eastern Technical High School in Baltimore County, says that online test preparation is more helpful than the schools traditional SAT-prep class because instruction is customized for each studentsomething a teacher with 25 students cannot do. It allows a teacher to say to a student, Youre having problems with fractions, and I cant spend any more time in class, so go on TestU and work on it, and Ill check your answers, she says.
One is a group diagnostic report, which aggregates and analyzes students responses to test questions, while a group learning report shows the skills and strategies studied on a course, and evaluates the students quiz performance. A group performance report shows student participation and performance rates, the frequency of tests taken, the average percent of questions answered correctly, and the distribution of student responses to each question. The combination of in-class instruction, online coursework, and teacher monitoring is essential in trying to help low-scoring and perhaps poorly motivated students improve their test scores, Finnerty says. Its a complement to what we already have with our book work, he says. If teachers just say to the kids, Go at it, and leave them at the computers by themselves, thats not good. One of his students, 15-year-old Davis Ho, recently took the FCAT, and says that online test prep did its job. In fact, he says, many of the questions in his testprep program were similar to the questions on the state assessment. I felt more confident, more prepared, says the 9th grader. Ho says that in some ways, online test preparation is more helpful than a teacher because it allows him to move at his own pace. You can go back and review the stuff, he says. You can take your time and read it over and over again without having to frustrate anybody. He and others suggest that the main difficulty in using Web-based test prep is the tendency of computers to freeze up. Technical glitches greatly hampered Timber Creek Highs ability to use the TestU program last year, school staff members say, but emphasize there are fewer such problems this year. Ho replies that while that may be so, glitches are still not uncommon. Sometimes, the program kicks me off, he says. Often, glitches occur because of a miscommunication between TestU and the school districts filtering and security software, says Nicole Marshall, TestUs vice president for educational research. Thats what happened to Timber Creek. So county technology administrators readjusted the settings in the security software to accommodate TestU. If the school is still experiencing glitches, it could be that a lot of students are using the program and other technology at peak times, slowing down the system, Marshall adds.
Buying in Bulk
Web-based test prep tends to be cheaper for school districts than face-to-face preparation classes are. Costs vary widely, but they fall well under the hundreds of dollars a test-prep course would cost an individual student. Massachusetts, for example, paid $200,000 to the Princeton Review this school year to help up to 80,000 high school students statewide prepare for the Massachussetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS. On the west coast, the University of California system signed a three-year, $125,000 contract with Number2.com, a division of Xap Corp., an education information-management-systems company based in Los Angeles. Number2.com provides online SAT and ACT preparation for all California high school students for free. Research on the results of online test preparation is sparse, but preliminary results of one analysis show online test prep can be one factor that helps improve student test scores. For instance, 75 percent of high school students who had previously failed the Texas Assessment of Academic Skills in the 211,000-student Houston school district improved their TAAS reading scores by 29 percent on average in a pilot test-prep program, according to TestU, whose services the Houston district uses. Jo Beth Harris, the director of Houstons Virtual School, who administers the online test-prep program, says that last summer 50 seniors who previously failed the TAAS spent time with the online test-prep program for two hours a day. The result the second time they took the TAAS? They all passed, Harris says.
I Felt More Prepared

But online test prep is not a substitute for a teacher, Young and other educators stress. Instead, its another tool that can enhance the effectiveness of inclass instruction. Glenn Finnerty, a test-prep teacher at the 3,200-student Timber Creek High School in Orlando, Fla., says his students use both a workbook and individualized online mathematics and reading courses by TestU to help them improve their scores on the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, or FCAT. During class, Finnerty walks around his room and monitors students as they work on the computer course and practice tests. He can also view a variety of computer reports that analyze student performance and participation rates.
Spec Ed T . . ech Sparks Ideas

Testing tools for children with disabilities attract mainstream attention
By
Lisa Fine Goldstein
ndiana special education student Marvin Stuller couldnt believe the boy reading aloud on the TV set was him.xxxxxxxxxx His teacher had videotaped
him at the beginning of 5th grade and at the midway point. The before and after scenes of the then-12-yearold with speech difficulties were dramatic: His reading level had risen, and his voice had even lowered and deepened by the later video. Mom, I really improved, he told his mother when he got home that night, recalls his mother, Jenny Stuller of Elkhart, Ind. She was impressed with how the video gave her an intimate glimpse into her sons academic progress. As educators face new federal requirements to test all students annually in reading and mathematics in grades 3-8, states are experimenting with new ways of using technology to evaluate the abilities of special education students. Testing experts say that what educators learn from tailoring assessments to the needs of special education students could shape how they test regular students, who have more subtle individual needs. Special education students are likely to be the canaries in the coal mine as educators experiment with new technological assessments, says David Rose, the coexecutive director of the Center for Applied Special Technology, or CAST. The nonprofit group, based in Wakefield, Mass., seeks to expand educational opportunities for students with disabilities through the use of technology. [Special education students] are the first to experience
Spec. Ed. Tech Sparks Ideas
an oxygen deficit if a test doesnt work, Rose explains. Its like when you test-drive a new car: You do it on rough terrain. You take it out to where it will be tested.
Testing in the Margins

Many districts and an increasing number of states are ramping up to launch computerized assessments, which experts say can be more efficient, use less labor, and provide instant scoring. The tests will offer the potential for more sophisticated accommodations, such as the use of spell-checkers or audio features that read questions aloud. There was a time when schools would try to deter as many special education students from taking the tests as possibletell them to stay home on test day so their [schoolwide] scores wouldnt be lowered, says Robert Dolan, a senior research analyst at CAST . Now, all of those students have to be included, so states want to do whatever they can to help them score as high as possible. At the same time, those students difficulties on such tests could bring to light broader problems: whether the tests are really evaluating the right material; if administration of the tests is biased; and whether the technology presents more problems than it overcomes. For example, if a student is uncomfortable in front of a camera, the videotaping approach may be counterproductive. Or if a student is a poor typist, computerized assessments might be more difficult than paper-and-pencil versions. The [testing] revolution begins in the margins, Rose says. Special education students are being increasingly pushed toward the general education curriculum. How they adjust will teach us a lot about assessments. In Indiana, for instance, educators use electronic portfolios to measure the progress of students with disabilities. To do that, teachers collect videotape, audiotape, and written materials on their students and
28
then scan that information onto CD-ROMs. Teachers review the electronic portfolios to determine if children are ready to advance to the next grade. Many general educators have looked on enviously at those alternative assessment methods, and some have even adopted the practices themselves, says Robert Marra, the state director of special education for the Indiana Department of Education. General education teachers who have seen the tapes want to be able to do this for their children, Marra says. There are some who are using the videotapes and other techniques already. Whats most important, Marra says, is that the portfolios are helping teachers prepare students with disabilities for regular assessments. The teachers have feedback right away on how a student is progressing. Unlike with conventional testing methods, there is no lag time while a test is being scored. The electronic portfolios also cut down on reams of paperwork, one of the chief complaints of special educators, because the digital records help teachers document information on how a student is progressing as required by the federal Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, Marra says. Whats more, teachers can use the electronic portfolios to carry out IDEA-required obligations to give parents evidence of a childs academic progress. Teachers can simply download the work from a computer and e-mail files to parents. In the past, teachers and parents may have assumed that students with disabilities werent able to take assessments, because they performed badly on classroom tests that measure standards. But electronic portfolios have changed that impression, Marra says. Seeing proof of a childs abilities helps teachers and parents feel more comfortable with the prospect of the student being tested. Or, in some cases, a portfolio can be used in place of testing to show a student has met the standards for graduation. If a parent says, I dont think my child can do that, a teacher can turn around and show it to them on videotape, Marra says. Also, the parents could use it
SPECIAL PREPARATIONS
Although special education teachers are more likely than regular teachers to report that students use computers in their classes, those same teachers, on average, are less likely to report that they have had professional development on how to use computers in the classroom. New special education teachers feel less prepared to use computers for teaching than do other novice teachers in their first year of teaching.
100
Special education teachers Non-special-education teachers

80
79 71 68
Percent of teachers 60
67
40
43 37
20
Teachers whose students use computers in their classes
Teachers who have had professional development on the use of computers for instruction in the past 12 months
Novice teachers who felt well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year
SOURCE: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey,1999-2000
to videotape their children at home doing something the teacher didnt know the student could do. It works both ways, he says.
Spec. Ed. Tech Sparks Ideas
World
of Glitches
30
With states preparing to test so many more special education students who would otherwise have been exempt from the process, some states are already coming up with innovative technological accommodations. Oregon is devising a test that would allow hearingimpaired students to use American Sign Language. By clicking on either English or ASL, the students could choose to read the problems in English text or see a pair of hands signing the questionsor even split the screen with both English and ASL. The same concept could potentially be used for, say, Spanish-speaking students for whom English is a second language. Oregon is also working on a version of the test that would allow certain students with disabilities to hear the questions read aloud by the computer. In some cases, that feature could benefit students with reading disabilities or visual impairments. Though the state has no plans to offer the option to students without disabilities, Pat Almond, the assessment project director, says one day the audio feature could be used on tests taken by all students. She emphasizes that would not be the case, of course, if the test were designed to assess reading ability. The prospect of having an audio capability on tests for all students isnt financially out of sight, Almond adds, because the technology to do so is becoming more widely available and affordable. Meanwhile, Massachusetts has prepared versions of its state assessments for students with disabilities that would allow the use of text readers. About 1,000 Massachusetts students with reading disabilities or visual impairments use the text readers for their classroom work; the accommodation is allowed in their individualized education plans, or IEPs, which are required by federal law. Only those students would be eligible to take large-scale assessments using the text readers. Careful piloting of such programs is essential, says Daniel J. Wiener, the states assessment coordinator for special populations. For example, text readers have a tough time presenting math problems that include Greek symbols, or equations within parentheses. Theres just a world of glitches out there, Wiener cautions. Its expensive to test these students. You dont want to go down the wrong path. Because of the high cost and other potential problems, he doesnt foresee that text readers will ever be used by general education students. And, he says, it would not be appropriate to provide use of an electronic reader to a student who does not have a disability that prevents him or her from learning to read without use of a reader.
Show What They Know

For states gearing up to offer assessments online, the act of transferring a paper-and-pencil test to a computerized format would be like designing a building with no wheelchair ramps, wide hallways, or elevators, says Dolan of CAST. Undoubtedly, retrofitting the traditional tests would prove expensive and complicated, he says. Still, Oregon is developing computerized tests in which teachers would set individualized parameters for special education students, according to Gerald Tindal, the director of behavioral research and teaching at the University of Oregons college of education. For example, students with disabilities who are poor readers could take a math test with the reading level adjusted to their own needs. It seems to Tindal that such a strategy could one day be used with all students to make sure their knowledge of academic content isnt held hostage to an unrelated skill. It would be great if we could increase the opportunity for students to show what they know, Tindal says. Its an interesting time to proceed in the context of high-stakes testing.
T T he eacher s New T est

Computerized exams finding a niche in classroom assessment
By
Michelle Galley
tudents in Carole Givens U.S. history class last year took a quiz at the beginning of every period. But they didnt line up at the pencil sharpener to get ready. In-
stead, they fired up their laptops. Givens, a 34-year teaching veteran who teaches at the 1,500-student Varina High School in suburban Richmond, Va., used online quizzes as a way of reviewing each unit with her students. A computer graded the quizzes and gave her a running total on how each student was performing. It was an incredible feature, says Givens, who knew right away if she needed to review a lesson, based on how her students had performed on the latest quiz. Computerized testing is starting to catch on in classrooms across the country as teachers look for more efficient ways to evaluate students. Some say their use of computerbased quizzes or tests has saved them untold hours that would otherwise have been spent grading by hand. Yet a host of barriers exist that could prevent many teachers from going down the path to computerized tests. And even the teachers who are already using such tests say the method has its limitations. To begin with, many teachers dont know how to use software to give tests and quizzes, says Rosemary Skeele, an education professor at Seton Hall University, in South Orange, N.J., who trains teachers to use technology in their classrooms. Educators also point out that computerized exams could underestimate the knowledge of some students who
32
are not particularly skilled at using computers. Beyond those concerns, Skeele says most classrooms have only one or two computers, which is not enough to give every student a test. And in many cases, the computers that teachers use are so old that they cannot support new test-writing programs. The systems in K-12 schools are just not sophisticated enough, Skeele says. Those problems are not issues for Givens. Still, she doesnt use computers to give regular exams. Computer access is not the reason: Givens district, Virginias 42,000-student Henrico County public schools, supplies each student and teacher with his or her own laptop. Training is not a problem, either: Each middle and high school in the district has a technology-support person on staff to train and assist teachers. This year, Givens fills that position for her school. Rather, she says, the main roadblock to using computers for regular exams is test security. Givens says she gives her students credit only for completing the quizzes they take on computers, not for how many questions they get right. Thats because she worries that students might be able to hack in to the system and discover the questions in advance. And when she gives her quizzes, she walks around the room to make sure that students are keeping their eyes on their own screens. In fact, she says, some people think it is easier to look on a computer screen than on a piece of paper, because the screens cant be covered as well. Givens concern is a common one, says Skeele. High schools dont have [computer] security systems in place that are as effective as the ones used by colleges and universities, she says.
Benefits and Drawbacks

Still, as computerized testing catches on, software developers have labored to come up with products to suit teachers needs. This is an avenue people are looking at, says Donald Knezek, the chief executive officer of the International Society for Technology in Education, based in Eugene, Ore. Companies are scrambling to create systems teachers can use to construct assessments. In 2001, for example, the software giant Microsoft rolled out Classroom Server, a software program that allows teachers to put together tests, quizzes, and assignments using computerized resources such as a
question database, graphics files, and materials designed by other teachers. Also, some Internet sites allow teachers to design their own computerized tests and quizzes. For example, at a cost of $49 a year, teachers can subscribe to a Web-based program called Quia. They can use the program to create quizzes and other assessment tools in a host of different subjects. Students then visit the site to complete the quizzes. Even though such software is available, Skeele of Seton Hall University cautions educators not to become too reliant on the new technology: You need a variety of testing methods in a classroom. She points out that computers are good at giving certain kinds of teststhose that measure facts, procedures, or principles, and thus lend themselves to multiple-choice, true-or-false, and short-answer questions. Computers are not good tools for tests that require longer, more complex answers, and those in which students are asked to show their work. In an Advanced Placement chemistry class at Esperanza High School in Anaheim, Calif., Marcia Sprang uses computerized tests and quizzes about once a week, depending on what she is teaching. I need my students to practice solving particular kinds of problems and get good at it, she says. Sprang uses a program called Titanium, which was developed by researchers at California State University-Fullerton. It uses a huge database of problem sets, which allows a teacher to assign each student a different question covering the same concept. Sprang says this feature cuts down significantly on cheating. Students are also able to go back and do their work over and over again using different problems, until they master the concept and get the score they want. And I never see a piece of paper, Sprang says. Sprang, who has been teaching for 20 years, says that since she started using the program, her students have tended to score better on her final exam because theyve experienced a multitude of questions covering the same concept. She is also able to see each step her students take to solve a given problem, using a program called Immex, which was developed at the University of California, Los Angeles. With Immex, students might be told, for instance, that they are hazardous-materials engineers who need to clean up a chemical spill. But first they need to identify the chemical. The program allows them to conduct simulated physi-
T T he eacher s New Test
TEACHERS AND TECHNOLOGY

In 18 states, teachers are required either to have coursework in the use of technology or take a technology skills test to receive an initial teacher license.
Technology coursework required (10) Technology test required (7) Either coursework or test required (1) No requirements (33)
A Handful of Computers
Teachers are becoming more comfortable with technology, which means that electronic testing may become more commonplace, says Lee Baldwin, the president of the National Association of Test Directors, a Web-based network of district-level testing officials. I dont think it will be universal in the foreseeable future, but I think you will see more applications of technology, says Baldwin, who is also the senior director of assessment and program evaluation for the 152,000-student Orange County, Fla., school system, in Orlando. Echoing other testing experts, Baldwin says that limits on infrastructureaccess to enough computers at the same timepose a major obstacle for teachers who want to use computer-based testing. But Cathy Dearing, a 4th grade teacher at the 450student J.P. Vincent Elementary School in Bloomfield, Conn., has tried to overcome that hurdle. The handful of computers in Dearings 20-pupil classroom are used primarily to teach basic word processing. Yet even with relatively few machines available, she has found a way to give reading assessments online. Its a format her students enjoy, says Dearing, who has been teaching for 16 years. Its highly motivating, she says. They take ownership for their own reading progress. Dearing uses Scholastic Inc.s iReAch program three times a year to administer the reading assessments. She picks a title from a list provided by the program, assigns it to a student, and then the student is responsible for reading the book and taking the corresponding computerized test. Because the tests are online, and most of her students have computer access at home, Dearing says she encourages the children to take them there. She has also formed a partnership with the local library so that students can use its computers to take the tests. Each test is made up mostly of multiple-choice questions tailored to the particular book. By using iReAch, Dearing says, we dont have to guess whether or not a student has read a book, or how well they have read it.
33
Paperless Classroom?
Last year, Brian White, a chemistry teacher at the 2,300-student Lawrence North High School in Indianapolis, converted the papers in his filing cabinet to CD-ROMs. In addition, he now uses his schools Web site to post classroom resources. Extra worksheets for students who need help, and a schedule of what the class is learning, are posted on his own Web page. As part of his push toward a paperless classroom, White, who has been teaching for eight years, would like to start giving computerized exams. But hes come up against a significant barrier. The textbooks he uses came with a set of CD-ROMs, but the electronic question bank contained in each CD-ROM cant be transferred to the test-writing software he wants to use. Consequently, White says, I would have to go back and type in every single question, and that is not realistic. When White picks out new textbooks for this coming fall, an accompanying electronic database of test questions that he can use easily will be critical, he says. By the fall of 2004, we will be using new textbooks and giving tests online, he predicts.
T T he eacher s New Test
cal and chemical experiments, such as combining the unknown substance with reactants. The result of the combination should lead them to the right chemical. The software tracks where they go in a problem, Sprang says. Still, Sprang gives her end-of-course exams the time-honored way: on paper. She says her students need to be comfortable taking paper-and-pencil tests, too, because thats the format for the AP exams. If I am preparing my students to take an AP exam, I need to make sure they can produce the information required using the required format, she says.
Marketing T the Test o

Companies envision profits in computer-based assessment
By
Mark Walsh
ince the 1920s, the business of school testing has largely been a province of educational publishing. The same companies that published American
textbooks also distributed such well-known assessments as the Stanford Achievement Test, the California Achievement Test, and the Iowa Tests of Basic Skills. The big publishers cornered the mar-
ket for decades largely because of the high upfront costs of developing and validating test content as well as the complicated nature of distributing and scoring paper tests. But computer-based testing does not rely on paper publishing or labor-intensive scoring and reporting tasks. The new tests are all made up of digital ones and zeros that can be zapped back and forth over the Internet and rapidly scored by software programs. So the market for computer-based school testing should be about as wide open as other technology and Internet business niches, right? Well, yes and no. There is considerable activity among start-up businesses in computer-based assessment, as well as interest in the sector from slightly older companies that have added testing to their business models. But in the long run, industry experts say, traditional test publishers such as CTB/McGraw-Hill are likely to end up as the dominant players in technology-based assessment. The traditional publishers who have staked a claim in this space will continue to do well, says Jim McVety, a
senior analyst at Eduventures, a Boston research firm that studies the education industry. But when it comes to classroom-based assessment, there is room for smaller companies to enter the market.
Demand for Instant Results
Marketing to the Test
36
Eduventures estimates that educational testing in the United States was a $925 million industry in 2002. But revenues related to online and computer-based assessment represented no more than $50 million of that, McVety says. For the traditional publishers, research on technologybased assessment has been going on for years. They have realized that paper-and-pencil tests are not likely to dominate forever. Its not that the printing of test booklets and score sheets is unduly expensive. But the costs related to keeping them secure and processing their results begin to add up for the publishers. Score reports can take weeks or months to appear after the administration of a paper assessment, a model that does not satisfy educators growing interest in near-instant results. The old way of doing it was like an autopsy, says Michael A. Sicuro, the chief financial officer of Lightspan Inc., an educational technology company that has recently moved into computer-based testing. Educators got access to the test results after their students were long gone. What good is it after the students are gone? San Diego-based Lightspan is best known for educational software that runs on Sony PlayStation game consoles. But its assessment products, led by the eduTest classroom testing software, run on personal computers. The company has developed an item bank of some 65,000 test questions for its eduTest program. If you are a 4th grade math teacher and want to test your students on fractions, you can go make a quiz of 10 or 15 questions from our item bank, Sicuro says. You can get the standard Happy Meal with everything in it, or you can build your own Happy Meal out of the test offerings, jokes Sicuro. Four New Mexico districts have been piloting Lightspans eduTest service this year and have been pleased with the results, says Steven A. Sanchez, the acting assistant superintendent for learning services in the state department of education. The districts thought this was very user-friendly, he says. The teachers can customize it, they can run reports, and they can disaggregate the results.
Beyond Bubble Sheets

Schools are now under a marketing siege from companies such as Lightspan and many others with similar assessment products, many of which are integrated into larger classroom management programs that also help teachers organize lesson plans and keep records. The demands of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and the growing importance of high-stakes state tests are fueling the interest. Some of those programs come from traditional publishers. CTB/McGraw-Hill, based in Monterey, Calif., offers such paper assessments as the California Achievement Test and the TerraNova testing program, but also a relatively new online assessment program for the classroom called i-know. The program includes both multiple-choice and constructed-responseshort-answer or essayitems and is currently being offered in reading and mathematics for grades 3-8. Micheal H. Kean, the vice president for public and governmental affairs at CTB/McGraw-Hill, notes that the No Child Left Behind law is motivating principals to seek more comprehensive assessment data. Theres a tremendous, tremendous need for the principal ... to get feedback continuously from every teacher in his or her school building, he says. Technology is really the foundation that will allow that to occur. Pearson Education, the educational publishing division of London-based Pearson Inc., is another major textbook publisher. But it wasnt heavily into testing until a few years ago, when it bought National Computer Systems, which was mostly a test-scoring company. Now that Pearson has absorbed NCS, the result has been a slate of new computer and Web-based products
38
for schools, including an online assessment program that is part of the companys Concert classroom-management Web tool. Peter Jovanovich, the chief executive officer of Pearson Education, which is providing paid sponsorship for the online version of Technology Counts 2003, says computer-based assessment programs for the classroom are poised for an explosion. But he agrees with Kean that the traditional publishers have a leg up on newer, technology-based companies because of their commitment to educational content. It comes down to who understands the market and whether you have a track record, Jovanovich says. Those things cant be invented overnight just because you sit in front of a personal computer. But McVety of Eduventures points to Vantage Learning, a relative newcomer to online assessment, as an upstart poised for success without the pedigree of traditional test publishing or services. Vantage, based in Yardley, Pa., was founded in 1998 amid the boom in technology businesses as a purely Web-based assessment model. Among its products are the Vantage Learning Platform, a set of tools for developing online assessments; and IntelliMetric, an automated scoring technology for essay questions. Another company that isnt a traditional test publisher is Scantron Inc., based in Irvine, Calif. If that name rings a bell, it may be because Scantron scanners have dominated the school market for some 30 years. But Scantron, a subsidiary of the publicly traded John H. Harland Co., is now making two major forays into technology-based assessment. One is its Internet-based Performance Series classroom assessments in subjects such as reading and math. The other is a product called Classroom Wizard, which is an assessment program for personal digital assistants, or PDAs, such as Palms, Handspring Visors, or Pocket PCs. Students can use the devices to take quizzes and tests, then beam their answers to the front of the class. Scantrons program can grade them and report the results in a variety of ways. Joanna Goldston, a marketing manager at Scantron, insists that quiz security is not an issue for schools using the system, even in an age when some students program test answers or other helpful information into their graphing calculators. When a student logs in to the Classroom Wizard system to take a quiz, the program locks down other applications on the PDA, she says. This is the cutting edge.
Marketing to the Test
Wireless Responses
Other companies are also trying to sell schools assessment-related programs on nontraditional hardware devices. McVety says some of those have grown out of wireless technology used in bars for interactive trivia games, while others evolved from the world of political and consumer market research. For example, Denton, Texas-based eInstruction Inc. sells a Classroom Performance System featuring a proprietary base station and handheld gizmos that students can use to click the answers to games or quizzes. The New York City-based Wireless Generation Inc. and the Washington-based eLearning Dynamics are also tech start-ups with Palm-based applications for classroom assessment. Chase Weir, the chairman and president of eLearning Dynamics, has a background in consumer research with companies that test pilot television shows with audiences. His program for personal digital assistants is synchronous, he boastsa quality, he explains, that allows a teacher to track students progress even as they are taking a quiz, without having to wait for the answers to be beamed into a base computer. Weirs idea evolved from audience-survey technology devised by a company that grew out of the Hollywood studio Columbia Pictures. That technology, Weir says, is now used by entertainment executives to test audience reactions to TV pilots, as well as by political campaigns and by law firms to test likely jury reactions in multibilliondollar trials. He believes that one day Americans will be able to devote the same technological innovation and resources to measuring classroom achievement as they now do to winning lawsuits or coming up with the next hit TV show.
Essay Gr i ad ng Goes D g ta ii l
But critics question the use of software to assess writing
By
Kathleen Kennedy Manzo
t didnt take long for Pat Thorntons 7th graders to figure out how to outsmart the computer. They even coined a term for it: schmoozing.
If you write a schmoozy essay, one stu-
dent told Thornton soon after she began using a Web-based essay-grading program, the computer gives you a good grade. The Irvine, Calif., students discovered that if they just included predictable words, phrases, or features in their paper, the computer would view it favorably regardless of the quality of the work. Just as quickly, though, the young scribes realized that while Thornton relies on artificial intelligence to read and evaluate some classwork, the 32-year veteran English teacher is still watching. They can fool the computer, but they cant fool the teacher as easily, says Thornton, who teaches at the 620student Lakeside Middle School. The Criterion Online Writing Evaluation Program, a product of the Educational Testing Service in Princeton, N.J., helps Thornton supplement her writing instruction and monitor students work without adding to her grading burden.
Tex t ab ove exc erpt ed fr om w ww.v anta gelea rning .com
Several software and online programs developed over the past five years promise to make it easier to incorporate more writing exercises for students without piling more work on the teacher. This gives students opportunities to practice their writing and get immediate feedback, Thornton says of the computer program. Its not the same type of feedback that they get from a teacher, ... but these are not portfolio pieces, these are practice. As the technology has been refined for more practical use in middle and high school classrooms, more states and districts are examining how such programs can bolster
writing programs or streamline testing in the subject. But some experts worry that the products capabilities are overstated, and they warn that the potential for misuse is great. What worries me is not that these tools are electronic, nor that they provide some assistance with the labor-intensive task of responding to student writing, but that they will be seen by some as making unnecessary the professional knowledge that teachers need to effectively respond to student writing, says David M. Bloome, the president of the National Council of Teachers of English, based in Urbana, Ill. Some will mistakenly believe that the software can do it all.
Saving Time
As teachers juggle the increasing demands on the curriculum and the school day, many have had to restrict time for students to learn and practice writing skills, many scholars say. Few teachers, they say, can devote the hours necessary to read and grade such assignments. And with the multitude of resources available on the Internet and students penchant for copying indiscriminately from them, many teachers now dismiss essays and research papers as little more than an exercise in cheating. As a result, according to at least one recent study, middle and high school students are encountering fewer and fewer writing requirements in school just as the business world is demanding more such skills from job candidates. Commissioned by The Concord Review, a journal of high school historical essays, The History Research Paper Study found that most students never encounter extended writing assignments in school. Thornton, for one, has not wavered in her focus on writing over the years. Californias Irvine Unified School District, where she teaches, pushes writing across the curriculum for all students, who have come to expect regular essay assignments. But with more than 180 students in her 7th and 8th grade language arts classes, the teacher can spend upwards of 60 hours grading a single assignment. So when the 23,000-student district signed on to the Criterion system in 2001, it was welcome relief. In the past, Thornton has asked students to keep weekly essays theyve written in a personal folder, where she could review them at any time. Students selected their favorites at the end of the semester, when the teacher would sit down with her red pen and evaluate them critically. With Criterion, she says, students respond to a question, or prompt, that requires them to write a descriptive or persuasive essay on a given topic. They are evaluated within seconds on everything from grammar and spelling to style and organization. They can revise their work as many times as they want. The feedback produced from those practice sessions allows the teacher to view the work of individual students or entire classes in ways that have been impractical in the past. Thornton can, for example, read a submission, scan the computers evaluation, then add her own comments into the file. She can also have the Web-based tool sort students work based on the sophistication of the writing. In doing so recently, Thornton saw that 8th graders in one class were relying far too much on simple sentences, even after her extended lessons on using compound and complex constructions. She reviewed the material with her students again and saw improvement in their subsequent submissions. In another class, the program prompted a student to dig more deeply into his vocabulary knowledge to revise an essay after the computer analysis showed he used the same words over and over.
40
Human vs. Computer

Computer-based evaluation of writing assignments is a relatively recent innovation, but one that has evolved rapidly in its practical applications, as well as its status among some teachers and administrators. The programs have already been pressed into service
42
in higher education. The scorer designed by the ETS, for example, is used to grade the essay portions of the Graduate Management Admission Test. The Vantage Learning scorers, VLP and IntelliMetric, are used to assess the writing skills of entering college students. But there are no plans to use such software to score the written portions of the SAT college-entrance exam or the written sections on Advanced Placement tests. When the first researchers to develop computer-assisted essay grading unveiled their software projects in 1998, much of the reaction was skeptical. Educators said they doubted that technology could be used to evaluate submissions that are inherently unique for each student. Many observers scoffed at the idea that creative concepts expressed in writing could be fairly or effectively evaluated by a machine. Yet developers of essay-grading programs tout their accuracy and consistency in evaluating papers by students in 4th grade through graduate school. They say the development process works like this: Once essay questions and a scoring rubric are crafted, and hundreds of sample responses are collected, specially trained educators or professional readers evaluate them. The grading data are entered into the computer, and a scoring model is created. These systems are scoring as accurately as [human] readers, at a tiny fraction of the cost, says Richard Swartz, the executive director of the performancemodeling and scoring division of the Educational Testing Service. The technology, he contends, is less prone to error or other human factors that can affect grading. The computer never has a bad day, Swartz says. Officials in several states have taken note and begun to pilot such programs. Indiana, for example, tested the ETS scoring technology used for the Criterion program last year. The testmakers E-Rater and C-Rater products were used to evaluate more than 130,000 essays and short answers submitted by more than 22,000 11th graders on a state assessment. Criterion Online is being used in more than 300 schools around the country. Pennsylvania has conducted three pilot programs for evaluating reading and writing assessments of students in grades 6, 9, and 11, using the Intellimetric essay-scoring system developed by the Yardley, Pa.-based Vantage Learning. Officials in Massachusetts, Ohio, and Oregon have also begun to explore the potential for using the technology on a large scale.
Can Computers Think?

Not everyone, though, is convinced of its ultimate benefit to instruction. The technology is still a target of criticism among many educators committed to the power of human expression through writing. Bloome of the National Council of Teachers of English worries that the context and audience for students writing will become as artificial as the medium. Students, in effect, will begin composing for the computer and its prescribed criteria for sound writing. One of the things that we hope that students will learn as they learn about writing is how to use all of the resources that are involved in our language system to express meanings, to be creative, to express emotion, to be persuasive, says Bloome, a professor of education at Vanderbilt University, in Nashville, Tenn. While this may include the so-called foundations, ... we need to be careful that any of those tools we use as teachers does not work against our pedagogical goals. The developers of the programs acknowledge the technology has artistic limitations. Criterion Online was intended to provide students with writing practice and feedback that wouldnt otherwise be practical in most classrooms, says Swartz. It is not intended to take the place of good instruction or exercises that foster creative writing. The ideal use of the technology is to let the computer do the dumb stuff, and let the teacher focus on the parts that require the thought and judgment of an experienced teacher, Swartz says. This computer cant read or think, and it cant evaluate the quality of ideas like a teacher can.
T ack r ing T ech T ends r

Student computer use grows, but teachers need training
By Susan E. Ansell & Jennifer Park
he rapid growth of school technology infrastructure has led to the increased availability and use of computers in schools. Most students now have access to computers and
both teachers and administrators technology skills, and three states test students technology skills. States have made strong efforts to increase student access to computers since Education Week began tracking student-to-computer ratios in 1998. To be sure, there have been solid gains in student access to instructional computers. But the truly dramatic change over this time has been providing students with Internet-connected computers. The ratio of students per Internet-connected computer improved from almost 20 students per computer in 1998 to 5.6 students per computer in 2002. Student access to instructional computers grew between 2001 and 2002 in all but four statesArizona, Maine, Minnesota, and New Hampshireaccording to Market Data Retrieval, or MDR, a market-research firm based in Shelton, Conn. Nationwide, there were 3.8 students per instructional computer in 2002, compared with 4.2 students in 2001. Two states Hawaii and Mississippiimproved their ratios of students to instructional computers by more than one student per computer.
the Internet in their classrooms, nearly all students have access somewhere in their schools, and a majority of teachers report using computers or the Internet for instructional purposes. In addition to students and staff members increased access to computers, many states have taken steps to provide guidelines for how to use educational technology more effectively. For example, 40 states and the District of Columbia have drawn up standards for teachers or administrators that include technology, and 41 states and the District of Columbia have technology standards for students. States are also increasing the use of technology in instruction by allowing for the creation of cyber charter schools and establishing statewide virtual schools. As it is, a few states have professional-development or licensure requirements that specifically address
44
At the same time, states have shown even more progress in student access to the Internet, improving the number of students per Internet-connected computer from 6.8 students per computer in 2001 to 5.6 pupils in 2002. Whats more, gaps between statewide access to computers and access in high-minority and highpoverty schools are closing across the country. In 2001, there were 8.1 students per Internet-connected computer in high-poverty schools, and 8.5 students per Internet-connected computer in high-minority schools. A year later, those ratios decreased to 6.3 and 6.7, respectively. Over the same period, 17 states reduced their ratios of students to Internet-connected computers by more than two students in high-minority schools. Connecticut made remarkable improvement in its high-minority schools, improving the ratio from 19.8 students in 2001 to 6.7 in 2002, according to MDR. Beyond those improvements, states have made advances in the quality of school computers and the speed of their Internet connections. A majority of instructional computers run operating system software such as Windows 95 or 98, and 43 percent are higher-quality computers such as Pentium IIs or higher, Power Macs or iMacs. Among schools with Internet access, 76 percent use high-speed connections.
Tracking Tech Trends
The Capacity Challenge

With almost universal access to computers and the Internet in schools, states are now facing the challenge of building schools capacities to use technology effectively. Most experts agree that increasing capacity de-
State aid for staff training is modest.

pends on enhancing the technology skills of teachers and administrators. This is supported by the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which requires states to allocate 25 percent of federal technology dollars to staff development. As it is, states have devoted the bulk of their technology funding to hardware and software improvements. Market Data Retrieval reports that almost 66 percent of school technology spending is projected to go to hardware, and a little more than 19 percent to software. Staff development is expected to capture 15 percent of most schools technology budgets, an increase from 14 percent in 2001. Although state funding for technology-related staff development remains low, teachers across the country are saying that is exactly what they need. Fewer than half, 42 percent, of novice teachers report feeling well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year of teaching, according to the U.S. Department of Educations 1999-2000 Schools and Staffing Survey, or SASS . And MDR data show that in 23 percent of schools across the country, at least half the teaching force was identified as beginners in using educational technology. Many states are trying to address educators technology skills through the creation of teacher or administrator standards that include techContinued on Page 48
Continued from Page 44 nology; 40 states and the District of Columbia have such standards. In addition to standards, some states have adopted technology requirements for initial licensure. For example, 13 states require teachers and/or administrators to complete technology-related coursework, and nine require them to pass technology-related assessments. At the same time, several states have enacted policies to improve veteran teachers technology skills. Seven require technology training or coursework for teacher or administrator recertification; and two statesKentucky and Washington require teachers or administrators to pass a technology test. Although the number of states requiring participation in technology-related professional development is relatively low, according to 1999-2000 SASS data, many teachers report voluntarily participating in professional-development programs. Data show that 70 percent of public school teachers said they had taken professional-development training on the use of instructional computers within a year of being surveyed. Rather than forcing school personnel to improve their technology skills using the proverbial stick, some states have chosen to dangle a carrot. Ten states currently offer professional or financial incentives for teachers to use educational technology, and 31 states provide such incentives for administrators. In addition to equipping schools with hardware and software and infusing technology into initial licensure requirements, recertification guidelines, and professional-development programs, many states are working to improve their schools technology capacity by more closely tracking what technology equipment they have and how it is used. Currently, 42 states conduct regular data collections on technology in schools.
48
Computer Use, Online Learning

Recent statistics on technology use in schools show positive trends in student and staff hardware and software use. For example, according to SASS, 69 percent of teachers report that their students use computers during class time. In 83 percent of schools, at least half the teachers use computers daily for planning, teaching, or both, up from 78 percent in 2001, according to MDR data. Also, in 73 percent of schools, at least half the teachers use the Internet for instruction. That is an increase from 69 percent in 2001. MDR data also reveal that teachers in high-poverty and high-minority schools were only slightly less likely than all teachers surveyed to report that they use computers or the Internet for instruction. In addition to high rates of computer and Internet use for planning and teaching, states are making progress in setting student standards that include technology. At present, 41 states and the District of Columbia have established standards for students that incorporate technology, an increase from 37 last year. Three states require students to be tested specifically on their technology skills. Over the past few years, states have also started to embrace the idea of incorporating online instruction into the standard curriculum, and some have crafted policies to guide schools in how they should use online instruction. For example, five states now require at least one face-to-face meeting between students in online courses and their teachers. And Alabama requires teachers of online courses to receive training in online instruction. In the past few years, some states have also moved toward allowing entire schools to function via the Internet: Sixteen states have established statewide virtual schools, and three more states are sponsoring pilot programs. In addition, 24 states allow for the creation of cyber charter schools independent public schools that provide education online.
ACCESS
Internet Access Improving
25
15
13.6
10
7.9 6.3
5
5.7
6.8 4.9 5.6 4.2 3.8
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
SOURCE: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2002, and published tabulations from earlier MDR surveys
45
Wiring Schools and Classrooms
U.S. public schools are approaching universal access to the Internet. In classrooms, rapid gains in Internet access in high-poverty schools over the past several years have narrowed the gap between those schools and wealthier schools.
100
95 89
98 94 77
99 97
80
78 65 79
87
89 64
79
60
50
Percent
62 53
51
60
40
35 27 38 38 31 14 18 3 2
1994
20
8 3
1995
14 5
1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001
School Internet accessall public schools School Internet accesshigh-poverty schools Classroom Internet accessall public schools Classroom Internet accesshigh-poverty schools
NOTE: For this chart, high-poverty schools are schools where 75 percent or more of the students are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Internet Access in U.S. Public Schools and Classrooms: 1994-2001
PDAs and Laptops

A small percentage of schools distribute handheld computers, also known as Personal Digital Assistants, for classroom use. Some schools also have home loaner laptop programs.
100
80 Percent of schools
60
40
20
18 7 3
Handheld PDAs for students
Laptop loan programs
Handheld PDAs for teachers
SOURCE: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2002
20 Students per computer
19.7
Internet-connected computers Instructional computers
CAPACITY
Not Highly Qualified
Very few secondary school computer science classes are taught by teachers with a major or minor in computer science. Even in classes as specialized as computer programming, only 19 percent of secondary school teachers nationwide have at least a minor in computer science.
100 Percent of computer science teachers with at least a minor in computer science
80
60
40
20
19 6
Computer awareness/applications Computer programming
7
Other computer science
47
SOURCE: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000
Finding Computer Science Teachers

Most schools with vacancies for computer science teachers in 2000 found the positions difficult to fill. 2% Could not fill the vacancy
28% Very difficult
34% Easy
36% Somewhat difficult
School Technology Coordinators

Schools use a variety of personnel to coordinate school technology efforts. In many schools, teachers have added the role to their full-time duties. Only 16 percent of schools have a fulltime technology coordinator on staff.
A full-time teacher who also has the title of coordinator A district-level coordinator A full-time schoollevel coordinator A library media specialist A teacher informally provides leadership to other teachers No one serves as this type of coordinator
21 17 16 14 9 7
A part-time teacher 4 The principal or another 4 school administrator Other 0
7
20 40 60 Percent of schools 80 100
NOTE: Percentages do not add up to 100 because of rounding. SOURCE: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000
USE
Playing or Learning?
In the summer between kindergarten and 1st grade, 80 percent of children from highincome families used their home computers on a weekly basis, compared with 60 percent of children from low-income families. There were also disparities in how those children used their home computers.
100
80 Percent of 1st graders who used computers
60
72 57 44
40
50
54
20
32
0 Playing games Educational purposes
1st graders from low-income families (bottom 20%) 1st graders from middle-income families (middle 60%) 1st graders from high-income families (top 20%)
SOURCE: Young Childrens Access to Computers in the Home and at School in 1999 and 2000, U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, March 2003
49
Virtual Instruction
Some states are offering students opportunities to take online courses. Of the 19 states that have statewide virtual schools, three statesArizona, Texas, and Wisconsinare in the pilot phase. Iowa has plans for an online school that will be fully operational in the fall of 2003.
State has established a virtual school (9) State allows for the creation of cyber charter schools (14) State has a virtual school and allows cyber charter schools (10) Neither (18)
Internet Use by Subject

While students use of the Internet in most subjects increases when they move from elementary school to middle and high school, use of the Internet in math sharply decreases. 51 50 49 34 46 40 47 34 15 28 13 5
0 20 40 60 Percent of students
Social Studies
English/Language Arts
Science
History
Math
Foreign Language
Ages 12 to 17 Ages 6 to 11
80 100
SOURCE: Grunwald Associates, Children, Families, and the Internet 2003, May 2003
Anal yzing the T ech E f f ect

Researchers examine whether technology has an impact on student achievement
By Melissa McCabe & Ronald A. Skinner
50
n a time of educational accountability and revenue shortfalls, the first question on the minds of policymakers seeking to trim already-lean school budgets often is: How does this program improve student achievement? In many research studies, the link between educational technology use and improved student achievement is uncertain, at best. There are just too many variables to control. And so, technology programs are often among the first victims of the budget knife. That has surely been the case in many districts and states this year. But researchers are continuing to look for connections between educational technology and student achievement. The North Central Regional Educational Laboratory, a nonprofit research organization based in Naperville, Ill., and known as NCREL, recently conducted a meta-analysis combining the results of 20 peer-reviewed studies published from 1997 to 2002. Similarly, the U.S. Department of Education commissioned SRI Internationals Center for Technology in Learning, a nonprofit corporation based in Menlo Park, Calif., to conduct a meta-analysis to assess the effectiveness of different types of educational software. The 20 studies scrutinized by NCREL ranged in size and in types of technology examined. Most were small-scale studies, with sample sizes
of fewer than 100 students. The meta-analysis standardized the results of the studies and determined a mean effect size of 0.30 for a combined sample of 4,314 students, which suggested that teaching and learning with technology had a small but positive effect on student outcomes when compared with traditional instruction. An effect size is an estimate of where the experimental or treatment group stands in comparison with the control group. An effect size of 0 indicates that there is no difference between the experimental and control groups, whereas a positive effect size indicates, in this case, that the group of students benefiting from instructional technology received higher scores than the control group of students. Many of the small-scale studies included in the NCREL analysis tried to determine the effect of technology on student achievement in specific subjects or on specific assignments. In one of the studies, Joseph Akpan of Morehead University in Kentucky and Thomas Andre of Iowa State University examined the use of computer-simulated frog dissection to improve students understanding of a frogs anatomy. They found that students who had performed computer-simulated dissections before actual dissections, as well as students who conducted simulated dissections only, learned significantly more about a frogs anatomy than did students who had performed only the physical dissections. Deborah Doty from Northern Kentucky University, Scott Popplewell from Ball State University, and Gregg Byers from Grissom Elementary School, both based in Muncie, Ind., conducted a study that examined the influence of interactive CD-ROM storybooks on reading comprehension. Students who read the conventional print books and students who read the CD - ROM storybooks of Robert Munschs Thomas Snowsuit did not differ significantly in their ability to retell the story orally. Students who read the CD-ROM storybooks scored higher on comprehension questions, however, than
Tracking New Advances

Little research has been done around classroom Internet use and its impact on student learning. That is so even though 87 percent of classrooms nationwide had Internet access by 2001, according to the Department of Education. Undoubtedly, experts say, the research needs to catch up with technological advances. Still, some researchers are attempting to gauge the academic effects of such technological changes. Austin Goolsbee and Jonathan Guryan from the University of Chicagos graduate school of business, writing for the National Bureau of Economic Research, analyzed the federal E-rate programs effect on access to technology and student achievement in every public school in California. Their report maintains that while the federal subsidies districts have been receiving since 1998 have increased access to the Internet in California schools, particularly poor schools, spending for the Internet had no measurable influence on student performance. The authors suggest some reasons for that lack of a connection, including the fact that it could be too early to investigate the impact of long-term investments in technology, or that improvements in student achievement could
51
States seek evidence of technologys academic impact.

be manifesting themselves in areas that might not be picked up by standardized testing. On top of the nearly $10 billion in E-rate funding since the programs inception, states have allocated a significant portion of their own resources to educational technology, and they have started to question returns on their investment. According to Market Data Retrieval, a Shelton, Conn.-based market research firm, schools spent a projected $5.6 billion on technology in 2001-02. A recent research review by WestEd, a nonprofit regional educational laboratory with headquarters in San Francisco, points out that schools and districts put a lot of money into educational technology before devising practical plans for how to use such technology to full advantage. The review offers several suggestions for how educators and policymakers could make the most of their technology purchases. The report suggests that the availability of technology alone cannot do much to compel change. Instead, to raise student achievement, its use should be supported by other improvement efforts, such as sufficient technical support, teacher technology training, and long-term planning.
Return on Investment
Some states have attempted to determine the effects of their instructional technology investments. A West Virginia study, conducted by the Santa Monica, Calif.-based Milken Exchange on Education Technology in 1999, probed the impact of the states Basic Skills/Computer Education program. The program was started in the 1990-91 school year and sought to improve the basic skills of West Virginia elementary students through the use of technology. The program used software that emphasized the states basic-skills goals, provided an adequate number of computers so that all pupils had easy and regular access, and offered training for teachers in the use of the computers and software. Although the program was implemented statewide, individual students
their peers who read the print versions. The SRI meta-analysis of 31 studies resulted in an effect size of 0.38, suggesting a somewhat stronger association between educational software and student achievement than in the NCREL meta-analysis. The SRI research project examined studies that focused on student improvement in mathematics and reading. It found that the effect of educational software on math achievement was a little larger than its effect on reading achievement. But it also noted that elementary and middle school pupils, as well as students with special reading needs, seemed to benefit the most from the use of educational software as part of reading instruction.
INVESTING IN TECHNO LOGY

Of schools projected $5.6 billion investment in technology for 2002, nearly two-thirds is devoted to computer hardware purchases.
19% Software
15% Staff development 66% Hardware
52
SOURCE: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2002
Tech Effect Sources

Akpan, J.P and Andre, T. (2000). Using a Computer Simulation . Before Dissection to Help Students Learn Anatomy. Journal of Computers in Mathematics and Science Teaching, 19, 297-313. Aleven, V.A.W.M.M., and Koedinger, K.R. (2002). An Effective Metacognitive Strategy: Learning by Doing and Explaining With a Computer-Based Cognitive Tutor. Cognitive Science, 26(2). Doty, D.E., Popplewell, S.R., and Byers, G.O. (2001). Interactive CDROM Storybooks and Young Readers Reading Comprehension. Journal of Research on Computing in Education, 33 (4), 374-383. (now Journal of Research on Technology in Education). Goolsbee, A. and Guryan, J. (2002, August). The Impact of Internet Subsidies in Public Schools, (NBER Working Paper No. 9090). National Bureau of Economic Research. Available from the National Bureau of Economic Research Web site at: www.nber.org/papers/w9090. Mann, D., Shakeshaft, C., Becker, J., and Kottkamp, R. (1999). West Virginia Story: Achievement Gains From a Statewide Comprehensive Instructional Technology Program. Milken Family Foundation. Available from the Milken Family Foundation Web site at: www.mff.org/publications/publications.taf?page=155. Murphy, R.F., Penuel, W.R., Means, B., Korbak, C., Whaley, A., and Allen, J.E. (2002, April). E-Desk: A Review of Recent Evidence on the Effectiveness of Discrete Educational Software. (SRI Project 11063). SRI International. Available from the SRI International Web site at: www.sri.com/policy/ctl/html/synthesis3.html. Office of Social and Economic Data Analysis (2003, January). Analysis of 2002 MAP Results for eMINTS Students. Available from the eMINTS Web site at: http://emints.more.net/evaluation/reports/map2002.pdf. Ringstaff, C. and Kelley, L. (2002). The Learning Return on Our Educational Technology Investment: A Review of Findings from Research. WestEd. Available from the WestEd Web site at: www.wested.org/online_pubs/learning_return.pdf. Silverstein, G., Frechtling, J., and Miyaoka, A. (2000, June). Evaluation of the Use of Technology in Illinois Public Schools: Final Report. Westat. Available from the Illinois state board of education Web site at: www.isbe.net/research/pdffiles/westat.PDF. Waxman, H.C., Connell, M.L., and Gray, J. (2002, December). A Quantitative Synthe-sis of Recent Research on the Effects of Teaching and Learning With Technology on Student Outcomes. North Central Regional Educational Laboratory (NCREL). Available from the NCREL Web site at: www.ncrel.org/tech/effects.
received varying amounts of each aspect of the program. After controlling for other variables, the study found that the more of each program component a student experienced, the more his or her score on the basic-skills test increased. The study also concluded that the West Virginia technology program accounted for as much as 11 percent of the students improved basicskills scores in one year. Whats more, students who lacked technology at home, came from poorer families, or tended not to do well in school often posted the greatest learning gains because of their participation in the program, the authors concluded. The Milken Exchange study went a step further and attempted to assess the cost-effectiveness of the West Virginia program. It did so by looking at the hypothetical cost of reducing class sizes in the state and comparing that step with the actual cost of the technology program. While the estimates were crude, they suggested that the technology program resulted in increased student achievement at a much lower cost, roughly $86 per student per year, compared with a statewide initiative to reduce class sizes that would have cost an estimated $636 per student per year. Meanwhile, some Missouri students and teachers are part of a technology initiative called eMINTS. The program helps elementary teachers develop a student-centered and inquiry-based approach to teaching through the use of multimedia and computer technology. A study of the programs second cohort of pupils and teachers showed that 4th graders performed significantly better on the 2002 Missouri Assessment Program tests compared with their peers in the same schools who did not participate in eMINTS. However, similar results were not found for the 3rd graders. Illinois also commissioned a study of technology, conducted in 2000, that included a look at technologys connection to student achievement in that state. The report by Westata Rockville, Md.-based research corporationfound that technology use had a small, but significant, impact on student achievement as measured by the Illinois testing program. The study warned, though, that results should be interpreted with caution and stressed that a schools socioeconomic status was a much stronger predictor of student performance than was technology use. Westats Illinois study used an additional approach to assess the impact of technology on student achievement. It surveyed principals and teachers on their perceptions of how strongly different technologies worked. A little more than half (56 percent) of the teachers surveyed believed that integrating learning technologies into the curriculum had improved achievement of the skills embedded in the Illinois Learning Standards. The teachers also indicated that technology had positively affected classroom practices and student engagement. The principals perceptions of technology use in the classroom closely paralleled those of the teachers. The principals indicated that multimedia and Internet-connected computers had mostly positive effects on their teachers classroom practices.
Beyond Test Scores

While it has proved difficult to determine whether the use of technology can really improve student achievement, some proponents of instructional technologies wonder if that is even a question educators and researchers should be asking. Beyond the obvious benefit of promoting a familiarity with technology that students will need for almost any type of employment, advocates argue that computers can become as much a part of learning as books, pencils, and chalkboards. And a direct effect on achievement isnt the only way technology can influence schools. New research from Pittsburghs Carnegie Mellon University examines how a computer-based Cognitive Tutora software program developed by Carnegie Learning Inc.is conducive to the use of different educational strategies. In this case, the researchers show how the program helps students explain problem-solving steps in geometry. Similarly, the eMINTS study in Missouri looked at the instructional methods of teachers within the program. It found that those teachers who best integrated inquiry-based practices and a student-centered approach in their technology-rich classrooms tended to have students who scored higher on assessments than those teachers who did not integrate such practices. In addition, data from a number of studies conducted in recent years have been used to determine the effect of technology on school climate and student engagement. For the most part, the use of technology seems to be associated with better attendance, more time on task, and fewer disciplinary referrals. Yet the link between educational technology use and higher student achievement remains tenuous.
Access to Technology
Instructional Computers
Students per instructional computer (2002) Students per instructional computer located in ... (2002) Percent of instructional computers that are ... (2002)
State Data Tables
Statewide
High-poverty schools
High-minority schools
Classrooms
Computer labs
Libraries/media centers
486 or less, or Apple II
586 or Mac non-Power
Pentium II or higher, Power Mac or iMac
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming U.S.
5.1 2.7 4.1 3.9 5.1 3.9 4.5 3.7 2.8 3.5 4.0 4.3 3.0 4.0 3.2 2.7 2.4 3.9 5.8 4.0 4.8 4.0 4.1 3.2 4.9 3.3 2.8 2.5 5.1 4.9 3.7 3.2 4.2 4.1 2.3 3.3 3.6 4.0 3.5 4.7 3.9 1.8 4.1 3.3 4.5 3.4 3.5 3.5 3.7 2.7 2.5 3.8
5.0 2.1 ? 3.7 5.3 3.8 4.6 2.8 ? 3.3 3.9 3.3 2.7 ? 3.5 4.0 2.9 3.7 5.6 3.6 5.0 4.1 4.8 2.6 4.5 3.8 2.4 2.6 6.5 ? 4.1 2.6 5.2 4.1 1.9 3.8 3.5 3.4 4.4 4.3 3.7 1.4 ? 3.4 3.8 4.6 3.6 ? 3.8 2.4 1.9 4.0
4.9 2.1 3.4 4.7 5.1 4.1 4.3 2.9 ? 3.2 3.8 4.1 ? 4.9 3.3 4.5 3.3 3.6 5.4 ? 4.8 3.8 5.2 2.9 4.8 3.8 2.0 2.4 5.7 ? 4.2 2.9 5.8 4.1 1.6 3.9 4.3 2.7 4.4 4.1 3.6 1.5 ? 3.5 4.0 ? 3.3 3.7 2.6 2.4 4.1 4.1
11.3 7.1 9.6 10.2 11.2 11.0 11.4 6.3 10.2 7.3 8.3 9.6 6.6 11.0 8.1 8.9 6.3 9.1 11.9 10.2 14.6 10.2 11.6 11.3 10.6 8.7 7.5 6.8 11.8 13.5 9.2 9.4 9.3 11.1 8.4 7.1 9.7 10.4 9.7 10.4 7.9 4.8 8.8 8.1 13.9 7.0 7.9 8.6 7.7 8.1 8.0 9.2
17.5 11.0 15.3 10.0 20.5 8.8 17.5 10.2 10.8 16.6 17.0 22.9 12.0 12.5 10.9 9.8 9.0 13.2 17.4 12.3 14.7 16.8 12.8 9.7 16.4 12.0 10.7 8.8 18.2 18.7 14.4 12.2 17.0 13.7 9.0 15.4 10.5 13.6 11.1 18.2 13.7 6.4 19.5 12.2 11.8 15.9 12.2 14.1 10.6 8.6 7.9 13.6
88.0 53.3 77.7 68.6 115.2 61.6 70.6 60.7 93.0 82.2 78.7 89.4 59.1 66.1 69.4 45.8 29.4 65.3 98.4 63.8 73.4 71.5 65.4 47.0 84.9 56.5 51.2 42.9 110.3 65.6 73.0 83.3 91.2 75.4 60.9 73.4 63.5 53.2 67.8 103.0 63.5 41.6 90.6 76.8 84.7 66.4 72.1 57.0 72.8 46.7 47.9 72.0
35 5 17 21 24 19 25 3 31 28 21 14 9 19 21 21 13 31 14 4 8 17 26 25 17 20 18 20 9 7 14 11 24 25 2 14 33 17 16 11 31 11 27 24 26 2 17 23 17 20 10 18
45 14 45 27 42 44 49 11 33 50 36 21 21 34 38 38 22 43 17 10 9 35 48 48 25 41 30 33 13 13 39 23 40 39 5 37 49 42 34 13 48 20 41 55 46 4 34 69 16 40 15 34
32 24 63 22 68 59 56 14 61 63 38 52 26 46 43 57 36 35 15 12 13 57 60 77 17 42 30 59 17 18 62 35 55 44 9 48 55 37 45 25 48 44 53 63 62 3 45 61 13 69 23 43
54
? Sample size was too small for a reliable estimate.
E d u c a t i o n W e e k ' s Te c h n o l o g y C o u n t s / M a y 8 , 2 0 0 3
Percent of instructional computers that are ... (2002)
Students per instructional multimedia computer (2002)
Students per instructional multimedia computer located in ... (2002)
Windows 3.1
Windows 95 or 98
Statewide
Classrooms
Computer labs
14 6 7 13 8 9 8 3 18 14 17 14 11 10 15 6 12 20 14 10 13 5 10 5 15 10 11 16 13 6 7 11 10 15 10 6 13 8 7 14 14 7 15 10 15 11 12 10 16 8 22 11
79 71 66 77 71 75 74 77 63 73 74 62 74 77 75 75 71 71 77 73 73 78 77 73 68 80 76 66 78 77 70 73 74 77 77 83 72 77 73 75 81 69 77 75 75 79 75 66 76 74 65 75
6 19 25 8 20 13 16 19 17 11 8 22 13 12 9 16 15 8 7 14 13 15 11 20 15 8 11 16 8 14 21 13 15 6 10 9 13 13 18 10 4 23 6 14 8 8 12 22 6 17 10 13
7.0 5.9 6.6 6.1 7.6 7.0 6.9 4.0 5.2 5.6 5.7 7.7 4.1 6.1 4.9 5.1 4.3 6.1 8.5 6.3 8.2 5.9 5.7 5.9 6.8 4.9 5.3 4.7 7.0 7.4 5.4 5.6 6.3 6.2 4.5 4.9 5.7 7.3 5.4 8.3 5.0 2.7 6.4 5.1 8.1 5.1 5.2 7.0 5.0 4.4 5.4 5.9
7.2 5.1 ? 5.8 8.6 7.7 6.7 3.0 ? 5.6 6.0 6.0 3.6 ? 7.2 7.2 5.3 6.3 7.9 5.6 12.4 6.8 7.2 5.2 6.7 5.5 7.6 5.1 10.3 ? 6.5 5.1 9.3 6.6 2.8 5.0 5.9 6.5 6.9 9.4 5.0 1.5 ? 5.6 7.5 6.0 5.6 ? 6.1 3.7 3.5 6.5
6.3 4.4 5.7 6.3 8.1 7.9 6.5 3.4 ? 5.5 5.6 7.6 ? 7.7 6.7 6.9 5.5 5.4 7.8 ? 9.6 5.2 7.3 6.0 6.4 5.8 5.7 4.7 8.3 ? 6.3 5.6 10.4 6.2 2.1 5.7 6.5 4.1 7.4 9.3 4.9 2.3 ? 5.6 7.7 ? 5.2 7.3 7.2 4.1 5.8 6.6
11.6 11.2 11.4 11.6 12.7 15.5 12.4 6.0 9.4 9.4 9.2 11.3 7.7 11.2 10.7 11.3 8.6 11.6 12.5 12.7 16.4 10.1 12.7 15.9 10.3 10.0 10.6 9.5 13.4 12.9 9.3 11.2 9.9 12.7 9.4 7.9 9.9 14.5 11.1 9.5 8.7 5.1 10.7 9.5 21.0 6.3 9.3 13.2 8.6 10.1 11.6 10.8
18.7 14.3 18.6 11.4 24.0 16.9 18.5 12.7 11.4 19.8 19.8 18.8 11.2 16.0 12.3 11.8 11.4 14.4 21.0 12.6 19.7 18.8 13.6 11.8 17.9 13.0 12.3 10.7 18.4 18.9 13.4 13.3 18.6 15.0 10.1 19.0 12.4 15.4 12.5 16.7 14.2 6.4 23.4 14.4 15.9 23.6 14.7 19.0 11.2 9.4 12.5 15.8
84.7 73.6 99.0 53.6 128.6 79.8 69.0 72.1 102.7 91.3 78.6 120.4 57.3 87.1 76.8 59.1 55.9 67.3 100.8 65.9 76.6 71.2 63.6 60.0 90.1 59.6 57.4 43.4 118.7 66.6 76.2 77.8 86.9 79.0 65.2 83.6 63.4 76.1 69.9 84.9 60.6 39.7 89.5 79.3 126.0 61.6 72.2 86.2 76.5 53.9 63.0 78.8
See Page 92 for data sources and notes.
55
State Data Tables
Windows 2000 or NT
Internet
Students per Internet-connected computer (2002) Students per Internet-connected computer located in ... (2002) Percent of schools with Internet access (2002)
State Data Tables
Statewide
Classrooms
Computer labs
Statewide
7.4 4.3 5.9 5.1 7.7 5.9 7.3 3.6 5.4 5.8 6.0 6.7 4.4 5.8 4.9 4.4 4.1 5.5 8.2 5.5 7.7 6.0 6.0 5.1 5.6 4.9 4.7 3.7 6.6 6.7 5.4 5.4 6.4 6.5 4.1 4.6 5.2 5.8 5.4 6.0 4.8 2.6 6.2 5.0 6.2 4.9 4.9 5.8 4.9 4.1 3.9 5.6
7.1 3.9 ? 5.1 8.4 6.7 7.0 3.1 ? 6.1 6.1 5.8 4.3 ? 7.1 7.4 5.1 5.4 8.0 5.4 10.6 7.0 7.7 4.6 5.5 5.9 5.4 4.2 9.6 ? 6.6 5.2 10.0 6.8 2.8 5.1 5.2 6.0 6.3 6.5 4.9 2.2 ? 5.3 5.2 5.1 5.4 ? 5.9 4.2 4.1 6.3
7.0 3.6 5.4 5.4 8.4 6.5 6.7 3.6 ? 6.1 5.9 6.9 ? 8.2 5.6 12.3 5.9 7.5 7.7 ? 9.6 5.2 7.8 5.7 6.3 6.5 4.9 4.3 7.9 ? 6.6 5.6 11.0 7.0 2.0 5.6 6.0 4.3 6.9 5.9 5.0 2.0 ? 5.6 5.9 ? 4.6 6.6 6.1 4.6 5.2 6.7
13.3 8.4 11.2 12.1 14.0 13.3 15.2 6.9 9.9 10.0 10.3 10.6 8.6 12.3 10.2 9.7 8.8 11.4 16.1 13.1 18.3 11.4 14.0 13.2 9.4 9.8 10.1 8.5 11.6 14.4 10.5 11.2 11.3 14.0 9.4 7.5 11.5 12.2 11.9 11.2 9.1 5.3 10.6 9.4 15.8 8.8 9.3 11.7 9.6 9.4 8.4 11.1
23.3 13.1 18.3 12.3 25.7 14.9 21.6 10.3 16.1 20.8 21.9 28.9 13.0 15.6 13.0 11.3 11.1 14.9 23.4 13.2 18.9 18.8 14.7 11.9 20.0 14.1 12.4 9.0 20.6 19.6 16.4 14.1 21.0 16.4 10.2 17.3 13.2 17.1 13.4 18.0 14.9 6.9 22.3 14.4 13.1 19.7 15.3 17.8 13.2 10.0 9.6 16.3
106.2 65.9 90.3 62.6 126.7 70.6 86.8 64.5 96.3 100.7 95.3 114.4 67.1 74.5 80.1 56.6 56.8 75.0 122.9 74.9 81.7 78.9 72.0 53.5 97.7 57.9 66.1 45.0 147.5 80.2 80.5 87.7 106.4 89.9 59.6 75.4 67.6 61.1 71.8 112.3 69.4 42.4 86.7 82.6 95.5 58.9 74.4 68.1 87.3 53.5 54.7 81.2
93 94 94 95 87 94 97 100 87 94 94 96 98 93 97 97 97 95 93 97 93 87 94 97 94 96 96 97 85 95 89 95 89 97 99 92 94 96 90 88 97 98 95 94 99 94 95 94 97 96 98 94
94 96 ? 94 88 91 100 ? ? 96 96 100 98 ? 98 96 97 96 94 100 89 92 94 100 93 97 100 100 86 ? 89 96 87 98 97 91 96 98 91 73 98 100 ? 95 99 100 98 ? 99 98 95 94
92 96 95 92 88 95 98 100 ? 94 95 96 ? 92 96 91 93 88 93 ? 92 91 93 94 95 97 100 100 88 ? 89 96 86 97 100 87 96 100 92 69 96 100 ? 95 100 ? 93 92 ? 98 75 92
56
PDAs 1 and Laptops

Percent of schools with Internet access from one or more classrooms (2002) Among schools with at least one classroom connected to the Internet, the percent of classrooms with Internet access (2002) Among schools with Internet access, the percent that connect through a T1, T3, digital satellite, or cable modem (2002) Percent of schools with handheld PDAs for teachers (2002) Percent of schools with handheld PDAs for students (2002) Percent of schools with home loaner laptop programs (2002)
Statewide
Statewide
90 93 89 90 85 91 85 100 83 89 90 96 97 89 92 93 93 94 88 94 84 85 87 95 92 90 93 97 88 94 85 92 83 89 96 93 88 93 86 88 95 96 96 90 97 97 91 93 95 92 95 90
1
86 86 ? 85 81 91 71 67 ? 85 87 93 94 ? 83 80 90 89 81 87 79 79 83 86 82 86 84 90 76 ? 81 90 77 87 90 88 86 80 82 73 92 83 ? 87 79 91 86 ? 86 83 89 85
86 84 88 75 81 93 76 88 ? 83 88 90 ? 80 87 80 87 71 81 ? 85 83 80 90 82 83 83 100 83 ? 80 88 76 85 89 86 84 86 82 78 91 82 ? 86 85 ? 88 87 ? 79 67 84
90 88 88 84 85 89 83 98 65 87 89 89 93 86 92 94 90 95 78 94 75 82 86 96 86 91 93 96 90 87 85 92 75 91 92 90 89 90 86 86 92 97 90 91 95 88 91 91 92 88 97 88
67 63 80 72 70 80 66 98 76 81 79 87 75 83 77 80 70 72 72 67 75 68 72 87 79 85 45 80 68 56 68 69 80 71 78 85 83 75 74 63 84 72 52 83 88 47 79 84 76 79 57 76
66 58 ? 68 71 82 58 100 ? 77 79 88 71 ? 67 62 72 66 73 57 65 65 64 81 80 77 50 75 72 ? 61 70 75 63 72 78 82 76 66 86 79 65 ? 82 86 27 79 ? 75 75 7 73
72 56 78 63 73 84 65 100 ? 77 83 86 ? 86 63 50 77 50 75 ? 74 73 69 76 83 73 73 75 66 ? 59 69 76 65 88 75 81 83 66 100 78 60 ? 81 88 ? 78 81 ? 72 ? 75
5 12 8 5 6 5 4 ? 7 12 6 8 7 8 8 6 9 7 3 7 6 7 8 8 5 8 6 10 4 4 6 7 8 7 5 6 7 3 7 0 10 8 4 9 5 6 8 6 3 7 10 7
3 1 3 2 3 4 1 ? ? 5 3 0 3 3 3 2 3 5 2 5 3 4 3 4 3 4 4 4 2 0 3 6 3 3 2 4 4 0 3 0 7 4 1 3 4 0 2 2 3 3 6 3
15 39 20 7 15 17 22 ? ? 21 19 ? 18 17 12 24 23 17 13 11 5 11 16 15 6 29 35 23 ? ? 21 35 19 15 19 14 20 13 18 ? 25 30 9 18 7 ? 23 22 21 20 ? 18
57
A PDA, or Personal Digital Assistant, is a handheld computing device.
State Data Tables
Capacity to Use Technology

Data
State regularly conducts data collection on technology in schools (2003)
Personnel
Percent of schools with a full-time district or school-level ... (2000)
Computer maintenance/ technicalsupport person
Teacher Training
State standards for teachers include technology (2003) Requirements for initial teacher licensure include ... (2003)
Technology training/ coursework
State Data Tables
Technology coordinator
A technology test
State requires technology professional development for teachers (2003)
Percent of teachers who participated in professional development on the use of computers for instruction in the last 12 months (2000)
High-poverty schools High-minority schools
Statewide
23 26 32 42 18 33 38 27 24 30 44 38 35 40 47 29 38 28 16 47 22 43 36 35
43 24 56 56 37 44 54 57 20 44 64 30 56 46 68 49 47 50 33 64 38 52 52 56 64 51 22 26 44 52 57 45 56 47 29 54 36 41 54 52 45 50 44 57 49 42 57 44 42 58 41 49
2 2003-04
3
72 68 71 58 60 65 75 63 63
1
75 64 63 58 60 53 66 ? 61 68 68 62 84 76 61 59 79 75 69 64 43 62 52 52 74 60 73 59 68 82 67 69 52 82 86 65 73 68 70 46 69 82 63 72 68 ? 83 61 75 57 72 66
3
78 57 64 45 63 60 64 ? 62 61 66 60 ? 75 70 ? 72 96 66 ? 53 65 46 52 72 48 70 74 72 ? 69 65 48 81 72 71 77 ? 82 44 76 79 56 76 52 ? 84 54 ? 48 ? 66
58
68 2003-04
1
67 61 82 79 72 67 77
74 69 59
64 68 68 63 70
42
1
50 38 19 18 31 39 38 39 37 32 21 38 24 22 44 33 23 37 27 41 24 44 38 21 8 39 37 33
63 73 66 73
82 74 65 62
81 84 71 75 62
34 11 8
2
74 52 68 83 71 80 72 58 85 62 77 75 73 12 70
? Sample size was too small for a reliable estimate. Georgia requires either technology-related coursework or the passing of a technology test. Required only for elementary school teachers. Ohio requires either coursework or a demonstration of competency, but not a specific technology test.
Teacher Proficiency
Percent of novice teachers who felt well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year (2000) Percent of schools where at least half the teachers are beginners when it comes to using technology (2002)
Administrator Training
State standards for administrators include technology (2003) Requirements for initial administrator licensure include ... (2003)
Technology training/ coursework
Incentives
State requires technology professional development for administrators (2003) State offers professional or financial incentives for teachers or administrators to use technology (2003)
Teachers Administrators
47 46 34 43 39 44 43 44 36 47 48 26 54 42 39 46 51 41 39 38 31 38 41 39 38 43 42 41 25 38 42 45 39 39 44 45 40 54 53 41 46 52 47 39 33 55 60 43 45 32 50 42
4 5
22 ? 37 18 32 25 ? ? ? 28 29 ? ? 17 21 8 30 16 27 ? 21 15 23 22 ? 19 ? 10 ? ? 24 ? 28 24 ? 34 26 22 13 ? 17 ? 34 23 23 ? 15 27 ? 15 ? 23
2003-04
5
Alabama Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado
Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia Florida
59
Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina
2003-04
2003-04
North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon
Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington
31 3 3 6
4
West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming U.S.

10
31
Required only for principals. Required only for principals of schools identified as low-performing.
State Data Tables
A technology test
Use of Technology
Standards
State State tests standards students on for students technology include standards technology (2003) (2003)
Instructional Computers
Percent of teachers whose students use computers during class time (2000) Percent of schools where at least half the teachers use a computer daily for planning and/or teaching (2002)
Internet
Percent of schools where at least half the teachers use the Internet for instruction (2002)
State Data Tables
Statewide
Statewide
Statewide
2003-04
71 77 68 58 68 75
74 81 74 61 70 75 59 ? 65 76 75 74 81 64 69 66 76 81 71 72 53 51 64 69 65 72 72 73 75 64 74 73 60 75 75 80 73 78 60 61 74 85 77 68 72 ? 75 80 76 74 87 70
71 84 69 49 69 73 58 ? 64 67 70 73 ? 62 69 ? 70 88 70 ? 52 49 56 68 64 58 74 87 79 ? 64 69 56 75 66 74 70 ? 68 59 72 84 63 68 66 ? 82 70 ? 77 ? 67
83 87 92 87 77 82 81 75 60 79 89 79 89 83 76 90 94 94 61 91 88 74 83 92 78 85 59 83 91 71 71 75 80 86 93 85 75 90 80 64 79 91 82 85 79 90 96 85 81 84 88 83
77 ? ? 78 76 81 ? ? ? 76 89 86 89 ? 63 67 93 93 64 83 75 60 75 70 77 80 50 88 ? ? 55 80 66 82 ? 76 75 91 65 50 70 ? ? 83 77 ? 100 ? 67 69 ? 78
82 ? 95 92 74 92 ? ? ? 72 87 ? ? 79 67 ? 100 ? 65 ? 78 56 69 75 69 67 ? ? ? ? 59 82 59 77 ? 67 69 ? 71 ? 63 ? ? 81 67 ? 100 92 ? 75 ? 76
74 85 70 70 66 71 65 67 68 63 72 65 76 77 68 80 82 83 71 80 68 64 72 78 78 77 76 84 71 69 68 73 65 73 86 78 68 72 69 71 81 88 73 75 72 76 81 68 79 79 82 73
75 90 ? 67 61 55 51 ? ? 58 66 74 66 ? 70 67 83 85 72 86 68 57 63 71 76 68 63 74 50 ? 65 75 57 71 90 68 68 67 62 25 78 91 ? 72 74 70 68 ? 75 62 83 68
76 92 65 68 60 58 48 83 ? 56 69 66 ? 65 71 63 76 70 71 ? 63 60 63 64 75 62 58 57 56 ? 63 74 50 68 100 67 74 55 58 14 81 90 ? 69 55 ? 74 58 100 59 50 65
63 57 66 71 70 74 77 71 75 73 73 77 72 72 62 59 69 71 63
60
2003-04 42 3 2004-05
67 73 75 75 69 66 70 62 72 75 71 72 73 62 67 71 77 71 70 62 71 77 73 79 73 78 69
E-learning
Percent of schools where at least half the teachers have school-based e-mail addresses (2001) State has established a virtual high school (2003) State allows cyber charter schools (2003) State requires teachers of online courses to receive training in online instruction (2003) State requires at least one face-to-face meeting between students in online courses and their teachers (2003)
Statewide
100 82 90 69 89 48 100 63 81 81 96 100 80 91 94 86 98 77 98 74 65 80 97 64 80 79 96 76 88 80 79 62 83 94 91 78 99 78 94 88 91 77 88 95 88 90 89 77 89 97 83

1
100 ? 85 65 64 33 ? ? 82 69 100 100 ? 95 89 94 100 72 100 57 60 60 82 60 57 89 100 100 ? 50 77 29 85 100 92 74 100 ? 100 87 91 ? 87 90 ? 94 ? 75 88 100 79
100 78 64 66 69 25 ? ? 73 71 ? ? 48 100 50 75 ? 72 ? 69 63 56 80 57 45 ? ? 100 ? 60 75 30 78 ? 95 65 ? 67 100 83 100 62 81 86 ? 93 71 ? 83 ? 72
Pilot
Alaska Arizona Arkansas California Colorado Connecticut Delaware District of Columbia
2003-04
Florida Georgia Hawaii Idaho Illinois Indiana Iowa
61
Kansas Kentucky Louisiana Maine Maryland Massachusetts Michigan Minnesota Mississippi Missouri Montana Nebraska
Nevada New Hampshire New Jersey New Mexico New York North Carolina
North Dakota Ohio Oklahoma Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina South Dakota Tennessee
Pilot
Texas Utah Vermont Virginia Washington
Pilot 16 24 1 5
West Virginia Wisconsin Wyoming U.S.

Budget cuts have limited the capacity of the New Mexico Virtual School and forced it to rely on federal funds.
State Data Tables
77
79
88
Alabama
State of the States

State of the States
The following summaries provide snapshots of computer-based testing programs under way in the states. Some states have been more aggressive than others in using computers to test children or providing online resources students can use to prepare for state exams. The snapshots give highlights of those efforts. In those states that havent done as much with technology-based assessment, the summaries examine other efforts they have made to improve the uses of educational technology.
Alabama
State Education Agency Web Site: www.alsde.edu State Education Agency Technology Contact: Melinda Maddox (334) 242-9594 mmaddox@alsde.edu Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 726,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 47,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 5.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.3 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $136,774,000
62
Turner says. Next year, the state aims to use the approach for all K-2 students. In addition, the state is using a similar approach to pilot an alternative assessment to determine whether special education students have met the goals outlined in their individualized education plans, or IEPs. For both, Turner says, the main advantage is that feedback is received almost immediately. Meanwhile, education technology funding in the state has remained flat. The main funding source calculates aid by providing $181 per teacher. Schools may combine the money or allow individual teachers to spend it as they choose for technology-related purposes for their classrooms. The state also is continuing several other projects, including the Alabama Virtual Library, which provides public schools and libraries free access to Internet resources; an annual educational technology conference for teachers; and Technology in Motion, which provides trainers who travel around the state showing teachers how to use technology more effectively in their classrooms. Alabama also has an online high school. This school year, it served 1,155 students in 74 schools, including both students who took credit courses and those who took remedial courses that do not provide full academic credit. State officials report making progress in connecting schools to the Internet. More than 90 percent of schools in Alabama now have Internet access, according to Market Data Retrieval, a Shelton, Conn., market research firm. ERIK W. ROBELEN
program manager for the Alaska Department of Education and Early Development. Over the next year, the agency hopes to establish stronger cooperation among school districts that could benefit from distance education, she says. Of the 509 public schools in Alaska, more than 80 have 25 or fewer students.
Alaska
100%
77 68 46
0%
Novice teachers who felt well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year Teachers who participated in professional development on the use of computers for instruction in the past 12 months Teachers whose students use computers during class time
Alabama has no immediate plans to conduct standardized tests online, though the state is finding ways to work computers into the assessment process. This school year, teachers in about 400 public elementary schools used computers to help gauge
Alaska
State Education Agency Web Site: www.educ.state.ak.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Sara Chambers (907) 465-8703 sara_chambers@eed.state.ak.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 134,000
Alabama
100%
Were looking to deliver coursework to schools that are basically in the one-room-schoolhouse model, where one teacher may be teaching all grades, Chambers adds. While Alaskas central concern in the testing arena is meeting the No Child Left Behind Acts student-achievement requirements, the state has not ruled out having students take standardized exams on computers in the near future, says Mark Leal, the director of assessment for the state education department. He says the state will consider plans that call for computerized exams, as it prepares to take bids from companies to help SEAN CAVANAGH oversee its testing programs.
72
71
Number of Public School Teachers: 8,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.7 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 7.1
47
Arizona
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ade.state.az.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Hayford Gyampoh (602) 542-7392 hgyampo@ade.az.gov Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 904,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 46,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.6 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $222,817,000
0%
E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $62,999,000
students reading ability in grades K-2, according to Gloria A. Turner, the coordinator of student assessment for the Alabama Department of Education. At that age, she explains, pupils dont actually take the tests themselves. Instead, teachers work with each child to administer the reading exams, then report the results online and get back the score and a report on the pupils reading ability almost immediately. The teachers are actually inputting data that theyve gathered from the students,
While students in Alaska dont yet take standardized state exams on computers, other technology advances could come to play a major role in classroom teaching, if top elected officials and others there have their way. Newly inaugurated Gov. Frank H. Murkowski, a Republican, told state lawmakers in January that he would push for more distance-learning opportunities to help students and teachers in the states vast, remote districts. While those proposals are still taking shape, they would probably focus on boosting student access to Internet, e-mail, and other computer resources, the governors spokesman says. State officials also see distance learning as a way to help teachers improve their skills and pick up new professional credentialsa requirement of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, notes Sara Chambers, the education technology
Arizonas budget woes may rule out any new school technology initiatives, but a $140 million project begun in 2001 to connect classrooms to the Internet is nearing completion. Students First, a project run by the Arizona
42
Teachers whose students use computers during class time

0%
Arizona
100%
Vital Statistics on U.S. Publ Schools ic

71
Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 47,576,000

68
Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $9,753,954,000
63
Number of Public School Teachers: 2,988,000

34
Students per Instructional Computer: 3.8
0%
Pre-K-12 Enrollment (2000-01): U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Early Estimates of Public Elementary and Secondary Education Statistics: School Year 2001-2002," February 2001. The figure includes students enrolled at a school or local education agency on the school day closest to October 1, 2000. Membership includes all students in prekindergarten through grade 12 and ungraded classes. Number of Teachers (2000-01): U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, "Early Estimates of Public Elementary and Secondary Education Statistics: School Year 2000-2001," February 2001. The figure includes all professional staff members who provide instruction to students and maintain daily student-attendance figures for a group or class at any of the levels from prekindergarten through grade 12 and ungraded classes.
Students per Instructional Computer (2001-02): Market Data Retrieval, "Technology in Education 2002." Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms (2001-02): Market Data Retrieval, "Technology in Education 2002." E-rate Funding (2003): Unpublished tabulations from the Schools and Libraries Division of the Universal Service Administration Company. The federal E-rate program provides discounts on telecommunications services, Internet access, and internal connections, with priority given to schools and libraries that serve poorer students or are located in rural areas. Since the beginning of the program in January 1998, a total of more than $9.75 billion has been awarded. The dollar figure for each state is the total funding awarded to schools and libraries through year four of the program, March 6, 2003, rounded to the nearest $100. Updates on how much each state has been awarded are posted at: www.sl.universalservice.org.
only a vague plan to do so at some future date. We have not done enough research on computer-based testing to determine exactly when it can become operational, says Ron Carriveau, the departments associate superintendent for standards and assessment. He adds that state officials are working on a five-year plan that will address computer-based testing, among other topics. The agency is also working to develop a Webbased format for linking standards, sample test items, and instructional support.
DARCIA HARRIS BOWMAN & ANDREW TROTTER
Arkansas
State Index
State Education Agency Web Site: arkedu.state.ar.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Jim Boardman (501) 371-5005 jboardman@arkedu.k12.ar.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 448,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 31,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.9 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $79,933,000 Alabama . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Alaska . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..62 Arizona . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 Arkansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 California . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Colorado . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .64 Connecticut . . . . . . . . . . . . .65 Delaware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..66 District of Columbia . . . . . . ..66 Florida . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Georgia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .67 Hawaii . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Idaho . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .68 Illinois . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..69 Indiana . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Iowa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Kansas . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .71 Kentucky . . . . . Louisiana . . . . . Maine . . . . . . . Maryland . . . . . Massachusetts . Michigan . . . . . Minnesota . . . . Mississippi . . . . Missouri . . . . . . Montana . . . . . Nebraska . . . . . Nevada . . . . . . New Hampshire New Jersey . . . New Mexico . . . New York . . . . . North Carolina . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .72 .72 .72 .74 .74 .76 .76 .76 .78 .78 .78 .79 .79 .80 .80 .80 .82 North Dakota . Ohio . . . . . . . Oklahoma . . . Oregon . . . . . Pennsylvania . Rhode Island . South Carolina South Dakota . Tennessee . . . Texas . . . . . . . Utah . . . . . . . Vermont . . . . . Virginia . . . . . . Washington . . West Virginia . Wisconsin . . . Wyoming . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .82 .83 .84 .84 .84 .85 .85 .86 .86 .88 .88 .88 .89 .90 .90 .91 .91
When most students in Arkansas hunker down for end-of-course exams, they sharpen
State of the States
School Facilities Board, has endured political controversy, a cutback, and a recent accounting scandal that has embroiled Qwest Communications Inc., the company in charge of the wiring. But Denver-based Qwest and facilities-board officials say wiring and equipment will be installed in the final schools this summer, giving all students access to a password-protected collection of educational resources and software applications on the Internet. Legislators cut state spending in a special session last November to partially close a fiscal 2003 spending gap of $500 million, out of a total budget of $6.2 billion. The fiscal 2004 budget deficit is expected to be about $1 billion. State education officials say no technology initiatives were axed because of budget constraints, but they also say no major new programs are planned. Currently, the department does not administer state standardized tests via computers, and has
United States
100%
Novice teachers who felt well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year Teachers who participated in professional development on the use of computers for instruction in the past 12 months
70
69
64
their No. 2 pencils and get to work. But during a trial run two years ago, a few thousand students in career and technical programs were given the tests on computers. And, while there was some grumbling about the change, the state decided to end the paper-andpencil tests for all students in career and technical programs this school year and give end-ofcourse exams online. Weve had a lot of struggles, but also some real successes, says John Davidson, the deputy director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Education. With all the troubles and struggles, were committed to doing testing online. This is the first school year that all high school career and technical students have taken the exams online, and 7,000 classrooms are taking part. Arkansas online multiple choice test is provided through a program called Question Mark. Even with the expected first-year kinks in the program, Davidson says he sees a bright future for online testing. He adds that online testing saves the state about $75,000 a year, students see their results immediately, and educators can react to results much faster than before. With paper-and-pencil tests, it would take us two years to change curriculum frameworks, he says. Now we can do that in two weeks. Separately, the states major technology initiative is Environmental and Spatial Technology, or
Number of Public School Teachers: 305,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 5.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $1,456,127,000
lessons related to technology, that schools will let technology equipment fall into disrepair, and that there will be less focus on a field that has been a critical part of Californias economy for JOETTA L. SACK more than a decade.
Colorado
State Education Agency Web Site: www.cde.state.co.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Eric Feder (303) 866-6859 feder_e@cde.state.co.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 742,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 43,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.9
State of the States
Facing one of the most dire state budget shortfalls in the nation, California has stripped funding for many educational technology programs. But the state is still aiming to help school districts integrate technology into the classroom by providing more opportunities for distance learning. Under a pilot program set to begin this spring, 40 high schools will be given more money for online courses; enrollment figures based on average daily attendance will be used to calculate funding.
California
100%
Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.0 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $82,042,000
68 60 39
Arkansas
100% 0%
Novice teachers who felt well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year 58 43 58 Teachers who participated in professional development on the use of computers for instruction in the past 12 months Teachers whose students use computers during class time
0%
EAST is a project-based, service-learning program that allows students to work in groups and use technology to tackle real-world problems. At Cedarville High School in Cedarville, Ark., for example, the mayor approached the schools EAST lab about helping the town design a complex that will include a city hall, a fire station, and a park. Students collaborated with engineers, a construction company, the highway department, and others as they worked on the project. The EAST program, which has been used in other states such as Hawaii, Illinois, and Mississippi, has been growing in popularity since it was founded in Arkansas in 1996 in one school. Today, over 100 schools in Arkansas use the program. JOHN GEHRING
EAST.
California
State Education Agency Web Site: www.cde.ca.gov State Education Agency Technology Contact: Wayne Shimizu (916) 322-5894 wshimizu@cde.ca.gov Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 6,248,000
Previously, schools had to raise money locally or privately for such endeavors. A lot of high schools in the state are using online courses, says Jordan M. Brandman, a policy analyst for the California secretary of educations office. This would give districts that already have these programs going additional funding to expand, and furthermore would [give funding to] school districts who want to get involved. Most of those courses, he says, are in subjects such as government, economics, or social studies. But some high schools are experimenting with courses in mathematics and Spanish. The state is also in the process of evaluating its Tech-to-Teachers program, which helps technology workers, many of whom have been laid off in this sagging economy, become teachers. Up to this point, California has not used any sort of computer-based testing for state assessments, says Nancy Sullivan, the states education technology director. She was unaware of any district efforts to do so, as one of Californias challenges is that most schools do not have enough computers to take part in such a project. And with the states budget crisis, that is unlikely to change. Already, the state has cut funding for most technology programs, including grants to schools for installing technology, and grants for professional development for teachers in grades 4-8. Under a proposal by Gov. Gray Davis, a Democrat, funding for the remaining technology programs could be consolidated into a block grant in next years budget. As it is, the state will rely primarily on federal funding for technology to help maintain existing programs, Sullivan says. Faced with those budget problems, Sullivan worries that teachers could be less likely to plan
Dozens of its school districts are experimenting with computer-based testing, but Colorado has yet to try online assessments statewide. State officials are hoping that a standardized writing test to be piloted online this spring will shed light on the security and validity of such exams. Whos taking the test, and when are they taking the test? asks Eric Feder, the director of educational telecommunications for the state education department. Is the test secure? Can somebody hack into it? There are a lot of issues around this. Given such issues, students wont participate in the pilot. Instead, school employees will enter answers from previous writing testsadministered and graded by humans, not machines into the online version, and then compare both scores for accuracy. Whether each of Colorados 178 districts has the infrastructure to support online exams is also a concern, says Carolyn Haug, the education departments director of assessment. Yet at least 49
Colorado
100%
75 65 44
0%
of them are using technology from the Portland, Ore.-based Northwest Evaluation Association to gauge student progress more frequently and more quickly than they had in the past. The multiplechoice exams automatically adjust their level of difficulty based on every answer, letting teachers track the pace at which each pupil is learning.
In the 2,800-student Elizabeth school district southeast of Denver, about 1,900 students in grades 3-10 have taken district assessments electronically every fall and spring since 2001. The assessments are aligned with state standards. A short version of the testalso given to new students before they are assigned to the appropriate classroomasks general questions in reading, language usage, and mathematics; a long version covers the same subjects, but the questions require more specific answers. Scores for the tests appear on the screen immediately after the last question is answered. Within 24 hours, teachers receive a detailed summary of each students performancemuch faster than the typical summer release of results from standardized tests taken in March. The Colorado Online Learning program, an effort to help districts statewide, had its debut in fall 2002. Students who are homebound, need extra credit, or want to take subjects not offered at their schools can learn through streaming audio and video technologies, e-mail and voice mail, and other ROBIN L. FLANIGAN forms of computer technology.
65
Connecticut
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.ct.us/sde State Education Agency Technology Contact: Travis Rose (860) 713-6595 travis.rose@po.state.ct.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 570,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 41,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.5 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.4 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $110,272,000
In the Land of Steady Habits, as Connecticut sometimes is called, officials offer this reason why they havent pursued computer-based testing: If it aint broke, dont fix it. The Connecticut Mastery Tests are regarded as among the most rigorous state assessments in the country. Credited with leveraging significant improvement over the past decade, the program sets standards for basic and proficient levels of performance for each grade tested. So aside from letting some students use computers to accommodate their disabilities, Connecticut has stuck with paper-and-pencil testing. This does work, says Douglas A. Rindone, an assessment expert with the state education department. Like their colleagues in most states, Connecticut school leaders have their hands full trying to align their accountability system with new federal requirements while also facing budget cuts. Gov. John G. Rowland, a Republican, has proposed a lean spending plan for 2004 to close an estimated deficit of $889 million out of a projected state budget of about $13 billion. In it, he recommends spending $5 million for construction of the Connecticut Education Network, which links schools, libraries, and colleges with high-capacity fiber-optic lines. Thats considerably less than the $34 million for the network that had been requested by the Connecticut Commission for Education Technology, a task force created by state law in 2000. But while the governors proposed budget would preclude adding new features to the network, as some had hoped, it would allow for its continued expansion throughout Connecticut. Funded at $10 million in
State of the States
State of the States
2003, the network now serves 30 of the states 166 school districts. With Rowlands pledge to spend another $5 million on the effort for 2005, plus the discounts available to the state under the federal E-rate program, the network should be able to cover the entire state by 2005, says Michael Helfgott, the executive director of the technology commission. Still, he cautions that budget constraints likely will force the state to charge fees for using services
Connecticut
100%
75 63 43
0%
66
Delaware dipped its toe into the world of computer-based testing with a pilot program in 2002, and education leaders hope studies on the experience will tell them whether the idea needs further work or can be expanded. In November of last year, nearly 1,500 students took the Delaware Student Testing Program tests online. Fifth graders took a reading test, and 8th graders took reading and math exams, says Wendy Roberts, the director of assessment and analysis for the Delaware Department of Education. The program took place in 43 schools in 13 of the states 19 districts. The tests were a mixture of multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions. Students were able to look at an online tutorial a week before taking the test. Though studies on the pilot project have not been completed, Roberts says anecdotal evidence shows that some students liked the experience of sitting down at the computer keyboard instead of with a paper and pencil. Many students seemed really enthusiastic, Roberts says. They said they found the test easier to take and less tiring. But some districts experienced technical difficulties related to network configuration and bandwidth problems, Roberts says, despite ef-
State Education Agency Technology Contact: Charles Thompson (202) 442-5340 Charles.Thompson@k12.dc.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 68,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 5,200 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.8 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $46,580,000
Delaware
100%
63
57
available on the network, such as the Internet or filtering features. But he also says those fees would be less than what private providers charge. Debate over the governors spending plan is expected to occupy the state legislature at least until early summer. Officials in districts already linked to the network praise its capabilities. Larry Schaefer, an assistant superintendent in the 7,500-student Milford district, says the network has allowed far more students to be online simultaneously. But he also echoes other district leaders worried about continued state support for the effort. When you build an infrastructure around things, you need it to be stable, he says. Still looking ahead, the technology commission last year drafted a long-range educational plan for the state that integrates the efforts of the education department, which has had its own plan, with those of higher education and libraries. It also issued new guidelines for professional development, including the suggestion that districts reserve 25 percent of their technology budgets for training educators in how to use technology.
JEFF ARCHER
44
Budget pressures have sidelined or slowed some important technology initiatives that were planned for the 71,000-student District of Columbia public schools. To begin with, a 2002 plan to provide online professional development for the school systems 5,500 teachers was put on hold. And the system had to scale back plans to establish online programs for academic coursework and testing. School officials in the nations capital had originally contracted with WebCTan e-learning company based in Lynnfield, Mass.to provide teacher professional-development courses online by this school year. The program is scheduled to get back on track in fall 2003, according to Stanley D. Johnson, the districts director of instructional technology. Despite scaling back or delaying some efforts, the school system has online programs for students in the works. Washington schools currently are piloting online courses for about 500 students in
0%
District of Columbia
100%
63
66
36
0%
Delaware
State Education Agency Web Site: www.doe.state.de.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Robin Taylor (302) 739-6700 rtaylor@doe.k12.de.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 115,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 7,500 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.7 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 6.3 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $7,487,000
forts before the test to smooth out possible technical problems. To date, Delaware is not considering expanding the program statewide, although education officials are currently using computer-based testing for students who need retestingusually those whose scores fall below a certain benchmark. Such students receive additional instruction and then take the test again. Meanwhile, Delaware has other education technology measures in the works. For instance, a data warehousing project has been up and running for more than a year, allowing education officials to draw from data sets with ease because the information is all computerized, Roberts says. With that system in place, she says, the state has been able to more easily analyze data on reading and mathematics scores, graduation rates, dropout rates, and teacher salaries. Delaware officials are now working to design software that will help mine the data even MICHELLE R. DAVIS more readily, Roberts says.
District of Columbia
State Education Agency Web Site: www.k12.dc.us
grades 9-12, as well as offering an Advanced Placement physics class via the Internet in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. We are in the early stages of this type of course-delivery system, notes Johnson, who says that students engaged in the online pilot programs are doing well. School leaders are optimistic about the programs prospects, but full implementation is not expected anytime soon. Its really going to depend on what we learn from the pilot, Johnson says, pointing out that the district must balance need against its current system capacity. Meanwhile, officials say the district is exploring the use of computer-based testing. A pilot program for grade 2 is scheduled to begin this spring in about 20 of the systems 147 schools. Gaining immediate feedback to support intervention programs could be a big advantage of computer-based testing, says Johnson. Still, he cautions that many concerns remain,
such as ensuring a secure testing environment, validating the identity of the test-taker, and maintaining a reasonable level of technical support. But at the moment, Johnson says, his most important goal is to have all classrooms connected to the Internet within the next 18 months.
MARIANNE D. HURST
State Education Agency Web Site: www.fldoe.org State Education Agency Technology Contact: Sandy Pelham (850) 488-0980 sandra.pelham@FLDOE.org Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 2,500,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 136,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.5 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 7.3 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $301,401,000
State Education Agency Technology Contact: Nick Smith (404) 657-0515 nsmith@doe.k12.ga.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,471,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 98,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.0 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.3 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $329,857,000
67
Florida plans to conduct field tests in fall 2003 before administering high-stakes exams by computer in 2004. If all goes well, the grade levels that participate in the pilot testswhich are multiplechoice and cover reading and mathwould be the first to take computer-based standardized tests at the end of the 2003-04 school year. Those grade levels have not been determined. State education officials are intrigued by the technology, but they question whether computerbased tests have more limitations than their conventional, printed counterparts. Lets say Ive got an item that asks students
Florida
100%
68 47
71
0%
to plot a parallelogram. Can we do that on a computer? asks Cornelia Orr, the director of assessment and school performance for the state education department. Can we do constructive responses online? Some districts in the state are already in the process of working the kinks out of computerbased testing. The 364,000-student Miami-Dade County school system, the states largest, uses computerbased testing to support daily instruction and prepare students for end-of-year state exams. A
State of the States
Florida
handful of schools in the district piloted the Assess to Learn system from Itasca, Ill.-based Riverside Publishing in 2000-01; the pilot extended to about 100 schools and 30,000 test-takers in 2001-02 before expanding to all district schools in 2002-03. Teachers can generate their own tests with the system, which holds district-developed tests for reading and mathematics in grades 3-10. District administrators hope to offer similar tests by fall 2003 for students in grades 1 and 2, as well as a science component to complement the states new science standards. Since fall 2002, students statewide have been able to get tutoring for the states Florida Comprehensive Achievement Tests from the FCAT Explorer, an online study guide. Students access the site with a password, and results are sent directly to their teachers. The FCAT Explorer is not yet available for all 3rd through 10th graders who take the tests. Grades included so far are 5, 8, and 10 for the math portion, and grades 4, 5, 8, and 10 for the reading portion. Meanwhile, the Florida Virtual School, which offers online courses, reports continuing enrollment increases, from 4,000 students in 2001-02
to 6,000 this school year. It projects that number to increase to 10,000 next year. ROBIN L. FLANIGAN
Georgia
State Education Agency Web Site: www.doe.k12.ga.us
State of the States
During the 2001-02 school year, the Georgia Department of Education began giving schools and districts the option of using computer-based assessments to administer its statewide Criterion-Referenced Competency Test. Designed to gauge how well students in grades 1-8 are learning Georgias curriculum, the test is available in an online version for reading, English/language arts, and mathematics. In grades 3-8, science and social studies are added to the mix. However, this spring, state officials were forced to suspend online testing after learning that some 270 actual test questions were publicly available on an Internet site for students, parents, and teachers. The site was developed by the state to help schools and children prepare
Hawaii
State Education Agency Web Site: www.doe.k12.hi.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Stephen Kow (808) 733-9141 stephen_kow@notes.k12.hi.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 185,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 11,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.3 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.6 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $19,877,000
need is for a new student-information system, officials agree. Were working with what should be in a museum right now, Heim says. In 2002, the legislature approved a three-year, $12 million plan to upgrade the system. The department has already collected bids from vendors. So far, statewide budget shortfalls have not prevented the project from continuing, but Moriyama says that is always a possibility. An information system that allows teachers to track student progress throughout the year is needed, Moriyama adds, to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 and improve student achievement. The department is also beginning to upgrade its online human resources systems, including its information on teacher recruitment and LINDA JACOBSON certification.
Georgia
100%
Idaho
67 48 70
68
0%
The Hawaii Department of Education experimented with technology-based assessments during the 2001-02 school year by allowing students to choose a computerized practice test or a traditional paper version. But students preference for the paper one, combined with officials reservations about assessing pupils by computer, means the department isnt pursuing the technology-based tests for now. First, even though nearly all of the states schools are wired to the Internet, many on Hawaiis six main islands other than Oahu have relatively slow online connections, making computer-based testing
State Education Agency Web Site: www.sde.state.id.us/Dept State Education Agency Technology Contact: Dawn Wilson (208) 332-6971 dwilson@sde.state.id.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 246,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 14,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.0 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 6.6 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $21,553,000
Hawaii
100%
for the state exams and standards. The department also is devising an updated student-information system that will be used to help gather data for the states accountability program and to meet the requirements of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Previously housed at the Georgia Institute of Technology, the Student Data Research Center was transferred to the state education department by Gov. Sonny Perdue in January. Under Perdue, a Republican elected in 2002, the states Education Technology Training Centers, which the data-research center oversees, have also been transferred back to the department. The education department is also developing a consolidated plan on the Web, which will serve as a one-stop support system for school districts, says Nick Smith, a department spokesman. School and district officials will be able to use the system to find information on a variety of federal programs and to apply for grants. Some technology initiatives are being cut back, however, because of the states budget shortfall. For example, for the first year since Georgias state lottery was instituted in 1991, districts will not be receiving lottery dollars for technology in fiscal 2004. In the past, the lottery has generated as much as $100 million a year for school computers. But for the 2004 fiscal year, Gov. Perdue says lottery proceeds should henceforth be reserved for the states prekindergarten program and its HOPE Scholarship program for college students. The states e-learning initiativewhich provides academic and Advanced Placement courses online to high schools that would not have them otherwisewas cut by 5 percent in fiscal 2003, from $477,000 to $454,000. The governor has recommended another 6 percent cut in the proLINDA JACOBSON gram for 2004.
74 61
26
0%
less efficient, says Michael Heim, the director of the departments planning and evaluation branch. And, he adds, while the idea of instantaneous scoringwhich computer testing allowsis attractive, hes not convinced that online assessments are as useful when students are taking tests that require them to construct responses instead of just choosing one of three or four possible answers. Ensuring that students have enough access to a computerinstead of having to go to a labis also crucial to making online testing work, Heim says. This school year, the state education department returned to offering only paper practice tests in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10 when statewide assessments are given, he adds. According to Rodney Moriyama, the agencys assistant superintendent of information technology services, the statewide Hawaiian school district has achieved an average student-to-computer ratio of 5-to-1, but has still not reached a level at which technology is purchased on a systematic basis. Currently, the departments most pressing
More than 90 percent of Idahos school districts assess student skills with computer-based testing. The state board of education voted in 2000 to require such testing by the 2003-04 school year. But 106 of the states 114 districts have already given the Idaho Standards Achievement Test online, says Dawn Wilson, Idahos education technology coordinator. Students in grades 2-10 have taken the tests, which measure skills in reading, language arts, and mathematics using multiple-choice questions. Once the mandate kicks in, districts must give the computer-based tests each fall and spring. The fact that a big majority have already done sowith some even opting to give an additional test last winteris an indication that [the computer-based testing] is going well, Wilson says. Still, the state has encountered some complications. The biggest one came from testing requirements embedded in the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, which prohibits what is known as off-grade-level testing. Last fall, that requirement forced state officials to modify their plans for an online adaptive testing system developed by the Portland, Ore.-based Northwest Evaluation Association. The system would have permitted students to take tests that were harder or easier than their actual grade levels, based on how well they answered the questions. To save the adaptive-testing plan and meet federal requirements, the state agreed to give all students a uniform, grade-level exam before letting them turn their attention to an adaptive set of test questions. State officials believe the students answers to the adaptive questions will yield more useful diagnostic information than the uniform test does. So far, Idaho students prepare for the tests by viewing an online presentation about them. This
Idaho
100%
82
77
54
0%
summer, though, educators will write practice test questions that students and parents will be able to preview online, Wilson says. Meanwhile, at press time, the states education budget was still under scrutiny in the legislature. Gov. Dirk Kempthorne has proposed giving schools $8.4 million for educational technology. Included in that sum is $600,000 to help support the Idaho Digital Learning Academy, a virtual high school. Legislators had voiced support for the school, but had yet to finance it as of this spring. The school, expected to enroll 1,600 students statewide this fall, currently gets funding from the J.A. and Kathryn Albertson Foundation, a philanJO ANNA NATALE thropy located in Boise, Idaho.
69
Illinois
State Education Agency Web Site: www.isbe.state.il.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Chris Koch (217) 782-4870 Ckoch@isbe.net Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 2,068,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 125,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.0 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.0 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $535,323,000
While Illinois hasnt started giving students standardized tests on computers, state education officials say the technology is something they are likely to consider over the coming year. The state board of education is interested in such systems potential to report test data quickly and efficiently, says Lynne Haeffele Curry, the boards director of planning and performance. But officials also want to weigh other factors, such as the technologys ability to keep test results secure and the cost of the program, she says. The state is likely to consider the computer-based technology as it prepares to rebid its testing contracts, a process that was expected to begin in mid-March. As it is, students in Illinois cannot take a full practice test of the standardized exam on computers yet, but they can take a shortened, sample test, in an interactive format through the
State of the States
State of the States
board of educations Web site. As in many states, technology programs in Illinois have felt the sting of budget cuts. Schools are coping with cuts of 4 percent, or $176 million, in overall state K-12 funding for fiscal 2003. The main source of technology funding to school districts also was reduced for 2003, from about $49 million to $37 million, notes Lee Patton, a senior policy analyst for the state board. Still, Illinois officials say they have seen a growing interest in several technology programs across the state, which they plan to support. For instance, interest in the virtual high
Illinois
100%
79 71
42
70
0%
lenging courses and receive diplomas with a special academic distinction. In April 2002, Indiana gave schools that were participating in Core 40 the option of giving two of its assessmentsthe end-of-course tests for 11th grade English and Algebra 1online for the first time. A majority of schools chose to give the online versions of the exams instead of the traditional printed versions, says Cheryl L. Orr, the liaison for Indianas Education Roundtable, a panel of education, community, and business representatives that advises the state school board. More than 30,000 of the 44,000 students who took the 11th grade English exam did so online. At press time, Indiana planned to expand its Core 40 online testing programcreated by the Princeton, N.J.-based Educational Testing Serviceby requiring each school in the Core 40 program to administer an online test to at least one class of students. The state plans to require schools to use online testing for all 12 of the exams in the Core 40 program by 2008. Orr says it made sense for Indiana to experiment with online testing with the Core 40 exams because, as it is, students arent required to take them to receive the Core 40 distinction on their diplomas. Instead, they must simply complete the coursework with a certain grade point average. The state plans eventually to require students to take the tests. The tests include multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions. Essay questions are graded by scoring engines developed by the ETS. Unlike so-called computer adaptive tests, the tests do not adjust their questions according to the level of difficulty at which a test-taker is performing during an exam.
State Education Agency Technology Contact: John O'Connell (515) 242-6354 john.oconnell@ed.state.ia.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 491,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 35,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.7 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.9 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $40,532,000
For much of the 2003 fiscal year, Iowa grappled with drastic budget cuts that eventually wiped out all K-12 technology funding. The budget cuts signal a reversal of fortune
Iowa
100%
73 67 46
0%
school run by the state board has risen steadily, from 91 participating students in spring 2001 to 576 in 2003, according to records from the state. State officials say they eventually hope to expand the virtual program, currently available only to high school students, to earlier grades, with the help of a federal grant. The project has drawn many users from rural districts who are seeking online classes not available in their school districts, but it also serves more populated areas, where students have sought to supplement their current curricula with Internet-based courses. Illinois officials are also considering partnerships with universities to craft programs that will help districts assess their students underSEAN CAVANAGH standing of technology.
Indiana
100%
72
75
39
0%
Indiana
State Education Agency Web Site: www.doe.state.in.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Michael Huffman (317) 232-6672 mhuffman@doe.state.in.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 995,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 60,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.2 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.1 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $115,269,000
On another front, Indianas longtime statewide technology initiatives, such as a project that puts computers in the homes of students who dont have them, are barely staying afloat. Because of fiscal problems, the state in March of last year cut back most of the $55.4 million it had designated for school technology in the current biennium. For example, $40 million that had been approved for Indianas Technology Plan Grant Program, which gives money to schools on a per-pupil MARY ANN ZEHR basis, was cut completely.
Iowa
Indiana is piloting a program for online testing as part of an effortcalled Core 40that enables high school students to take more chalE d u c a t i o n We e k ' s Te c h n o l o g y C o u n t s / M a y 8 , 2 0 0 3
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.ia.us/educate
for the states educational technology program. From fiscal 1996 through 2001, Iowa spent $30 million a year on technology for K-12 education, a commitment that helped districts improve their networking capability and buy more computers. Without state money for technology this school year, districts pieced together strategies to keep their programs afloat, says John OConnell, an instructional-technology consultant for the state department of education. Some districts relied on unspent state funds from previous years and applied for grants, while others passed sales-tax referendums in their communities that would help pay for school technology. Still, other districts simply fell another year further behind, OConnell says. The legislature, however, has largely kept up with its fiscal commitments to the Iowa Communications Network, a statewide videoconferencing system that includes public schools, along with other sites. More than $200 million has been spent on the network since 1992. Meanwhile, the Hawkeye State is moving forward with plans to set up the Iowa Virtual Academy, which will offer online courses to high school students starting in the fall of this year. The $400,000 academy will be used in concert with the Iowa Communications Network. State officials also hope to launch the Iowa Technical Adequacy Project in the fall. OConnell says the project would compile data on districts to determine whether they have implemented valid, rigorous plans for assessment and standards. The new computerized data-collection system also will help meet the
demands of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Without a state-mandated student-assessment system, Iowa has no plans to invest time and money in a computer-based testing program.
KARLA SCOON REID
Kansas
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ksbe.state.ks.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Linda Loder (785) 296-7922 lloder@ksde.org Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 468,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 33,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.4 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 6.3 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $58,815,000
71
Kansas officials have set out to convert the states entire paper-and-pencil assessment system to an online format by the end of the 200506 school year, but that goal could be sabotaged by the states current budget crisis. This spring, the state is piloting an online version of its 7th grade math exam. Online exams in math, reading, science, social studies, and writing are planned to be offered in grades 3-8. High school students will also have to show competency in those areas by junior year. Costing between $4.5 and $5 million to de-
Kansas
100%
77
73
51
0%
velop and implement this fiscal year, the system is being financed with federal dollars. It will be optional for school districts, though some 80 percent are expected to use it by 2005-06, according to state officials. The online exams will ask students to answer multiple-choice, short-answer, and essay questions. The tests will also be adaptive, meaning they will adjust the level of difficulty based on how students are answering questions. Once the test scores are entered into the system, data will be available on individual testtakers, classrooms, and schools. Teachers will get immediate information on their students strengths and weaknesses, and receive online links to strategies or lessons they could use to
State of the States
improve achievement. In conjunction with the system, the state will offer online practice tests. However, some Kansas districts will have difficulty implementing the system, because they dont have the necessary hardware, state officials say. Moreover, budget woes could keep districts from purchasing the hardware. Though incoming Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a Democrat, pledged not to cut school funding in her State of the State Address, school officials are noting Kansas beginning balance in fiscal 2003, which was nearly zero, and bracing themselves for bad news. Sixty-seven percent of the states $10.2 billion budget goes toward education this fiscal year. In other technology news, the state launched the KAN-ED program in February. The statewide telecommunications network links Kansas K-12 schools, colleges, libraries, and hospitals and allows them to pool their purchasing power to receive cheaper rates on technology that permits faster connections. The initiative will cost taxpayers $10 million a year, though the law that created the funding stream is due to expire in 2004.
JULIE BLAIR
72
Kentucky
State Education Agency Web Site: www.kde.state.ky.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: David Couch (502) 564-2020 dcouch@kde.state.ky.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 630,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 40,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.9 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.1 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $175,723,000
share information with one another. And, by the end of the summer, every student, teacher, and administrator will have an e-mail account courtesy of the state. All those were goals set in a 1992 plan that centralized technology purchasing and networking within the state, says David Couch, Kentuckys associate commissioner for technology education. Next on the to-do list: State officials are making long-range plans to connect every school to the Internet via fiber-optic cable and to give every high school student a portable wireless computer for use in classrooms. The changes are meant to integrate technology directly into classroom work, in a departure from schools tendencies to put a lone computer in every classroom while grouping others in a laboratory. Our next step is to turn every classroom into a lab, Couch says. When the computers are all bunched up, technology doesnt get into all the content areas. The biggest challenge, he adds, will be finding a device that provides as much computing power as laptops, but at the price of a personal digital assistant. Separately, the state is making its first foray into online testing. This spring, 400 special education students will take state tests via the Internet. The results will help state officials understand what they need to do if they want to put components of their tests online for all students, Couch says. Kentucky also will soon publish a set of standards defining the technology skills that administrators should have, and it is working on a test that would assess 8th and 12th graders technoDAVID J. HOFF logical acumen.
Meanwhile, state technology funding appears to be getting back on track after a recent stumble. The Classroom-Based Technology Fund, the main state source of such aid for school districts, provided $10 million during the 2002-03 school year. The education department is hoping to keep the same level of funding for the coming school year, says Sheila S. Talamo, the agencys director of educational technology.
State of the States
Louisiana
100%
69
72
39
0%
Louisiana
State Education Agency Web Site: www.doe.state.la.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Sheila Talamo (225) 763-5575 stalamo@lcet.state.la.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 731,000
The funding level was zero in 2001-02, and a spare $2.5 million the previous year. The pinnacle of such funding was 1997, when it was at $37 million. Louisiana also has continued a range of other technology-based initiatives. It provides extensive online professional development, online classroom resources, and a state-funded virtual high school. Enrollment in the online high school quadrupled in 2002-03, to 1,340 students, Talamo notes. The virtual high school is especially targeted at rural areas, where curriculum options often are limited, she says. The online school allows stuERIK W. ROBELEN dents to pick up extra courses.
Kentucky, which will soon celebrate the completion of its ambitious, 11-year technology plan, has already started planning for its next phase
Number of Public School Teachers: 50,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 5.8
Maine
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.me.us/education State Education Agency Technology Contact: Kimberly Quinn (207) 624-6784 kimberly.quinn@maine.gov Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 211,000
Kentucky
100%
74
77
41
0%
of integrating computers into instruction. By the beginning of the summer, every district will use statewide financial and student-recordmanagement programs designed to enable school systems to complete standardized reports and
Louisiana students wanting to bone up for the states standardized tests gained a new option as of May 2002: online practice. It is a chance for [students] to take test questions similar to those on our statewide assessment, says Scott M. Norton, the standards and assessments director for the Louisiana Department of Education. One benefit of the program, he says, is that the state signs off on all items. We can really guarantee that the questions match our content standards, Norton says. The program contains multiple-choice, shortanswer, and essay questions. Students get instant feedbackand hints if their answers are incorrectfor the multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Students essays, meanwhile, are scored and transmitted back with comments within 48 hours, Norton adds. The program is popular. In just the first two months of 2003, according to Norton, the site averaged 50,000 student users per week.
Number of Public School Teachers: 17,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.0 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $20,608,000
Maines biggest technology project this year is an effort to build a computer system for districts to report enrollment and test scores in compliance with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. The database will be designed to track all of the states students and their test scores. Its scheduled to be pilot-tested in July and will be put into place in December. Like other states, though, Maine has been hurt by the sluggish economy, and state leaders
State of the States
say any educational technology request will be closely scrutinized. The state is continuing its laptop initiative, spurred by then-Gov. Angus King in 2000, which aims eventually to give all 7th and 8th grade students their own laptop computers. In March of this year, the legislature was discussing ways to go forward with the program and expand it to other grades despite the economic situation. King, an Independent, had envisioned that the state would give the program an initial chunk of money, and then it would sustain itself through private donations. Because of budget troubles, though, the state moved funds from the laptop
ity of offering online diagnostic tests to schools, Peiffer says. DAVID J. HOFF
Massachusetts
State Education Agency Web Site: www.doe.mass.edu State Education Agency Technology Contact: Connie Louie (781) 338-6865 clouie@doe.mass.edu Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 980,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 69,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.0 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $199,304,000
Maine
100%
72 59 38
74
0%
In Maryland, most school technology programs are on hold while the state waits for its budget picture to improve. The news is pretty grim as far as our funding, says Jayne Moore, the director of instructional technology for the Maryland Department of Education. The state has already canceled summer professional-development programs that taught teachers how to use computers and other technology in their everyday instruction. Since 2000, about 1,800 teachers had attended the two-week sessions in 20 school districts and other sites throughout the state. Though the state will go ahead with a similar, three-week workshop for 112 teachers, the department of education has not proposed funding for the statewide workshop in the fiscal 2004 budget proposal that was pending in the legislature at press time. Marylands venture into online learning is also at risk. The Virtual Learning Communitywhich offers high school courseworkis enrolling 27 students in Advanced Placement courses and may
Maryland
100%
programs account to make up for shortfalls in other programs, meaning the laptop program will have to be subjected to the states appropriations process a year earlier than planned. King, who served two terms as governor and left office in January, personally donated $100,000 to what became his pet cause. In recent months, more than 20,000 laptops have been delivered to 7th graders and their teachers in 239 schools, and a selected group of 8th graders and 8th grade teachers received their laptops this spring. Another 16,000 laptops are scheduled to be delivered in September to the rest of the 8th graders, completing the programs goal of providing about 36,000 laptops. This year, the state is focusing on how to better equip those computers for students whose families are unable to afford Internet access. Thanks to private donations of more than $1 million, about 5,000 students who receive free or reduced-price lunches will be able to qualify for free home Internet hookups. Maine has not experimented with any sort of computer-based testing. School districts are charged with carrying out the states testing system, and districts report those scores back to the state. So far, a handful of those districts have broached the idea of creating computer-based systems, according to the JOETTA L. SACK state education department.
64
62
31
Despite a dismal state budget picture that has brought cuts in local aid and forced some school districts to lay off technology coordinators, Massachusetts continues to push ahead with an array of technology initiatives to enhance curricula and help students prepare for high-stakes exams. To guide educators who want to do a better job of using technology, state officials have posted benchmarks for the use of technology on the department of educations Web site. Those benchmarks include having a mission statement for technology goals, working toward a student-to-computer ratio of 5-of-1 in classrooms, ensuring that every classroom has at least one computer with a high-speed connection to the Internet, and having a staff person whose job it is to help teachers integrate technology into learning. We do believe that you have to have the right conditions to make things happen in the class-
0%
Massachusetts
100%
68 59 38
0%
Maryland
State Education Agency Web Site: www.msde.state.md.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Jayne Moore (410) 767-0382 jmoore@msde.state.md.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 861,000
have enough funding to offer classes in the summer. But the proposed state budget would not include money for the project in the fall. The only project that will survive the cutbacks is the states purchase of equipment for school districts. The state has budgeted to continue paying $8.7 million in lease-purchase payments for software, hardware, and staff training in each school. Once Marylands fortunes improve, officials say, the state will resume the professional-development programs, although with some changes. Future professional development in technology will be refined to tie it directly to what teachers do in classrooms, according to Ronald Peiffer, the states deputy superintendent for academic policy. The states new testing program, which begins this spring, will not have an online component, Peiffer says, but the state is retaining the online Functional Reading and Math tests. The state investigated the possibility of putting some portions of the new assessments online, but officials couldnt find a test that would work in schools with slow Internet-connection speeds or aging hardware. The state is, however, pursuing the possibil-
room, says Connie Louie, Massachusetts instructional-technology director. Meanwhile, one of the states most prominent technology efforts, the Virtual Education Space, continues to evolve. It is a special Web site to help students prepare for Massachusetts accountability exams for high school students. Through the site, students preparing for the Massachusetts Comprehensive Assessment System, or MCAS, exams can get access to a free, online tutorial program from the Princeton Review test-preparation company. The online aid is a
State of the States
boon to students from low-income families who otherwise would not benefit from expensive testprep programs. Teachers also benefit from a software package called Testwiz that the state has purchased to help districts evaluate students test results more closely. Massachusetts does not, however, now offer most students the opportunity to take state exams online. The exception is students with disabilities who have individualized education plans that recommend the use of adaptive technologies. They are permitted to take exams online. The states technology-advisory council is exploring whether elements of the testing process could be moved from printed tests to an online JOHN GEHRING format for more students.
Michigan
State Education Agency Web Site: www.michigan.gov/mde State Education Agency Technology Contact: Ron Faulds (517) 241-3525 fauldsr@michigan.gov Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,734,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 97,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.6 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $302,232,000
76
other standardized tests, such as the SAT; and both semester-long courses and self-paced ones. The self-paced courses were piloted as part of summer school and since then have proved enormously popular. About 2,400 students in 8th grade or higher enrolled in either the self-paced courses or those structured more along the lines of a typical semester-long course. The virtual high school is also trying out some online programs targeted at students who need to catch up in reading or other areas. One format gives students access to a live online tutor. While the virtual university offers hundreds of information-technology courses that are available to teachers as well as others, an initiative put forward by Gov. Jennifer Granholm, a Democrat who took office this year, aims to expand online professionaldevelopment opportunities for teachers. Steering clear of new financial commitments for the moneystrapped state, the Governors Education Technology Fund will seek corporate and foundation aid to pay for the professional-development effort. The fund will also promote the use of wireless technology and Web-based help for students and teachers. Dovetailing with the governors effort is the legislatures Learning Without Walls program, which last year awarded more than $6 million in state and federal money to 13 districts for wireless demonstration projects. One technology area in which Michigan is not active is using computers to test students. Officials have been wary of heading in that direction, in part because the Michigan Educational Assessment Program tests include a number of openended questions, which are graded by hand. State officials also have concerns about keeping the MEAP tests adequately secure online, says Terry Stanton, the spokesman for the Michigan Department of Treasury, which curBESS KELLER rently administers the tests.
It may be possible for the state to launch a trial program for computer-based testing with aid from the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. But Reg Allen, the state agencys director of assessments, says officials have a number of issues to consider first.
Minnesota
100%
71 63
39
0%
Michigan has continued to expand its virtual university, a one-stop shop for online business and technical training that also includes a wide range of resources for secondary students and their teachers under the heading of the Michigan Virtual High School. Last fall, the virtual high school began charging
Minnesota
State Education Agency Web Site: www.educ.state.mn.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Mary Mehsikomer (651) 582-8827 mary.mehsikomer@state.mn.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 846,000
Michigan
100%
68
69
Number of Public School Teachers: 53,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.2 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.3
First, there is the question of whether we want to use [technology] to administer yesterdays tests on tomorrows machines, or if we want to use the technology to teach students skills they actually need in the 21st century, Allen says. Whats more, schools have to have the infrastructure, and it has to be cost-effective, he says. Its not clear the infrastructure is there, let alone that it works in a nice, seamless fashion. And as for the money to get it done, this is not a good time. Complicating any efforts to improve infrastructure is the fact that the single largest state program aimed at helping schools pay for technology was not funded for 2003 and beyond, Mehsikomer says. The $19 million telecommunications-access revenue program gave schools about $5 per student for ongoing telecommunication costs such as video learning, data support, and Internet access. Leftover money that a district received under the program could be used to buy computers and related equipment. There are a lot of schools and groups interested in a restoration of that program, DARCIA HARRIS BOWMAN Mehsikomer says.
41
Mississippi
State Education Agency Web Site: www.mde.k12.ms.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Kameron Ball (601) 359-3954 kball@mde.k12.ms.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 492,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 33,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.9 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.6 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $152,465,000
0%
for its online offerings. Currently, some 200 districts have bought subscriptions to the virtual school, which entitle them to the full array of options. The base subscription price for a high school ranges from $5,250 annually for the largest schools to $1,250 for the smallest, with a discount for any other high school in the district that signs on. Included in the package are Advanced Placement courses, activities, and review materials; a career-guidance program; tutorials for state and
Schools will see little to no state money for technology this year in Minnesota, but that reality isnt stopping some educators from at least considering interesting projects for the future. The state is saddled with one of the biggest budget deficits in the nation in terms of the percentage of its total budget. Its fiscal 2003 deficit of $356 million, out of a total budget of $13.9 billion, is projected to grow to $4.2 billion in 2004. That means the state may take advantage of any federal dollars available for placing and upgrading technology in schools, but education officials arent expecting any state initiatives. Were in a bit of a unique situation right now, says Mary Mehsikomer, a senior project planner in the Minnesota education department. We continue to do outreach and help schools and districts with technology planning, but theres no funding.
The big news in educational technology in Mississippi this year was that the state reported
Mississippi
100%
77
70 63
38
0%
technology courses, guided by certified teachers and assigned mentors at each local site. Nearly 100 students were enrolled last fall, and the state hopes to enroll about 400 by this coming fall. As in other states, Mississippi is struggling to keep programs afloat despite modest state spending on technology. One such program, the states Technology Academy for School Leaders, puts together a retreat setting in which superintendents and principals can gather to set technological and academic goals for their districts. Each participant receives a laptop computer to take home. The Power Pals program, meanwhile, has provided funding for 50 computer labs in schools across the state, and has trained students in troubleshooting and other basic technology skills. But state budget cuts have forced the education department to begin charging fees to school districts for technology training, Ball says. Teachers are not required by the state to receive training in technology, but about half the states teachers have taken technology courses. Mississippis online testing efforts are in their infancy. One makeup test for students who miss the end-of-course state exam in high school mathematics is offered online. Other computerized tests have been placed on hold because of budget cuts, including a practice teacher-certification exam. Sample questions for state tests are available online for students and teachers to use.
ALAN RICHARD
State of the States
it had become the first in the nation to provide an Internet-accessible computer in every public school classroom. The claim was based on an annual survey of school districts that asks about hardware, inventory, training plans, and computer upgrades, says Kameron Ball, the bureau director for educational technology in the Mississippi Department of Education. Some educators have suggested that the extent of Mississippis accomplishment was a bit overstated. And others say that even if every classroom is so equipped, the technology in some schools is so old or in such disrepair that it isnt useful. Still, the survey revealed that Mississippi is far ahead of most states in achieving the goal of Internet access in every classroom. In other technology news, Mississippi continues to build an online education institute, although it does not yet issue high school diplomas. The Mississippi Online Learning Institute offers several Advanced Placement and
Missouri
State Education Agency Web Site: services.dese.state.mo.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Deborah Sutton (573) 751-8247 dsutton@mail.dese.state.mo.us
State of the States
Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 893,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 64,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.3 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.7 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $206,561,000
state officials were authorized to spend. However, the program will be cut entirely as of fiscal 2004. Although state education officials have discussed putting standardized tests online, the tight budget has prevented it. Sharon Schattgen, the education departments coordinator for curriculum and assessment, says the officials are aware of the benefits of computerbased testing. But state assessment programs have undergone significant budget cuts in 2003, she notes, and if the funding continues to dwindle, online testing is simply not an option.
CATHERINE A. CARROLL
Montana
State Education Agency Web Site: www.opi.state.mt.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Michael W. Hall (406) 444-4422 mhall@state.mt.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 152,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 10,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.8
78
The Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education has seen educational technology programs become budget casualties in the past few years, and judging from the way next fiscal years budget is shaping up, 2004 will be no different.
ties to pass mill leviesearmarked property taxesto provide money for technology upgrades or teacher professional development. With federal funding from Title II of the No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, the state office of public instruction continues to employ Michael W. Hall, who serves as a specialist for the grant. Hall says schools are trying to see where they can tap in to federal aid to acquire and maintain school technology. I receive many calls from districts worried about how they will replace equipment and keep staff current through professional development, he says. John C. Caddell, the director of technology for the 2,000-student Browning school district, which is located on the Blackfeet Indian reservation near Glacier National Park, says his district has depended heavily on federal E-rate funding to install equipment and keep it up to date. He says the district receives E-rate money to cover 90 percent of the cost of its approved purchases because many of its students are needy. Caddell says it has received about $150,000 a year from the E-rate program over MARY ANN ZEHR the past several years.
Nebraska
State Education Agency Web Site: www.nde.state.ne.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Dean Bergman (402) 471-5023 dbergman@nde.state.ne.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 285,000
Missouri
100%
63 67
43
This school year, Montana schools arent getting any state money for technology. The year before, they received about $1 per student through the sale of trees cut down on
0%
Montana
100%
73
73
42
The Technology Grant Program is just one example of the negative effects of the budget situation: It received less than $14 million in state funding for fiscal 2003, compared with $17 million in 2002 and $21.1 million in 1998, when the program began. Those funds are divided among Missouris 524 school districts and a number of state programs and grants, including a technology-network program, which connects schools to the Internet. Missouris two competitive grants for educational technology have suffered considerably over the past two years. One of the grants, which supported instructional projects that incorporate technology, was completely cut from the budget in 2001. The other grantwhich pays for two-way, interactive distance-learning programswas reduced to $900,000 in 2002, down from $2.6 million in 2001, and was further cut to just under $116,000 for fiscal 2003, according to Shari LePage, the education departments chief budget officer. Also taking a budget hit is a video-grant program that pays for some equipment in schools. It was authorized to receive annual funding of $4 million by the legislature in 2000, with the revenue coming from a statewide tax on video rentals. Although the program was cut for fiscal 2003, $600,000 remained in the grant fund, which
0%
state lands. But the legislature took that source of funding for technology away for fiscal 2003 when it addressed a budget deficit during a special session last year. At press time in April, lawmakers expected the state to finish the 2003 fiscal year in the black but were debating whether to rechannel the money at least $1.9 million over two yearsfrom the sale of timber back to school technology in the upcoming biennium, which begins in July. Some districts have taken advantage of a law passed in 2001 that permits schools to establish technology depreciation funds, says Bob Vogel, the director of governmental relations for the Montana School Boards Association. Under the legislation, districts can ask their local communi-
Because of revenue shortfalls, Nebraskas education budget for technology has shrunk. In fiscal 2003 alone, the educational technology department lost $2 million from a grant to wire schools to the Internet, and another $2 million in previously earmarked state lottery dollars. On a positive note, though, Nebraska has already fulfilled many of its technology goals. For instance, the state has wired almost all its schools for the Internet and developed a teleconferencing infrastructure for distance-learning classes, administrative meetings, and statewide staff-development sessions. The 3,500-student Independent Study High School, which is run by the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, is also expanding its range of online courses. Up to 70 of the schools 180 courses will be offered online this summer, says Carol Ash, the schools marketing director. Thats up from only a handful in the spring of 2002. Across the state, Nebraska school leaders are also crafting a comprehensive school improvement and technology plan so districts can better align their efforts with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Officials are researching the most effective technology-related learning environments for school districts. They will inventory information on issues such as student technology literacy, school access to up-to-date technology, and teacher know-how in using technology to supplement more traditional learning. After that, officials will design an audit process
to measure where districts stand in fulfilling the requirements in the new technology plan, says Dean Bergman, the director of educational technology for the Nebraska Department of Education. On the testing front, since Nebraska has no statewide assessment program, its up to districts to decide whether to test students using online
100%
75 66
41
0%
Nevada
100%
exams aligned to state standards. There are no plans to create a statewide online assessment. Nebraska is partnering with the National Center for Research on Evaluation, Standards, and Student Testing, located at the University of California, Los Angeles, to improve its student-data collection. Starting this spring, 175 school districts across Nebraska were to take part in CRESSTs Quality School Portfolio project. Districts planned to use laptops and handheld computers purchased with federal aid under the No Child Left Behind Act to gather the information. Were trying to get more student data for teachers and collect data on instructional learning styles, Bergman says. Whats not been collected in any statewide information system before is [students] capability in learning. RHEA R. BORJA
73
75
25
0%
The Granite State doesnt yet have definite plans to administer state exams to students online. But state testing and educational technology officials acknowledge that the situation could change now that New Hampshire has a new technology-minded governor. Timothy Kurtz, the director of assessment for the New Hampshire Department of Education, says there are good reasons for the states reluctance to computerize its testing programs. One is that too few computers are in the states classrooms today. If you have students take the test at different times, people will talk and share questions, Kurtz says. Kurtz is also concerned that a computerized assessment program might fall short when it comes to grading open-response questions, which the state considers a key part of its tests. Traditionally, New Hampshire has put little of its own money into developing educational technology programs, relying instead on federal dollars and foundation funds. But Gov. Craig Benson is the founder of Cabletron Systems, a successful, high-technology firm. Even though state budget forecasts look bleak, he wants to channel $4 million in matching grants to help schools set up distance-learning programs over the next two fiscal years. Whether the Republican governor gets his way remains to be seen. In the meantime, the state is forging ahead with other initiatives. To put more computers in schools, for instance, the state teaches prison inmates how to upgrade donated computers. New Hampshire is also using money from the
79
New Hampshire
100%
82
Nevada
State Education Agency Web Site: www.nde.state.nv.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Mark Knudson (775) 687-9137 mark@nsn.k12.nv.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 356,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 19,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 5.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.8 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $21,561,000
officer and assistant superintendent, says that many districts are just too busy struggling to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to think about starting up online testing programs. Theres not really a big push for [computerbased testing] here, he says. Because of the No Child Left Behind [mandates] and the fact that the budget crisis is real and very nasty here, that issue may be left behind. Still, he says, the district isnt giving up on technology innovations entirely. It will be installing a wide area network of computers in its schools, with phone and data lines in every classroom that will allow voice, video, and data to be received via the Internet.
MARIANNE D. HURST
69
38
0%
New Hampshire
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ed.state.nh.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Cathy Higgins (603) 271-2453 chiggins@ed.state.nh.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 211,000
The fate of technology education programs in Nevada remains uncertain because of chronic budget problems. The impact of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, which pushed the states tourist-driven economy into the ground and sparked a budget crisis, froze the $9.95 million in educational technology funding that the legislature had originally approved for the 2002-03 biennium.
federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 to open as many as 10 centers that will offer technologyrelated professional development to teachers both the online kind and face-to-face encounters. We know online training is not the end-all for professional development, says Cathy Higgins, the educational technology consultant for the state education department. Her office this year also began publishing an online calendar listing professional-development opportunities open to educators around the state. With help from outside funders, the state is also working to strengthen the technology content in
State of the States
Nebraska
At press time, the legislature was debating whether to approve that same $9.95 million for the 2004-05 school year. That amount would pay for classroom networking, computer upgrades, pilot programs to improve student achievement, distance-learning courses, and more technology resources for school libraries, according to Mark Knudson, an educational technology specialist in the Nevada office of educational technology. Regardless of how that vote turns out, Knudson says, the state doesnt expect to start up any new technology initiatives in the near future. Weve been ordered by the governor to not fill positions when they become vacant, he says, referring to Gov. Kenny Guinn, a Republican. The only hires are coming from federally funded positions, and its still tough. The 255,000-student Clark County district, which includes Las Vegas and serves almost 70 percent of the states student population, does offer some academic content online to high school students within the district through its distance-learning program. But Clark County officials dont have plans to do much more. As a consequence, online testing is not something the district is exploring. Philip Broady, Clark Countys chief technology
teacher education programs, and to teach principals and administrators ways of using educational DEBRA VIADERO technology to improve learning.
New Jersey
State of the States
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.nj.us/education State Education Agency Technology Contact: Sue Sullivan (609) 984-1644 sue.sullivan@doe.state.nj.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,381,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 106,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.7 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.2 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $243,648,000
allow many documents in the teacher-certification process to be submitted or retrieved online. New Jersey is working to make its school leadership more technology-savvy through its NJELITE program. Financed by a three-year foundation grant and state matching funds, it will have trained 3,400 educators in technology skills by the time it completes this school year, its third. New Jersey does not administer computerbased assessments, nor does it use computerbased practice tests, and the state has no immediate plans to institute them. Brian D. Robinson, the director of the education departments office of evaluation and assessment, says state officials are concerned about such tests cost and security, in addition to how well they can evaluate the complexity and nuances of students knowledge. Officials are worried about the fairness of instituting such tests statewide before they know that students in rural districts in the southern part of the state, for instance, have computer access that equals that of students in more urban northern CATHERINE GEWERTZ districts, Robinson adds.
the standards based on content areas, and offers resources, lesson plans, and grant opportunities for teachers. In a rural state like New Mexico, a Web site that unifies teachers and curriculum is a big help, Lewis says. By the middle of the year, she says, the Web site is expected to include a component for parents that will provide the academic standards in
New Mexico
100%
65 45
70
0%
80
New Mexico
State Education Agency Web Site: sde.state.nm.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Steven A. Sanchez (505) 827-6574 ssanchez@sde.state.nm.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 316,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 20,000
New Jerseys new educational technology plan envisions a statewide school system in which all students can get high-speed access to the Internet whenever they need it, and where all teachers are computer-savvy enough to equip young people with the skills necessary to flourish in the 21st century. The Garden State is taking some practical steps to meet those lofty goals.
New Jersey
Students per Instructional Computer: 3.2
100%
74 66
an informal, easy-to-understand fashion. For the second fiscal year, New Mexicos legislature is not expected to fund the states virtual school, which began during the 2001-02 school year. Because of budget constraints, the education department has had to limit participation in the virtual school, which has been used to offer classes to rural school districts where certain teachers may not be available. In spring 2001, 750 students were enrolled in the virtual school. Now only about 450 are enrolled. HATTIE BROWN
42
New York
0%
Its annual technology survey for 2002 shows continued growth in computer access and Internet connections: New Jersey has one multimedia computer on average for every 4.4 students, and 90 percent of public school classrooms are now linked to the Internet. But that student-to-computer ratio is much higher in some schools than in others. So state technology leaders want every single school to have a student-to-computer ratio of 5-to-1 or less, and every classroom to have high-speed Internet access, says Susan M. Sullivan, an educational technology specialist for the state department of education. That goal is one of many in the wide-ranging technology plan, adopted by the state board of education in January. Another is that students demonstrate technology proficiency, but the state and districts are still working to devise the best methods for assessing such skills. The state is developing a computerized system by which districts will be able to submit grant applications online, and another system that will
A four-district consortium is piloting computer-based testing in New Mexico, but education department officials there are still unsure of the fate of such assessment in the state. Districts have been testing students in 3rd through 9th grades in language arts and mathematics, says Steven A. Sanchez, the states acting assistant superintendent for learning services and Indian education. Teachers are starting to use this, and theyre finding it quite useful, Sanchez says. The online exams employ a mixture of multiple-choice and short-answer questions. Computer software immediately grades the tests. Practice exams are available online to familiarize students with the process. Though the districts participating in the pilot program have had positive results with the Webbased testing, school leaders are still hesitant to adopt the program permanently. Technology officials in New Mexico are also exploring how district administrators can get a clearer idea of their students familiarity with technology. Between 100 and 150 district curriculum developers and superintendents were scheduled to meet in the state this spring with officials from the Center for Children and Technology, based in New York City, to discuss how to evaluate students. This is the beginning stages of being able to evaluate technological literacy, says Michelle M. Lewis, the coordinator of the states educational technology fund. In another initiative, teachers throughout New Mexico can now collaborate through the states academic-standards Web site, which has been running since July 2002. The site outlines
State Education Agency Web Site: www.nysed.gov State Education Agency Technology Contact: Teh-Yuan Wan (518) 486-5832 twan@mail.nysed.gov Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 2,920,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 216,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.2 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.3 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $1,344,167,000
Education officials in New York are focused on improving an online-learning space as the backbone of the states efforts to provide teachers and students with well-defined approaches to using classroom technology. In a state with more than 700 school districts, this Web portal sports some 10,000 academic lessons, which help school leaders think about how to use technology to align lessons with the states academic standards. This is a major part of our technology plan, says James Kadamus, New Yorks deputy commissioner for elementary, middle, and secondary education. Were trying to drive professional development
State of the States
and give students and teachers access to a pool of information, he says. Our priorities will be adding content to the virtual-learning space and to train people on how to really change classroom instruction. About a quarter of the school districts have fewer than 1,500 students, and many districts would struggle to offer sophisticated technology programs without the help of the state Web portal, says Kadamus. The online resource helps educators share ideas and best practices with colleagues around the state. Significant support for improving technology use in New York schools also comes from regional bodies called Boards of Cooperative Educational Services, or BOCES, that support districts in a variety of educational areas. New York has moved carefully, though, when it comes to computer-based testing. One pilot
North Dakota
State Education Agency Web Site: www.dpi.state.nd.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Chris Kalash (701) 328-2273 ckalash@state.nd.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 106,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 8,500 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.3 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.4 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $13,950,000
New York
100%
82
62 39 62
After conducting a study of how North Carolina students perform on Internet-based exams compared with how their peers do on paper-and-pencil versions of the same tests, state officials concluded that the two different testing formats yield different results. That finding has led to concerns about the fairness of computer-based testing. That caused us to rethink our full-speedahead [approach] on this issue, says Lou Fabrizio, the director of the division of accountability services for the state department of public instruction, which tested some 20,000 students last year using a new online exam called the North Carolina Computerized Adaptive Testing System. Fabrizio says all state exams are based on extensive field studies to determine whether the questions provide an accurate reflection of the students understanding of the subject. The computerized test administered at the end of 2002, however, used questions based on field studies for paper-and-pencil tests, he says. In effect, the questions on the computerbased tests were lifted from paper tests, and
North Carolina
0%
100%
81 72
39
0%
program in 2000 tested 8th graders in technology education in five school districts that volunteered to be part of the program. Another pilot that 12 districts participated in last year tested about 300 8th grade students in music. We are getting our feet wet slowly here, Kadamus says. The state does not have plans for expanding computer-based testing any time soon. The pilot programs were an attempt to work out some of the problems inherent in computer testing, including concerns about offering enough access to computers and ensuring a secure testing environment. As it is, students can log on to the state department of education Web site to use material to prepare for the New York regents exams. Last year, during the weeks leading up to state testing, about 600,000 hits were recorded on the Web site.
JOHN GEHRING
About 10 school districts in North Dakota are piloting some form of computer-based assessment, says the state school technology director, Dan Pullen. About 800 students at five elementary schools in the 10,500-student Bismarck school system have used computers to take tests in reading and math, according to district technology director Lisa Feldner. The students use school laptop computers to take the exams. Bismarck school officials have tried out two types of computer-based tests since September 2002. The first one assessed students by their grade levels. However, the program provided only general results for each student, Feldner says. Officials have also experimented with an adaptive test, which adjusts questions level of difficulty depending on how a student answered previous ones. The district was planning to
North Dakota
100%
84 75
44
North Carolina
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ncpublicschools.org State Education Agency Technology Contact: Frances Bradburn (919) 807-3292 fbradbur@dpi.state.nc.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,304,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 84,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 11.1
educators in North Carolina now know that approach may pose some problems. For instance, Fabrizio says, students tested on computers might be more inclined to calculate math questions in their heads, while those using paper and pencil might be more likely to use scratch paper. The 20,000 exams administered last year were not used to hold students or schools accountable in any way, Fabrizio says. To fix the discrepancies, North Carolina educators are conducting a series of field studies to devise a new computerized exam. Theyre also trying to improve the adaptive nature of the test programwhich adjusts the level of difficulty of questions based on how well a student answers themand other aspects of the exam to comply with the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001, Fabrizio says. Meanwhile, North Carolina is moving forward with plans to draw up a comprehensive policy for online instruction. Frances Bryant Bradburn, the states director of instructional technologies, says the state board of education has adopted some measures for the policy, including definitions of credit requirements for online courses. But the board is still wrestling with the key issue of how to pay for online instruction on a PATRICK FLANIGAN large scale, she says.
0%
adopt the adaptive-testing program, which uses entirely multiple-choice questions, for use this spring, Feldner says. With that test, students and teachers can get instant printouts of the results, and short practice tests are available online. Besides Bismarck, a group of smaller school systems in the Peace Garden Consortium is experimenting with computer-based testing. Also on the technology front, Pullen says, the state has allocated grants to about 100 schools to build Internet protocol video classrooms, which allow students in different locations to be enrolled in one class through the states online network. About 70 other schools have
Ohio
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ode.state.oh.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Robert Luikart (614) 752-6840 robert.luikart@ode.state.oh.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,808,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 118,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.3 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 7.1 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $310,506,000
83
While Ohio moves forward with writing content standards for technology, financial woes have forced the Buckeye State to pull the plug on plans for computer-based testing. Officials were in the beginning stages of discussions about administering the states student assessments online, and had hoped to launch the computer-based tests within the next few years,
Ohio
100%
71
71
45
0%
according to Shelly Lehman, a spokeswoman for the Ohio Department of Education. But she says the program now isnt likely to get off the ground until 2008. In March, Gov. Bob Taft, a Republican, cut $100 million of the states education budget for fiscal 2003. The state is facing a $720 million
State of the States
videoconferencing capabilities that use older video systems that can be connected with the Internet-protocol video. The new system is better, state officials say, because it connects the other systems, which were once only available regionally. It is helpful for students in rural communities, where fewer students are available to take higherlevel courses, such as Advanced Placement math, science, and English. North Dakota schools have also purchased a statewide license for Apples PowerSchool, a computer program that provides students grades, homework assignments, and attendance records to parents online. The program is being implemented at a rate of four schools per month, Pullen says. About 35 schools were expected to HATTIE BROWN be using it by May.
84
deficit in its $23 billion budget. In fact, lean times have left the states education technology efforts at a virtual standstill. Its most ambitious effort, reducing the ratio of students to computer in classrooms to 5-to-1, may not be funded for expansion to the 7th grade, says Carly M. Glick, the communications officer for the Ohio SchoolNet Commission. So far, the state has met its goal for grades K-5, and a $38 million project for 6th graders is scheduled to be completed in June. The commission is a separate agency formed to administer the states educational technology programs. Just as Ohios technology initiatives stall, the state is now faced with replacing out-of-date computers that were first bought for K-3 pupils in 1995-96, Glick says. While the budget crunch has put new initiatives on hold and halted the expansion of others, the department of education is forging ahead with the development of technology standards. The standards, which are slated to be adopted in December, will include guidelines for what students should learn at each grade level, Lehman says. Ohio already has state standards in mathematics, language arts, social studies, and science. The technology standards are being drawn up this year along with standards for foreign languages and the arts. But the state has no plans to create tests to measure students abilities to meet the technolKARLA SCOON REID ogy standards.
State of the States
Meanwhile, the Virtual Internet School in Oklahoma Network, also known as VISION, is in its third year of operation. It is a partnership of 10 school districtsalong with technology vendors such as Microsoft and Intelthat provides online resources and teaching tools for algebra teachers. Tools for elementary mathematics teachers are in the works. VISION also contains a classroom-management system that helps teachers organize grades and test scores. But state budget cuts may limit the resources available through VISION, says Joe Kitchens, the states VISION committee chairman and superintendent of the 3,100-student Western Heights school system in the southwestern part of Oklahoma City.
Oklahoma
100%
75
72
revenue shortfalls, rising unemployment, and a state budget plagued by deficits in the hundreds of millions of dollars. The most prominent educational technology program to take a hit was the Technology Enhanced Student Assessment system, or TESA, which is moving student testing online. Its budget shrank by $1 million this school year, to $2.1 million. As a result, the state education department hasnt been able to move forward as much as it had hoped with the online assessment system. Whats more, plans to create a Web-based diagnostic test-preparation program for the states knowledge and skills assessments in reading/ literature and mathematics have been put on hold, as have plans for scoring student assessments online. Still, despite the dire budget situation, Oregon reports a fair amount of progress in making online testing available to students. We havent lost the dream, says Bob Olsen, the education departments director for online testing. Were just moving more slowly. One significant improvement in TESA this
40
Oregon
100%
0%
73 62 54
SOURCE: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000 0%
Oklahoma
State Education Agency Web Site: sde.state.ok.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: J. P "Phil" Applegate . (405) 521-3994 phil_applegate@sde.state.ok.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 620,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 41,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.6 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 9.7 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $157,542,000
The legislature originally appropriated $2.7 million for the project, which is now being funded at $1.2 million annually. Budget cuts will likely limit the acquisition of new hardware and could prevent other districts from becoming involved with the project. This past year, online education continued to grow in popularity in Oklahoma, with the number of online courses offered by school districts increasing from 115 to 185. Of the states 541 districts, 24 percent now offer online courses, which concentrate mostly on math and foreign HATTIE BROWN languages, Applegate says.
The Oklahoma Department of Education will make a second attempt to pilot computer-based testing in October of this year. Last fall, school officials used computers to test almost 2,000 students, but found a few glitches that needed to be worked out before fully adopting the system, says Kay Ruelle, the team leader of student assessment, research, and planning for the department. For instance, officials found that many people involved with implementing the test were not yet properly trained, she says. They are now more prepared to handle the changes, according to Ruelle. About 1,800 students in grades 6 and 9 took either a multiple-choice reading or math test, or a writing exam consisting of essays, on computers. The best feature of computer-based testing is its immediate results, Ruelle says. Officials hope eventually to offer all the states criterion-referenced tests online, says J. P. Phil Applegate, Oklahomas executive director for instructional technology and telecommunications. Those tests assess students knowledge of academic content specified in state standards. We really want to move in that direction, Applegate says. Were trying to learn as much as we can.
Oregon
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ode.state.or.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Carla Wade (503) 378-3600 carla.wade@state.or.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 552,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 31,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.0 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.4 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $59,333,000
school year is its instant delivery of student scores, bolstered by other performance information for teachers, who can then use the data to fine-tune their instruction, Olsen says. Literally, when students click a button twice, they get their scores on the screen immediately, he says. And every week, we ship to all the schools a record of the students test performance, as well as subscale scores, so [teachers] can use that information to focus on the areas that their students didnt understand. Officials this school year also made state-mandated testing available online to 4th, 6th, 7th, and 9th graders, in addition to the Web-based assessment already used in grades 3, 5, 8, and 10.
RHEA R. BORJA
Pennsylvania
State Education Agency Web Site: www.pde.state.pa.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Dorothy Hajdu (717) 705-4486 dhajdu@state.pa.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,810,000
Oregon officials cut educational funding, which includes funding for school technology, this school year by almost $1 billion because of
sample tests online for teachers and students to print out. The format of the sample tests resembles that of the actual exam, which is largely multiple-choice, but includes a few open-ended CATHERINE GEWERTZ questions.
In fiscal 2003, bad economic times forced Pennsylvania to make do with less than half the educational technology money it had the previous year. With its $40 million fiscal 2002 technology budget cut to $18.8 million in 2003, the state eliminated funding for its biggest grant program in technology, Students Achieving Standards. The program has distributed money to districts for a broad range of projects, from software-management systems to teacher professional development, says Nicole L. Nokovich, an executive policy specialist with the state education departments technology division. An evaluation of the impact of those technology projects on achievement is expected to conclude this year, she says. Pennsylvania is trying to make leaders in its 501 districts aware of a state resource that can help them meet the technology-plan mandates of the federal No Child Left Behind Act of
Rhode Island
State Education Agency Web Site: www.ridoe.net State Education Agency Technology Contact: William Fiske (401) 222-4600 fiske@ride.ri.net Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 158,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 10,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.7 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 10.4 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $30,891,000
South Carolina
State Education Agency Web Site: www.myscschools.com State Education Agency Technology Contact: Barbara Teusink (803) 734-8395 bteusink@sde.state.sc.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 648,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 46,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.9 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 7.9 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $225,077,000
85
Pennsylvania
100%
74 62 53
0%
Rhode Island doesnt do computer-based testing, but it hasnt ruled it out for the future. Officials there are rethinking the states school accountability system in light of new requirements under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. Theyre also seeking ways to improve the use of student assessments in Rhode Island through their work with the New England Compact, a network of four states sharing ideas on student testing. As this tinkering plays out over the next couple of years, education leaders say, its possible that Rhode Island might experiment with using computers to gauge student performance. The key, they say, is whether students would benefit. If the best way to assess something is by computer-based assessment, then wed certainly ex-
Rhode Island
100%
2001. Its e-Tech Planner, which in two previous years has been used largely to develop technology plans for the federal E-rate program, can now help with the new law, Nokovich says. The planner offers step-by-step, online help in crafting a technology plan, touching on topics such as performing a needs assessment, developing a technology vision, and designing a technology budget. A leader in the movement for so-called cyber charter schools, the Keystone State continues to see growth in that area. Eight such schools are now in operation, enrolling more than 5,000 students. The state also continues to operate its Distance Learning Exchange, a Web directory of distance-learning opportunities. In early 2003, it launched the Technology Practices Exchange, a Web-based database that educators can use to share best practices in technology. Pennsylvania conducted pilot online field tests of its state writing and reading assessments with more than 34,000 students between 1999 and 2001. It found that too many schools lacked the proper computer servers and other technological support needed for appropriate administration of the tests, says education department spokeswoman Shanna L. McClintock. The state has no plans to perform additional field tests, she says. This school year, the state began posting
67 52 41
0%
plore that, says Mary Ann Snider, who directs the office of assessment for the Rhode Island Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The states larger efforts to integrate technology into teaching also continue to evolve. In recent years, Rhode Island has used federal aid to support its Working Wonders program, which provides training and equipment to educators trying to enhance their instruction through the use of technology. Schools apply to the state for grants to take part in the program. This years Working Wonders training regi-
South Carolina officials in charge of educational technology have been working to make sure that the states computerized data-collection system matches with new federal requirements, and that the state makes efforts to help schools improve the use of technology even during a serious financial crunch. The state has been setting up a data warehouse that will allow schools to file Title I paperwork online. The system also allows state agencies to gain access to district data without having to get in touch with each school and request paperwork be filled out. State funding for a public-private partnership for a centralized state education data system has reached $1.2 million, but another $1 million has been requested to complete the project this year, says Don Cantrell, the supervisor of technology media services for the South Carolina Department of Education. The data system will allow for more efficient collection of information on students and schools required by state and federal laws, including statistics on student demographics, attendance rates, and test scores. Cantrell says the state plans to release a statewide plan for school technology this summer. It will be aimed at improving South Carolinas capacity to use emerging technologies to improve learning, bolster educators professional knowledge, and support local technology efforts. In addition, the state has created an online survey about school technology, which will allow educators to obtain information about their own schools supplies of hardware and software so
State of the States
menwhich takes place over the summerwill emphasize literacy instruction in grades K-3. Along with other skills, participants will learn how to use handheld computers to keep better tabs on their students reading and writing abilities. The concentration will be on a lot more than just how to use your Palm Pilot, says William Fiske, the education department official who oversees the program. Itll be about better instruction, and how to use technology to address that. About 280 teachers, mostly from schools serving low-income communities, are expected to participate in Working Wonders this summer. Funding for the initiative stands at about $1.4 million, paid for with Rhode Islands share of the Enhancing Education Through Technology grant program of the U.S. Department of Education. Rhode Island also has a separate, state-financed grant program that helps schools pay for a wide variety of technology-related expenses, including hardware and software. That initiative got $3.4 million in the current state budget, about the same JEFF ARCHER as in each of the past six years.
State of the States
they can compare what they have with other districts computer resources. But finding the money to pay for educational technology projects is getting harder. Four mid-year budget cuts in the past two years have reduced the personnel who work on school technology at the state level. A year ago, Cantrell says, the state ran 13 regional training centers for educational technology, but has since reduced that number to 10. Were having to make some tough decisions
South Carolina
100%
68 46
71
0%
86
gram, required of all 3rd graders last spring, to grades 6 and 10. They hoped the DACS could serve as the state assessment required by the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. But federal officials have ruled out tests that are not focused on specific grade levelsand the DACS uses test items that range across several grades, depending on how well a test-taker answers questions. NCLB really forced us to look at more of a fixed-form test at each grade level, versus a computer adaptive test, says Wade Pogany, the director of the division of education services and resources for the South Dakota Department of Education and Culture. The online test, which more than 50,000 students in grades 2-10 took last fall, remains available to schools. Were encouraging schools this spring and next fall to use it as a diagnostic instrument to measure their benchmark progress on the standards, Pogany says. The state is exploring whether its paper-andpencil replacement test, the Dakota State Test for Educational Progress, could eventually be offered online. State officials say their Digital Dakota Network connecting all schools can support widespread on-
Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 938,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 58,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 4.1 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.8 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $225,030,000
South Dakota
100%
83
77
Tennessee is using new federal mandates and funding to experiment with school technology, including computer-based testing for educators. Already, the state has authorized districts to use a computer-based test to evaluate the skills of some paraprofessionals, as required under the federal No Child Left Behind Act of 2001. All but a few districts are using them. District leaders say the computerized exams are more convenient than pencil-and-paper versions of the tests, although those, too, are still available, says Jerry Bates, the states director of applied school technology. Separately, under the final year of a federal Technology Literacy Challenge grant, the state education department gave money this year to 26 schools to create pilot programs that fully integrate technology in schools, and to train all teachers and other instructional staff members to use technology in everyday teaching and learning. Two schoolsone elementary and one high schoolused the money to buy computer-
52
on how we use those human resources to cover the same-size state and the same-size population of teachers, he says. Though the state has a long-term plan to put together an online high school, budget cuts have stalled that effort. And South Carolina doesnt offer any of its K-12 tests online. Funding is going to be a big part of this, Cantrell says of any initiatives for computer-based testing. Still, some of the states larger school districts such as those in Greenville, Richland, Lexington, and Beaufort countiesare assessing teacher competency using online exams. Also, the state is piloting an online assessment ALAN RICHARD for adult education students.
Tennessee
100% 0%
SOURCE: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000 0%
71
71
47
South Dakota
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.sd.us/deca State Education Agency Technology Contact: Tammy Bauck (605) 773-6118 Tammy.Bauck@state.sd.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 127,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 9,100 Students per Instructional Computer: 1.8 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 4.8 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $17,663,000
line testing. The real barrier, says Pogany, is having enough computers to give tests, because the machines are constantly used for instruction. The shortage is surprising, given that the state has one of the nations lowest ratios of students to Internet-connected computers, at about 3-to-1. Meanwhile, use of the state network to deliver high school courses via videoconference is continuing to growschool districts and other organizations were offering about 100 courses this spring, or double the number offered last year. South Dakota is encouraging school districts to adopt new state-developed information-management systems, including a Web-based database of student and staff information, that would replace the stand-alone systems most districts use. Students would be tracked using a nine-digit, stateassigned student-identification number that is ANDREW TROTTER being introduced this spring.
Tennessee
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.tn.us/education State Education Agency Technology Contact: Jerry Bates (615) 532-6287 Jerry.Bates@state.tn.us
South Dakota made news this year by pulling back from requiring students to take its groundbreaking computer adaptive test, the Dakota Assessment of Content Standards. The state is one of only a few with the technology to offer online tests statewide, and state officials had planned to expand the testing proE d u c a t i o n We e k ' s Te c h n o l o g y C o u n t s / M a y 8 , 2 0 0 3
based testing programs. The high school, Bates says, bought software that allows students to write essays and receive quicker analyses of their work. And the elementary school now subscribes to an online product that allows its pupils to take practice tests online in the months before they take state assessments. In addition, using technology funding from the No Child Left Behind Act, Tennessee is setting up unofficial demonstration sites at schools statewide to provide hands-on learning centers for students and teachers. In three years, the schools are expected to establish regional demonstration sites and form partnerships with other schools in their areas. The most important component of the program, Bates says, will be professional development for teachers. We have put money into technology, but we still have the issue of teachers coming to grips with their own pedagogy and getting into a student-oriented approach, she says. On a related front, the state is continuing to
work with the Southern Regional Education Board, based in Atlanta, to build new computerbased professional-development programs for teachers. Tennessee officials hope to incorporate those systems into the demonstration sites. The state is also continuing to build a statewide database for enrollment and attenJOETTA L. SACK dance reporting.
Texas
State Education Agency Web Site: www.tea.state.tx.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Anita Givens (512) 463-9400 agivens@tea.state.tx.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 4,128,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 281,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.3 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.1 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $875,250,000
88
ing for students who have to retake Texas high school exit exam because they have failed it. Students take the exam for the first time in 10th grade, and they have up to eight opportunities to pass it before the end of senior year. The state puts spring academic skills tests and end-of-course exams from grades 3-12 online for students to use to practice for the real tests. In other technology news, the Lone Star State is making an aggressive push to replace textbooks with online instructional materials at all grade levels by increasing the number of classroom computers available to students and by utilizing handheld computing devices. This year, Texas completed a study that examined the circumstances under which a state should pay for a virtual or online school, in which students take courses via the Internet. The study also analyzed the accountability and security issues related to online courses. As it is, many Texas districts already have their own virtual schools, so the state has to weigh the costs and benefits of setting up a statewide school. The state has started an initiative to help K-2 teachers save time by administering a reading-inventory test to students using handheld computing devices. The technology which several hundred schools are using in a pilot study this springis supposed to be availSHARI METZGER able statewide in the fall.
The online software scores the multiplechoice answers, but teachers evaluate the essays. We think essays are better scored by people, Webb says. Another initiative, Utahs Electronic High Schoolwhich was started in 1994 to offer on-
Utah
100%
State of the States
72 62
33
0%
In January, Texas rolled out a computerized math practice test for students in grades 5-8 that offers an online version and an alternative format in which students take a paper test and then have the results scanned into a computer for analysis. For something released this late in the school year, the response has been phenomenal, says
Utah
State Education Agency Web Site: www.usoe.k12.ut.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Rick Gaisford (801) 538-7798 rgaisfor@usoe.k12.ut.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 478,000
Texas
100%
line courses to high school studentshas more than doubled its course offerings and student enrollment from last year to include 39 courses, with 13 courses in development, for 7,000 students. It offers courses in traditional academic subjects as well as some electives. The state is also running a pilot project with three school districts, Brigham Young University, and the University of Utah to develop electronic portfolios for new teachers. The portfolios are to be used for beginning teachers in their first three years on the job to help them improve SHARI METZGER their teaching skills.
80 70
Vermont
State Education Agency Web Site: www.state.vt.us/educ State Education Agency Technology Contact: Bill Romond (802) 828-0064 bromond@doe.state.vt.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 100,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 8,300 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.4 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 7.0 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $8,816,000
39
0%
Paula Gustafson, the director of mathematics for the Texas Education Agency. About 280 of the 1,220 districts in the state, serving approximately 50 percent of Texas students in grades 5-8, had already signed up to use the test as of late March. This coming fall, teachers will be able to use the tool to create their own diagnostic assessments from a database linked to the state academic standards. In addition, according to Gustafson, the computerized tests will have adaptive features for students in the fall that adjust the tests level of difficulty based on how individual students answer the questions. Beyond those developments, Texas has produced an online end-of-course practice test for Algebra 1 that school districts began using last fall. The multiple-choice test is voluntary for districts. State officials are also discussing online testE d u c a t i o n We e k ' s Te c h n o l o g y C o u n t s / M a y 8 , 2 0 0 3
Utah has been developing online tests for a couple of years, and officials say 25 of the states 40 school districts will be administering at least some state tests on the Internet this spring. Based on a state survey of schools, the greatest difficulty in using online testing is making sure there are enough computers for students to take a test within the scheduled time frame, according to Kathleen Webb, an online-tools and Internet specialist in Utahs state office of education. Webb says state education technology experts were also spending a lot of time this year figuring out what would be the best software to use for computer-based testing. Recently, eight schools in four districts have been trying out testing software written for Utah by Dover, N.H.-based Measured Progress, an educational assessment company. The software is being evaluated for use with a range of ages, from elementary youngsters to high school students. Utah also has a Test Item Pool Service that teachers can draw from to put together online tests in mathematics, science, and language arts for regular classroom assessments. Students can take practice exams at the site to test their knowledge of those subjects. And teachers can use the site to make tests that include both multiplechoice and essay questions.
Vermont is building a system it hopes will give teachers the help they need to use classroom technology more effectively. This spring, for the first time, the state will run its own survey of educational computer use, contacting each school for information on computer access, professional development and support, student proficiency with computers, and more. The state has also expanded a program that uses classroom observation to pinpoint professional-development needs related to classroom technology use. And Vermont is encouraging a group of technology coordinators to devise performance assessments to measure how well
Vermont
100%
89
71 55 58
0%
Vermont continues to play a development role in classroom technology without direct financial investments. For instance, its teleconferencing network, which now reaches just about every high school in the mostly rural state, was built by local telephone companiesalthough it is administered by the nonprofit Vermont Institutes and the state education department. In addition, a $615,000 grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is helping state officials teach school administrators the skills they need to do their jobs more effectively. Called Its About Leadership, the program requires principals and superintendents to draw up planswhich must include technologyto advance their work. So far, Vermont officials have not moved to put state tests online. One immediate barrier is that access to the Internet from school to school is not the same. Were still building our assessment system, and adding a [technology] layer to that would be a significant additional [burden], Romond says.
BESS KELLER
Virginia
State Education Agency Web Site: www.pen.k12.va.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Lan W. Neugent (804) 225-2757 lneugent@pen.k12.va.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,163,000
State of the States
students use technology for academic ends. If you can combine those inputssurvey, classroom observations, and performance assessmentsyou should be getting a more complete picture of how well technology is being used in Vermonts classrooms, says William Romond, the state education departments educational technology coordinator. The state is also beefing up its Vermont-specific online resources for teachers. At the Standards into Action Web site, for instance, teachers can find activities matched to the state standards in social studies, mathematics, and writing, although practice scoring is currently available only in math. Health and drivers education materials are being added to the site. On the teacher-preparation front, new draft licensure standards include technology skills teachers must possess, as well as requirements to ensure that technology teachers are adequately prepared to work with students.
infrastructure, teacher training, and more. The state also has a number of courses available for students through Web-based video, and it has held some technology-training sessions for educators via the Web. Neugent says the education department hopes to expand those efforts as the budget allows.
ALAN RICHARD
90
Virginia is among the nations most advanced states when it comes to online testing. The state was planning to offer all its high school graduation exams, which are end-ofcourse tests, online by the spring of 2003, one year ahead of schedule. Every high school in the state was expected to have access to online testing by this spring, says Lan Neugent, the assistant superintendent for technology in the Virginia Department of Education. Tests for middle schools are scheduled to be online by 2006 and for elementary schools by 2009. Consistent funding of more than $50 million a year over the course of several yearssupported by different legislatures and governorshas helped Virginia expand its school technology programs, Neugent says. The money has helped most public schools develop proper
Washington
State Education Agency Web Site: www.k12.wa.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Marty Daybell (360) 725-6370 mdaybell@ospi.wednet.edu Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 1,010,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 52,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.5 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.6 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $117,938,000
About 98 percent of the states classrooms were on the system as of February. But only 68 percent of the networked computers in those rooms meet a state-recommended standardincluding at least a Pentium II-grade processor for best performance. The K-20 network is under budget stress, facing a projected 5 percent reduction in state support for the 2003-04 school year, on top of a budget cut this year. Though the network has been able to use its size to acquire more bandwidth at bargain prices, Chip Kimball, the assistant superintendent of the Lake Washington schools, says it is providing little more than Internet service, rather than much of the teleconferencing and educational programming that were originally planned. That suburban Seattle district, which includes Redmond, the headquarters of the Microsoft Corp., is one of the districts that are plowing ahead on several technology initiatives while the state looks on. The 24,000-student district is working with Microsoft and the Hewlett-Packard Co. on a Web-based data system that combs current and past student records and presents a variety of useful reports, accessible by password to teachers, parents, and students. The initial system is scheduled to be rolled out in the fall of this year. And one district school is part of a project, underwritten by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, to offer mini-WASL tests online at grade levels other than the official grade levels for the test.
ANDREW TROTTER
State of the States
Virginia
100%
85 77 60
0%
In Washington state, school technology officials are intrigued by the prospect of online or computer-based testing, but budget constraints have left leadership on the issue in the hands of a few venturesome school districts. We are investigating [online testing], says Marty Daybell, the chief information officer for the office of the state schools chief. I dont see it making great inroads in the next two to three years. State officials do hope to conduct a small online trial in 2005 involving the 10th grade writing subportion of the Washington Assessment of Student Learning, or WASL, the states mandatory academic test for grades 4, 7, and 10. But it will happen only if the necessary funding is found.
West Virginia
State Education Agency Web Site: wvde.state.wv.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Brenda Williams (304) 558-7880 brendaw@access.k12.wv.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 281,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 20,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 3.7
Washington
100%
Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 7.7

73
networks to handle online testing and establish data-collection systems, he says. Virginia gave its first pilot online tests in late 2000, and was slated to offer about 126,000 tests online this spring. That number could expand to about 400,000 by spring 2004, Neugent says. Many students still take some of their end-ofcourse high school examswhich help determine if students will graduate, and if their schools will earn state accreditationusing paper tests. Endof-course exams are given in Algebra 1 and 2, biology, earth science, English, World History 1 and 2, U.S. history, world geography, and chemistry. The availability of computers is the main factor schools have to consider before using online tests, Neugent says. The tests are all multiple-choice. In fact, at this point, the online tests simply replicate the paper-and-pencil versions. A limited number of practice exams are posted online. Since Virginias Standards of Learning Tests are only three years old, few of the old tests have been released for use as practice exams, Neugent says. He says he is also hoping for the state school boards approval this year of a new, six-year technology plan for schools that focuses on integrating technology into instruction. The plan would include new goals for the expansion of
62 43
0%
The main hurdle to the use of an online version of the WASL, Daybell says, is ensuring that all students are equally prepared to answer test items on a computer, and that all schools have consistent, reliable technology. Part of that requirement may be met by the states K-20 Educational Telecommunications Network, which connects all districts, universities, and community colleges statewide to one another and to the Internet.
West Virginia is using information from other states experiences with online testingparticularly neighboring Virginiato determine how it might use the new technology. We are looking at the pros and cons of online testing, says Brenda Williams, the executive director of West Virginias office of technology. But first, Williams says, the state has to put together a new statewide paper test. In 2002, the state board of education approved new academic-content standards, descriptors, and objectives including technology standards across each grade level for a new statewide test. We have to have a successful paper test before we put it online, Williams explains. Further along is West Virginias Virtual High School, which has grown considerably since its inception in July 2000. When it opened, the school offered 49 courses. During the 2002-03 school year, that number grew to 113, and still more courses will be approved as requests from school districts come in. And just over the past year, the number of students taking the schools online courses has increased from 568 to 939. The state also offers distance-learning courses
through two-way interactive videoconferencing and satellite, but the Web has become the preferred means of delivering instruction. Also, the Southern Regional Education Board has helped bring West Virginia and the Florida Virtual School together to offer courses to West Virginia students over the Internet. Through the partnership, West Virginia students can take state-approved courses from the Florida online
West Virginia
100%
77
79
45
0%
1997. Officials have spent $16 million on the effort for fiscal years 2002 and 2003. The remaining districts have such equipment, but bought it from vendors on their own, according to state officials. The agency has put another $35 million into block grants this fiscal year to all school districts to buy computer hardware, software, and consulting services, officials say. An additional $4 million in state money paid for grants to train teachers and librarians to use those goods. Communities with lesser property values receive more funding. In 2001, state officials agreed to pilot a computer program dubbed enGauge. Developed by the nonprofit North Central Regional Education Laboratory, based in Naperville, Ill., the program helps administrators and teachers determine how technology is being used in schools and assesses any needs they may have. To date, 30 districts are involved, at a negligible cost to the state. The initiative is being coordinated through the state education department. Results will be provided to districts and their teachers. The states technology landscape could change
Wisconsin
100%
75
73
school, and teachers from both states work together to develop academic material and teaching activities, which are housed on the Florida schools Web site. Online coursetaking is one of the areas where we can address individual student needs, Williams says. Distance and time shouldnt be a SHARI METZGER barrier anymore to learning.
32
0%
A statewide task force studying the prospect of computer-based standardized testing in Wyoming schools intends to make its recommendations to legislators by November. The state is good, fertile soil for such a venture because its 48 districts are well-connected electronically to one another and to the Internet, says Annette Bowling, a deputy superintendent for the state education department. Forty-four of those districts are using adaptive computer-based testing to track student progress during the school year. The testing, which adjusts the level of difficulty of questions based on how well a student answers them, is done in partnership with the nonprofit Northwest Evaluation Association, based in Portland, Ore. In central Wyomings 11,600-student Natrona County school system, all pupils at an alternative high school took computer-based tests in reading and mathematics in fall 2002. They will take the multiple-choice exams again at the beginning and end of each semester so teachers can track their progress. New students take the tests for placement purposes. An elementary school in the district piloted the computer-based tests in February of this year. Pupils in grades 3-6 took reading and math tests to see how they stood as of midsemester. Expected to join in by this spring were 26 elementary schools, four middle schools, and three high schools, according to Brenda Fields, a research assessment specialist for the Natrona County district. Elsewhere, some officials in the 4,200-student Sweetwater School District #1 approve of the experiment, but argue that a multiplechoice test lacks the comprehensive nature of a good assessment. It tends to measure just the parts, not the whole, says Connie Nerby, the special projects
91
Wyoming
100%
Wisconsin
State Education Agency Web Site: www.dpi.state.wi.us State Education Agency Technology Contact: Sean Dilweg (608) 261-7437 sean.dilweg@doa.state.wi.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 879,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 60,000 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.7 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.1 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $139,375,000
73 50
78
drastically, however, if state lawmakers embrace a plan by first-year Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, to do away with the TEACH agency altogether in an attempt to save money. Only the program subsidizing Internet-communication lines would survive. The agencys budget this fiscal year was $62 million. Wisconsins biennial budget for fiscal years 2002 and 2003 was $22.3 billion. About 42 percent of that money goes toward pre-K-12 education.
JULIE BLAIR
0%
Wyoming
State Education Agency Web Site: www.k12.wy.us/index.htm
Wisconsin leaders, struggling with a $452 million budget deficit this fiscal year, have no plans to try new approaches in the use of educational technology, such as computer-based testing. Instead, the state is channeling the money it has into technology programs that are already in place, though the future of some of those initiatives is in jeopardy. Since 1998, the Technology Education Achievementor TEACHagency, which administers state-financed technology initiatives, has offered subsidized data and video Internet communication lines to school districts, technical colleges, libraries, and correctional facilities. The state reports that 86 percent of districts have purchased the lines since its start in
State Education Agency Technology Contact: Mike Hamilton (307) 777-5252 mhamil2@educ.state.wy.us Pre-K-12 Enrollment: 88,000 Number of Public School Teachers: 6,700 Students per Instructional Computer: 2.5 Students per Instructional Computer in Classrooms: 8.0 E-rate Funding (Through March 6, 2003): $9,852,000
director for the district, which is in the southwestern part of the state. The Sweetwater district plans to use computer-based math, reading, and language arts tests in one junior high in the coming fall. By spring 2004, about 2,700 students in grades 39 in that district should be taking online tests. Meanwhile, state administrators continue to beef up the Wyoming Education Gateway, an online resource for teachers, parents, and students. Built at a cost of $1.5 million over three years, the site is part of the states videoconferencing and data network created in 1999. Educators can use the Gateway to review lesson plans from other schools; parents can check on homework assignments; and students can get access to a research center that scours the Internet.
ROBIN L. FLANIGAN
State of the States
Sources and Notes f r State Data Tables o

DEFINITIONS
Statewide or State refers to a representative sample of schools throughout the state. High-poverty schools refers to schools where more than half the students are eligible for the federal free or reduced-price lunch program. High-minority schools refers to schools where more than half the students belong to minority groups.
check in this column regularly collect data from districts and/or schools on technology-related issues that may include: student-to-computer ratio, Internet connectivity, use of technology by both students and teachers, technology professional development, etc. Percent of schools with a full-time district or school-level technology coordinator, computer maintenance/technical support person: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000. State standards for teachers include technology: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003. States receiving a check in this column either have distinct technology standards for teachers, or embed technology standards for teachers within standards for other subjects such as social studies or science. Requirements for initial teacher licensure include technology training/coursework, a technology test: Ibid. States receiving a check in this column either require approved programs of teacher preparation to include specific technology-related coursework, or require teachers to demonstrate technology competence through a test. State requires technology professional development for teachers: Ibid. States receiving a check in this column require teachers to take part in technology-related coursework for recertification, demonstrate technology competence through a test for recertification, or participate in technology-related professional development. Percent of teachers who participated in professional development on the use of computers for instruction in the last 12 months: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000. Percent of novice teachers who felt well or very well prepared to use computers for instruction in their first year: Ibid. Percent of schools where at least half the teachers are beginners when it comes to using technology: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2002, and unpublished tabulations from MDRs 200102 Public School Technology Survey. Respondents were asked, What percent of your teachers are at the following four technology-use skill levels? Beginner = Learning Basics, Intermediate = Uses Variety of Applications, Advanced = Uses in Curriculum, Innovator/Instructor = Leader/Instructs Others. State standards for administrators include technology: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003. States receiving a check in this column either have distinct technology standards for administrators, or embed technology standards for administrators within other standards or requirements. Requirements for initial administrator licensure include technology training/coursework, a technology test: Ibid. States receiving a check in this column either require approved programs of administrator preparation to include specific technology-related coursework, or require administrators to demonstrate technology competence through a test. State requires technology professional development for administrators: Ibid. States receiving a check in this column require administrators to take part in technologyrelated coursework for recertification, demonstrate technology competence through a test for recertification, or participate in technology-related professional development. State offers professional or financial incentives for
teachers or administrators to use technology: Ibid.
Use of Technology
State standards for students include technology: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003. States receiving a check in this column either have distinct state academic standards for technology, or embed technology standards into their state standards for core subject areas. State tests students on technology standards: Ibid. States receiving a check in this column either use a test specifically related to state technology standards, or have technology integrated into the state assessment based on those standards. Percent of teachers whose students use computers during class time: Education Week analysis of U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Schools and Staffing Survey, 1999-2000. Percent of schools where at least half the teachers use a computer daily for planning and/or teaching: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2002, and unpublished tabulations from MDRs 2001-02 Public School Technology Survey. Respondents were asked, What percent of your teachers use a computer on a daily basis for instructional planning and/or teaching? Percent of schools where at least half the teachers use the Internet for instruction: Ibid. Respondents were asked, What percent of your teachers use the Internet for instructional purposes? Percent of schools where at least half the teachers have school-based e-mail addresses: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2001, and unpublished tabulations from MDRs 2000-01 Public School Technology Survey. State has established a virtual high school: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003. State allows cyber charter schools: Ibid. States received a check in this column if they have regulation that specifically allows for the creation of cyber charter schools, or if they do not have regulation that expressly prohibits the creation of such schools. State requires teachers of online courses to receive training in online instruction: Ibid. States received a check in this column if they require this of teachers of all online courses, not just those teachers who instruct online courses through a specific state virtual school or program. State requires at least one face-to-face meeting between students in online courses and their teachers: Ibid. States received a check in this column if they require this of students in all online courses, not just those students who are taking online courses from a specific state virtual school or program.
Sources and Notes 92
Students per instructional computer: Market Data Retrieval, Technology in Education 2002, and unpublished tabulations from MDRs 2001-02 Public School Technology Survey. This figure includes only computers that are available for student instruction. Students per instructional computer located in classrooms, computer labs, libraries/media centers: Ibid. Percent of instructional computers that are 486 or less, or Apple II; 586 or Mac non-Power; Pentium II or higher, Power Mac or iMac: Ibid. Percent of instructional computers that are Windows 3.1, Windows 95 or 98, Windows 2000 or NT: Ibid. Students per instructional multimedia computer: Ibid. A multimedia computer has a sound card and a CDROM drive, components that enable it to make use of sophisticated educational software. This figure includes only multimedia computers that are available for student instruction. Students per instructional multimedia computer located in classrooms, computer labs, libraries/media centers: Ibid. Students per Internet-connected computer: Ibid. Internet-connected computer refers to any computer that can access the Internet, including noninstructional computers. Students per Internet-connected computer located in classrooms, computer labs, libraries/media centers: Ibid. Percent of schools with Internet access: Ibid. Percent of schools with Internet access from one or more classrooms: Ibid. Among schools with at least one classroom connected to the Internet, the percent of classrooms with Internet access: Ibid. Among schools with Internet access, the percent that connect through a T1, T3, digital satellite, or cable modem: Ibid. Percent of schools with handheld PDAs for teachers: Ibid. Percent of schools with handheld PDAs for students: Ibid. Percent of schools with home loaner laptop programs: Ibid.
HOW MARKET DATA RETRIEVALS SURVEY WAS CONDUCTED:
Capacity to Use Technology

State regularly conducts data collection on technology in schools: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003. States receiving a
From October 2001 to March 2002, 87,100 public schools in the United States were contacted by phone or e-mail. In total, 25,585 schools responded to the MDR 2002 Technology Survey, yielding an overall response rate of 29 percent. It should be noted that the survey questions relating to teachers technology-use skill level, teachers using computers, average hours of technology training, and technology spending were asked of a randomly selected subset of 4,600 schools and received an average response rate of approximately 50 percent. This level of coverage is more than adequate to produce statistically sound results.
INDEX
ADVERTISER PAGE
TO
ADVERTISERS
PAGE ADVERTISER PAGE
ADVERTISER
ACT Ph: (800) 498-6068; www.act.org; e-mail: epas@act.org. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69
Index to Advertisers
Heimann Systems Corp. Ph: (702) 938-6328; Fax: (702) 938-6330; www.lite-x.net; e-mail: info@heimannsystems-bio.com . . . . 50 Holt, Rinehart and Winston Ph: (800) HRW-9799; www.hrw.com; www.hrw.com/catalog. . . .29 HOSTS Learning Ph: (800) 833-4678; www.hosts.com; e-mail: info@hosts.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 IBM Ph: (866) 426-0524; www.ibm.com/shop/edu/g174 . . . . . . . . 9 Inspiration Software, Inc. Ph: (800) 877-4292; www.inspiration.com/EW. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4 inTASC The Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative www.intasc.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 Intel Corporation www.intel.com/education . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 Kurzweil Educational Systems Ph: (800) 894-5374; www.kurzweiledu.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 LeapFrog SchoolHouseTM Ph: (800) 883-7430; www.LeapFrogSchoolHouse.com . . . . . . . . 7 Lesley University Ph: (888) LESLEY-U; www.lesley.edu/education; e-mail: learn@lesley.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65 The National Beta Club Ph: (800) 845-8281; www.betaclub.org . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 69 National School Boards Associations Technology and Learning Conference Ph: (800) 950-6722; www.nsba.org/T+L . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71 NetSupport School Ph: (888) 665-0808; www.netsupport-inc.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 67 Nova Southeastern University Ph: (800) 986-3223; www.fgse.nova.edu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 Pearson Early Learning The Work Sampling System Ph: (800) 552-2259; www.WorkSamplingOnline.com; www.PearsonEarlyLearning.com . . . . . . . 65 Pearson Educational Measurement Ph: (800) 662-0727; www.ncspearson.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Pearson Education Technologies www.PearsonEdTech.com/everyday . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45, 47, 49, 51, 53
Phonic Ear Ph: (800) 227-0735, then press 5; (800) 263-8700 in canada; www.phonicear.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40 PLATO Learning Ph: (800) 44-PLATO; www.PLATO.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37 The Princeton Review Ph: (800) 2REVIEW; www.PrincetonReview.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 Project Power www.projectpower.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 Quality Educational Systems, Inc. Ph: (205) 995-9292; Fax: (205) 995-9293; www.qes-quest.com; e-mail: qesquest@aol.com . . . . . . . . . . . 33 Richards Computer Ph: (800) 969-5355, Fairfax, VA; (800) 520-7455, Atlanta, GA; (800) 880-7795, Miami, FL; (888) 606-9900, Dallas, TX; www.richardscomputer.com . . . . . . . . . . 38 Riverdeep Skill Navigator Ph: (888) 242-6747; www.riverdeep.net/ad/d17 . . . . . . . . . . 41 Riverside Publishing Ph: (800) 323-9540; www.riversidepublishing.com. . . . . . Back Cover Scholastic READ 180 Ph: (877) 234-READ, mention EW05; www.scholastic.com/READ180. . . . . . . . 36 Scholastic Red Ph: (800) 387-1437, ext. 444 . . . . . . . . 75 Syfr Corporation www.syfrcorp.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 77 TactusTM Keyboard www.tactuskeyboard.com . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 Teachers College Columbia University Ph: (212) 678-3710, for Admissions; (888) 633-6933, for more information; www.tc.edu/discover. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Texas Primary Reading Inventory Ph: (800) 758-4756; info_txreadinginstruments@csi.capspec.com; www.txreadinginstruments.com . . . . . . . . 46 Wireless Generation Ph: (866) 823-1969; www.wirelessgeneration.com . . . . . . . . . 21 Yamaha Corporation Ph: (800) 253-8490; www.musicineducation.com . . . . . . . . . . 33 ZIP-scan Ph: (801) 947-0490; www.ZIP-scan.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
ADA and IT Technical Assistance Centers Ph: (800) 949-4232; www.adata.org/dbtac.html. . . . . . . . . . . 77 Advanced Academics Ph: (866) 2eLEARN, (235-3276); www.AdvancedAcademics.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Inside Front Cover Assessment Technology Incorporated Ph: (877) 358-7614; www.ati-online.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42 CDW-G Ph: (888) 265-4239; Fax: (847) 419-6200; www.CDWG.com . . . . . . . Inside Back Cover Certiport Ph: (800) 572-9250; www.certiport.com\IC3; e-mail: ic3@certiport.com . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Connections AcademyTM Ph: (800) 382-6010; www.connectionsacademy.com . . . . . . . . 25 CTB/McGraw-Hill Ph: (800) 538-9547; www.ctb.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73 CSSG.COM Consulting, Services and Solutions Group, Inc. Ph: (800) 827-7626; www.cssg.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Curriculum Associates Inc. Ph: (800) 225-0248; Fax: (800) 366-1158; www.curriculumassociates.com. . . . . . . . 38 Edison Affiliates Ph: (212) 419-1666; www.edisonaffiliates.com; e-mail: Info@edisonaffiliates.com . . . . . . . 44 Excelsior Software Ph: (800) 473-4572; www.excelsiorsoftware.com . . . . . . . . . . 16 Executive Intelligence www.AnswersAtEI.com. . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 Exemplars Ph: (800) 450-4050; www.exemplars.com; e-mail: info@exemplars.com . . . . . . . . . . 21 FreshPond Education Ph: (617) 864-2425, x13; www.freshpond.com; e-mail: info@freshpond.com . . . . . . . . . . 30 Harcourt Educational MeasurementTM Ph: (800) 211-8378, and request brochure #999-8905-788; www.HEMWEB.com . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
94

Pencils Down - Technology's Answers To Testing PDF

Încărcat de

Informații document

Titlu original

Drepturi de autor

Formate disponibile

Partajați acest document

Partajați sau inserați document

Opțiuni de partajare

Vi se pare util acest document?

Este necorespunzător acest conținut?

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

Pencils Down - Technology's Answers To Testing PDF

Încărcat de

Drepturi de autor:

Formate disponibile

EDUCATION WEEK

Pencils Down: Technology s Answer To Testing

TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2003

Prepping for the

Spec. Ed. Tech

COVER BY LAURA BAKER AND ALLISON SHELLEY/PHOTO ILLUSTRATIONS BY ALLISON SHELLEY

TECHNOLOGY COUNTS 2003

Pe ncils Down : Techn olog ys Ans w e r to Testing

Darcia Harris Bowman

Susan E. Ansell Melissa McCabe Jennifer Park Lisa N. Staresina

Tech s Answer T T o esting

Tech Answer to T s esting

COMPUTER-BASED STATE TESTS

State has a computer-based state test (13)

SOURCE: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003

Legal Twists, D gi l Turns i ta

Technology can affect virtually every aspect of

Name of state computer-based test

Grade(s) in which computer-based tests are available

All districts and/or schools are required to participate in computer-based testing

Test is administered over the Internet

Test is adaptive (questions change based on prior answers)

8-12 5, 6, 8, 9 2 2-10 8-12 7 4, 5, 7, 8, 10-12 6-12 8

3-8, 10 3-12 2-12 3-12 high school

Test includes multimedia features (sound or video clips)

Test includes open-ended questions

Answers to open-ended questions are machine-graded

State uses an outside vendor to design and/or administer the test

Test provides diagnostic information about the test-taker

Oregon South Dakota Utah Virginia U.S.

Tests are both machine-graded and graded by hand.

Legal Twists, D gi l Turns i ta

Legal Twists, D gi l Turns i ta

A Major, Major Issue

The Wrong Question

"How many computers

Low-Stakes Testing Boom

Legal Twists, D gi l Turns i ta

Legal Twists, D gi l Turns i ta

Inside the IRT

Breaking With the Past

Prepp ng f i or The B g T i est

Prepping for the Big Test

Not for Everybody

Computer-based practice exams (12)

SOURCE: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003

Prepping for the Big Test

"You can take your

I Felt More Prepared

Spec Ed T . . ech Sparks Ideas

Spec. Ed. Tech Sparks Ideas

Testing in the Margins

Special education teachers Non-special-education teachers

Teachers whose students use computers in their classes

Spec. Ed. Tech Sparks Ideas

Show What They Know

T T he eacher s New T est

Benefits and Drawbacks

T T he eacher s New Test

TEACHERS AND TECHNOLOGY

SOURCE: Education Week survey of state departments of education, 2003

T T he eacher s New Test

Marketing T the Test o